Azim Premji was recognized as the 2013 Champion of Learning Award at the ASTD 2014 International Conference & Exposition. This award recognizes an individual from outside the field of training whose advocacy, commitment, or actions in support of workplace learning have influenced audiences, organizations, or society.

Azim Premji is Chairman of Wipro Limited, one of India’s leading technology companies, and founder of the Azim Premji Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving education in India.

Premji graduated from Stanford University with a degree in electrical engineering. At age 21, he took the helm at Wipro, which was then (in 1967) a $2 million hydrogenated oil manufacturing company known as Western India Vegetable Products. Premji is credited with dramatically growing and diversifying the company in the last five decades, transforming it into the third largest IT, business process management, and consulting services organization in India, with revenues of $8 billion and a presence in 60 countries.

Premji is lauded for his business values, which are evident in Wipro’s ethical and ecologically sensitive business practices, as well as its philanthropic efforts. In 2014, for example, the company was recognized as one of the most ethical companies by Ethisphere Institute. It also has been awarded the ASIA-PAC Region Disability Matters Award in 2013, and the ESCAP-Sasakawa Award for Disability-Inclusive Businesses.

Under Premji’s leadership, Wipro’s philanthropic arm focuses on education reform in India. Its “Applying Thought in Schools” initiative supports long-term societal development by increasing the capabilities of educators. It built a partner network of 30 of India’s foremost education institutions, through which it disseminates educational support materials and engages in public advocacy. In 2007, the company created another initiative, Mission 10X, aimed at enhancing the employability of engineering graduates in India. The program equips engineering faculty with innovative teaching techniques, which help students gain a higher-level understanding of the subject matter, apply the concepts learned, and develop key behavioral skills. It also deploys learning technologies that help bridge the gap between industry and academia.

The company is deeply committed to being an involved participant in its communities and the larger society. Wipro has established a Science Education Fellowship in partnership with the University of Massachusetts to improve science and math education in schools that primarily serve disadvantaged communities in U.S. cities. This program works closely with 10 school districts, and 120 teachers will go through a fellowship to develop their capacities to be better teachers and leaders for change.

In December 2013, Wipro and Michigan State University jointly announced the launch of a fellowship program in the United States. This multi-year program will be funded by a $2.8 million grant from Wipro, and will involve over a hundred school teachers, with the aim of nurturing excellence in science and mathematics, starting with the public school systems of Chicago. Wipro’s initiative is aligned with the U.S. national goal to improve significantly the quality of education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In addition to these philanthropic efforts, Wipro’s culture is such that many Wipro employees volunteer their time and energy to advancing community, social, and environmental programs. Premji has also demonstrated a deep personal commitment to the cause of education.

He created the Azim Premji Foundation in 2001, which works to enhance quality and equity in India’s public school system. Based on the fundamental principle that education and learning contribute to a just and sustainable society, the foundation collaborates with local governments and education providers to build the skills of teachers and administrators, improve curriculum, assessment, and leadership in the education sector, engage in advocacy, and support evidence-based policy making through research. The foundation spans eight states and works with over 300,000 elementary schools, most of them in rural areas of India. To date, it has impacted more than 2.5 million children.

Furthering the mission of the Azim Premji Foundation is the Azim Premji University, which offers degree programs for education and development professionals, a research center, and a continuing education program. Through these programs the university produces outstanding leaders of India’s education and development sectors. It has a symbiotic relationship with the Azim Premji Foundation, each informing the other’s learning and research programs.

Across all organizations that he is associated with, Premji is committed to developing leaders. For example, he personally presents the Best People Manager awards at Wipro. He embodies the Wipro values – Intensity to Win, Act with Sensitivity, and Unyielding Integrity – and leads by example. In 2011, Premji was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in India, for his contributions to society. In December 2013, Economic Times bestowed on Premji the Life Time Achievement Award.

Premji’s success in combining philanthropy with business has also earned him international acclaim. Time magazine listed him as among the world’s 100 most influential people both in 2004 and 2011. Fortune called him one of the 25 most powerful business leaders outside the United States in 2003, and Forbes that same year named him as one of 10 people with the most “power to affect change” in the world. The Financial Times included him in a 2005 global list of 25 people who are “dramatically reshaping the way people live, work, or think,” and Business Week called him one of the top 30 entrepreneurs in world history in 2007.

Premji was also honored with the Faraday Medal in 2005, which is awarded annually by the Institute of Engineering and Technology to an individual who has significantly advanced the fields of science, engineering, and technology. He is the first Indian recipient of the medal.

Premji recently donated more than $4 billion of his wealth, and is hailed as Asia’s most generous person. Premji’s approach to philanthropy is characterized by collaboration and transparency. This, and his dedication to improving India’s education system through evidence-based practices and grassroots partnerships, will be his legacy.