Azim Hashim Premji was born in a Nizari Ismaili Shia Muslim family in 1945. His father, Mohamed Hashem Premji founded Western India Vegetable Products Limited, a company that primarily sold vegetable products and refined oils. At the age of 21, while he was still pursuing his engineering at Stanford University, Azim received the news of his father’s demise and was compelled to leave his campus and take over the company as its successor. All odds were stacked against him. He took charge of the firm in 1966 and was aware of the responsibility to be shouldered. From the onset, all his efforts were concentrated at bringing about sustainable growth in the company and he was constantly on the lookout for business opportunities that had enormous potential. This brought about a shift in the company’s vision and led to a substantial increase in its product range. The company introduced divisions in bakery fats, toiletries, light bulbs, hair care products and hydraulic cylinders, and paced ahead under the dynamism of Azim Premji. The struggle for success was far from over and had only commenced a new beginning. In 1978, the computer firm IBM was restrained from India as per a decision made by the Indian Government. Azim saw this as a major opportunity and a guiding force for Wipro’s diversification process. All efforts were now guided at being victorious in the computer field. What followed was a phase of several collaborations, hiring of some of the finest intellects, and their consequential technical training which was given the highest eminence. These factors led to the development of high quality computer hardware and software at comparatively lower costs, and eventually the meteoric global rise of Wipro. Azim Premji came to be known as the Czar of the Indian IT industry, and held the prestige of being an embodiment of strength in the face of adversity.