Azim Hashim Premji is an Indian businessman and philanthropist, who was the chairman of Wipro Limited. Premji remains a non-executive member of the board and founder chairman. He is informally known as the Czar of the Indian IT Industry. He was responsible for guiding Wipro through four decades of diversification and growth, to finally emerge as one of the global leaders in the software industry. In 2010, he was voted among the 20 most powerful men in the world by
Asiaweek. He has twice been listed among the 100 most influential people by
Time magazine, once in 2004 and more recently in 2011. For years, he has been regularly listed one among
The 500 Most Influential Muslims. He also serves as the Chancellor of Azim Premji University, Bangalore. Premji was awarded Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, by the Government of India.