In a year when Wipro lost over 10 of its top level executives, along with several others below them, to different companies, only former chief financial (CFO) Jatin Dalal and SVP Mohd Haque, both of whom joined rival Cognizant, ended up getting sued by the IT services giant for breaching non-compete clauses in their employment contracts, as per a Moneycontrol report.
This comes at a time when other key leaders like former chief operating officer (COO) Sanjeev Singh and former iDEAS business head Rajan Kohli also joined rival firms such as CMS IT Services and CitiusTech, respectively, in CEO positions.
According to Wipro’s lawsuit copy against Dalal, which was accessed by Moneycontrol, the company has a fixed list of 10 major IT companies who are competitors that senior executives cannot join within 12 months of them serving their last day at Wipro.
These firms include Accenture, Capgemini, Cognizant, Deloitte, DXC (formerly HP), HCLTech, IBM, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and Tech Mahindra.
As a part of the non-compete clause, Dalal had the names of these companies mentioned in his employee contract, Wipro claimed. Joining any of these companies in the stipulated period concerns Wipro, as someone in Dalal’s position would be privy to confidential information in relation to the company’s strategy and business.
As a part of the non-compete clause, Dalal had the names of these companies mentioned in his employee contract, Wipro claimed. Joining any of these companies in the stipulated period concerns Wipro, as someone in Dalal’s position would be privy to confidential information in relation to the company’s strategy and business.
The lawsuit said, “During the period of employment and for a period of twelve (12) months after his/her last date employment and irrespective of the circumstances of or the reason for such separation, the Optionee acknowledges that he/she shall not accept any offer of employment from a customer or client with whom the Optionee has interacted or worked in a professional capacity representing the Company during the six (6) months preceding the last date of employment or any Competitor of Wipro or the Company.”
“During the period of employment and for a period of twelve (12) months following termination of his/her employment and in the geography for which the Optionee is responsible in the previous 12 months (i) directly or indirectly engage with a Competitor whether such engagement shall be as an employer, officer, director, owner, employee, partner, consultant, advisor or as any other participant, or (ii) assist others in engaging with Competitor in the manner described in the foregoing clause,” it added.
Dalal, during his tenure, was one of the core decision makers and signatories on the company’s acquisitions, strategies, and large deal negotiations of $100 million and above. He was also on the investment committee of the $300-million strategic fund of Wipro Ventures, which invests in early- and mid-staged startups.
His last date of work was on November 30, 2023.