Ashok Soota

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Ashok Soota was the President of Wipro from 1984 to 1999. He co-founded MindTree Consulting in 1999, which is currently a leading name in IT consulting.He has played a major role in the development of the IT industry in India.

Chairman and managing director of MindTree Consulting, Ashok Soota co-founded the company in August 1999 along with nine other industry professionals.

Prior to co-founding MindTree, Soota was president of Wipro Infotech from 1984 to 1999. Under his leadership, the company grew from a US$ 2 million business in 1984 to a US$ 500 million business in 1999.

Soota began his career in 1965 with the Shriram Group of Industries in India, where he quickly ascended the ranks. Prior to Soota's assignment as chief executive officer of Shriram Refrigeration, a subsidiary of the Shriram Group, the company was unprofitable for four straight years. When Soota assumed the role of CEO, from 1978 to 1984, his expertise and determination facilitated a complete turn around. Within his first year in this position, Shriram Refrigeration reached a positive net worth, setting off a steady increase in revenue, and the company achieved leadership in each of its product lines.

In recognition of his invaluable contributions to the IT industry, Soota was named the Electronics Man of the Year in 1992 by the Electronic Component Industries Association, IT Man of the Year in 1994 by Dataquest and IT Man of the Year in 1997 by Computerworld Magazine.

A clear leader in the IT industry, Soota was the president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) during 2002-03, and has served on the Indian Prime Minister's task force for development of the IT industry. Also, he is currently a member of the Advisory Council of World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva.

Soota holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from University of Roorkee (now called Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee) and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Asian Institute of Management in the Philippines.