Wipro appoints Christopher Smith as new A/NZ managing director
Wipro has named Christopher Smith as country head and managing director of its Australia and New Zealand region.
The former Telstra executive brings altogether two and a half decades of IT and telecommunications industry experience to his new role, amassed both locally and abroad. Smith is presently based out of Sydney.
“Christopher will lead Wipro’s expansion in Australia and New Zealand and will focus on Wipro’s ambition to help our clients, people, and communities realize their boldest ambitions in an inclusive and purpose-driven way,” stated Wipro in a in a post to LinkedIn.
An executive MBA and bachelor of engineering graduate from UNSW, Smith joins Wipro after a decade-long stint with Telstra, most recently as Group Owner of the national telco’s tech services and consulting arm. Earlier, he served Telstra in a number of leadership roles after joining in 2013, including as Executive Director for Global Services and for Business Technology Services.
Prior to Telstra, Smith gained international experience in various parts of the world, covering Europe, the US and Asia. He spent several years at network planning and management company Telcordia, latterly as vice president of Product Management, while prior to joining Telstra he served as the COO of telecommunications management solutions provider Clarity.
Smith succeeds former IBM and PwC executive Sarah Adam-Gedge, who held the role for less than two years.
“Chris has joined us during an exciting phase of transformation in the APMEA (Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa) growth journey. I am confident that his global experience, deep local market knowledge, impressive track record in hyper growth, and client relationships will position Wipro strongly,” said Anis Chenchah, CEO of Wipro’s APMEA region.
In response, Smith said, “The combination of Wipro’s purpose, based on deep social impact and strategy to be a global leader in technology with local capabilities, is the perfect foundation to build and grow our business locally. Bringing world-class capabilities to clients in our region is what excites me, and it is a privilege to lead Wipro in Australia and New Zealand.”
Smith’s appointment follows that of a major one for the company at the global level, with former Capgemini executive and Boston Consulting Group alumnus Amit Choudhary taking over as Chief Operating Officer, charged with improving organisational operational efficiency and driving sustainable growth.
Globally, the firm has a headcount exceeding 250,000 across 66 countries, having entered Australia over two decades ago.