Chris Barbin, CEO of ’s cloud unit , has been elevated as the global culture officer of India’s third-largest IT services firm, as chief executive Abidali Neemuchwala looks to transform the company amid technology shifts and grow business faster. The Bengaluru-headquartered IT services company is the first player to have such a role. IT services firms have talked about the need to be more nimble to survive the onslaught of technology changes and disruption, but analysts have pointed out that, unlike startups, large firms typically lack the culture to be able to change swiftly. The culture change will be based on research and best practices from leaders such as Netflix, Barbin said in a blogpost. “Wipro’s leadership is very clear about its desire to be a leader in the digital era, and the research is clear that leadership and culture are intertwined,” wrote Barbin, who came to Wipro when the Indian firm acquired Appirio in 2016. In the 12 years since he cofounded and led Appirio as CEO, Barbin built a culture that earned the cloud services company 10 Best Places of Work Awards. Barbin will take on the role as global culture officer on April 1. He will report to Wipro’s president and chief human resources officer Saurabh Govil in his new role, the company said in an email to ET. “As Wipro’s global culture officer, I will be working with the company’s executive team, its board of directors, and a small, dedicated team of change agents to evolve and advance the worker experience at Wipro,” Barbin said. “My job as GCO is to make sure our worker experience is just as ahead of the curve and a role model for our clients.” He added that this was not just another ‘digital transformation initiative’ or ‘just an HR thing’. “I believe we can create a worker experience and strategic culture that could set Wipro as a for other large, established companies who are quietly wondering whether or not it’s possible to shift culture at scale,” Barbin said. “There are few companies that have proactively evolved their culture and ways of working to continue their leadership, and I can’t wait for Wipro to be on that list.” The next leader of Appirio does not have a CEO designation, Wipro told ET in the email. “Erik Duffield, who has been a part of Appirio for close to five years now and has 20+ years of experience in the consulting and analytics space, has been appointed as global business head for Appirio Cloud Services. Erik will report to Hiral Chandrana, senior vice president and global business head – Business Application Services, Wipro Limited,” a company spokesperson said in the email. Separately, Wipro said it would pay $8.83 million for a 33% stake in application security company Denim Group, to boost its cybersecurity offerings to clients. US-based Denim Group, which was started in 2001, has about 60 employees and offices in Austin and Dallas. It reported a revenue of $11.3 million for calendar year 2017, Wipro said. “Wipro’s investment in Denim Group reflects our continued commitment to assist our customers in simplifying digital risk management by enabling them to roll out secure software faster. It strengthens Wipro’s portfolio of digital transformation services as well as taps into services for embedding security in software development methodologies like Agile and DevOps,” Sheetal Mehta, vice president and global head, Cybersecurity and Risk Services at Wipro, said. Wipro will acquire the stake consequent to an issuance of 510 Series A Preferred Units of Denim Group and 500 Membership units of Denim Group Management. Wipro is paying for the investment with cash and the deal is expected to close at the end of the fourth quarter.
Chris Barbin has been appointed global culture officer at Indian IT services provider Wipro, the first move of its kind in the sector, as the company aims to become more nimble amid increased disruption. Barbin, who was previously CEO of Wipro's cloud unit Appirio, acquired in the 12 years, where he created an award-winning culture, said in a blog post his job was to "make sure our worker experience is just as ahead of the curve and a role model for our clients".