Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy and Wipro founder Azmi Premji are one of the most successful Indian entrepreneurs. But, you will be surprised to know that there was a time when Azim Premji refused to hire Narayana Murthy for a job. The Wipro founder later said that it was one of his biggest mistakes.
In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Narayana Murthy said, "Azim once told me that one of the biggest mistakes he committed was not to hire me. Both Narayana Murthy and his wife, Sudha Murty, admitted that if things had turned out differently, there would have been no competition for Premji and Wipro.
Narayana Murthy, born in 1946 in Karnataka, completed his bachelor's in electrical engineering from the National Institute of Engineering in 1967. He also has a master's degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.
Narayana Murthy started his professional career as a research associate at IIM Ahmedabad. Before starting Infosys, Narayana Murthy started Softronics, which failed. Subsequently, he joined Patni Computer Systems in Pune.
In 1981, Narayana Murthy and his six friends founded Infosys with his wife Sudha Murty by his side who provided him with a seed capital of Rs 10,000.
Narayana Murthy remained the CEO of Infosys for a period of 21 years, from 1981 to 2002. He was the chairman of the board from 2002 to 2006, after which he also became the chief mentor. In 2011, he retired from Infosys.
Narayana Murthy is now Infosys' chairman emeritus.
Narayana Murthy built his fortune from scratch. On the other hand, Azim Premji inherited a vegetable oil business from his father Muhammed Hashim Premji at the age of 21 and diversified it, making it a hub for IT services software solutions and consulting services provider.
Premji has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from Stanford University. He is married to Yasmeen Premji. The couple have two children, Rishad and Tariq.
In 2019, Azim Premji retired and passed it all on to his son Rishad Premji.
As of January 12, 2024, Infosys' market capitalisation is Rs 6.65 lakh crore, while Wipro stands at Rs 2.43 lakh crore.
