BENGALURU: IT services major Wipro said on Thursday founder Azim H Premji would retire as executive chairman and managing director (MD) by the end of July and named chief executive officer Abidali Z Neemuchwala as its new MD. Premji's son Rishad, chief strategy officer and a member of the board, will take over as the new executive chairman.Azim Premji will stay on as non-executive director, the Bengaluru-based company said in a notification to exchanges. The Wipro founder will retire as executive chairman upon the completion of his current term on July 30 after having led the company for 53 years.Premji transformed a small hydrogenated cooking fat company to a $8.5 billion global IT powerhouse while also leading the transformation of Wipro Enterprises Limited into a global FMCG, Infrastructure Engineering and Medical Devices leader, with revenues of approximately $2 billion, the IT major said.He will remain the chairman of Wipro Enterprises Limited and continue to chair the board of Wipro-GE Healthcare, it added.Ashok S Ganguly, independent director and chairman, board governance, nomination and compensation committee, Wipro said, "We thank Azim for his vision, outstanding leadership and years of extraordinary contribution towards building Wipro and the Indian IT industry. His unflinching commitment to values makes him an exemplar of how business and ethics, can and must go together. His exceptional generosity makes him one of the greatest philanthropists of our time."Azim Premji said, "It has been a long and satisfying journey for me. As I look into the future, I plan to devote more time to focus on our philanthropic activities. I have great confidence and trust in Rishad's leadership to steer Wipro in its next phase of growth as we move forward."Chairman designate Rishad said, "I am very excited about our future and the opportunity to create value for all our stakeholders in these transformative times for Wipro and the technology industry. I look forward to their trust, collaboration and support."As the chief strategy officer, Rishad has led Wipro's M&A strategy and conceptualized Wipro Ventures, a $100 million fund to invest in start-ups developing technologies and solutions that will complement Wipro's businesses with next-generation services and products, the company stated.