By Anindita Nayak
Bhubaneswar, 13 May:
IT giant Wipro is likely to conclude settlement agreements with its former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jatin Dalal and former Head of Healthcare Mohd Haque concerning purported breaches of non-compete clauses, reports said.
The Times of India reported that the agreement is anticipated to be finalized within the week, involving Wipro, Cognizant, Dalal, and Haque.
Wipro is seeking Rs 25 crore from Dalal for breach of contract, as he joined Cognizant as the CFO immediately after leaving Wipro, the report said.
In September, Wipro announced the resignation of Dalal, who had been with the company for 21 years, serving as the CFO since 2015. He was relieved from his duties on November 30th last year. In September, Cognizant announced the appointment of Dalal as CFO, effective from December 2023.
Wipro initiated legal action against Dalal in December, which the Bengaluru City civil court referred to arbitration on January 3, 2024. Wipro alleged that Dalal breached the non-compete clause in his employment agreement by joining competitor Cognizant Technology within 12 months of his departure. Dalal petitioned the court to refer the dispute to arbitration.
Wipro also lodged a comparable complaint against Haque for joining Cognizant, a direct competitor. Haque, who was senior vice president (SVP) and led healthcare and medical devices for America at Wipro, left the firm to take over as SVP and business unit head for life sciences at Cognizant.
Indian IT industry has seen significant leadership churn since last year with many CEO, CFO and other top-level executives jumping ships. Experts are of the opinion that as the going gets tough, companies are trying to poach good leaders from other firms to navigate through this tepid demand environment.
Amid geopolitical uncertainty and low IT spending, large Indian IT firms are likely to see low single-digit revenue growth in the current financial year.
