Wipro Chief Culture Officer Sunita Rebecca Cherian Retires After Nearly Three Decades

Sunita Rebecca Cherian, Chief Culture Officer and Senior Vice President – Human Resources at Wipro Limited, has announced her retirement after nearly three decades with the company. 

The announcement was made through a public LinkedIn post. In her message, she wrote, “After nearly three decades with Wipro, the time has come for me to turn the page and begin a new chapter. I joined Wipro straight from campus, full of hope and curiosity, and looking back now, I feel immense gratitude for the incredible journey this organisation has given me. Wipro has been more than just a workplace—it has been my second home, a place where I have grown both professionally and personally.” She also acknowledged the support she received from colleagues and leaders over the years, noting that the organisation played a defining role in her professional growth.

Cherian joined Wipro in 1996 straight out of campus, beginning her career with the IT services firm at a time when it was still scaling its global operations. Over the years, she remained with the company through multiple phases of expansion, leadership transitions, and shifts in the technology services market, eventually taking on one of the most senior people and culture roles within the organisation.

Nearly 30 Years Across People, Strategy, and Culture

During her tenure at Wipro, Cherian held a wide range of roles across human resources and strategic functions. Her experience spanned sales support, human capital strategy, board strategy, total rewards, workforce transitions, mergers and acquisitions, organisational design, HR shared services, sustainability, and inclusion and diversity.

She holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the College of Engineering, Trivandrum. Over time, she built her career within Wipro’s people function, moving into leadership roles that shaped how the company approached talent management, organisational structure, and culture across its global workforce.

A significant part of Cherian’s work focused on diversity and inclusion. She served as Chair of Wipro’s Inclusion & Diversity Council and was closely associated with initiatives aimed at improving representation and career progression for underrepresented groups. Among these was the “Women of Wipro” programme, which supported women employees through leadership development, mentoring, and career continuity initiatives.

Beyond Wipro, Cherian also contributed to industry-level conversations on workforce and inclusion. Publicly available profiles and disclosures indicate her involvement with bodies such as the NASSCOM National Diversity and Inclusion Council, the Confederation of Indian Industry’s diversity forums, and global platforms, including the World Economic Forum’s Future of Work discussions. She has also served on advisory boards of academic and cultural institutions.

During her time in senior HR leadership, Wipro received recognition from external agencies for its diversity practices, including inclusion in global gender equality indices and workplace assessments. These recognitions were linked to structured policies, reporting mechanisms, and internal accountability frameworks implemented across the organisation.

How Culture and HR Evolved at Wipro

Wipro is one of India’s largest IT services companies, employing more than 230,000 people across multiple geographies. Managing culture, engagement, and workforce consistency at this scale has been a central focus of the company’s HR leadership, particularly as business models and delivery structures evolved.

In recent years, Wipro’s disclosures and sustainability reports have highlighted inclusion and belonging as core areas of focus. The company has outlined formal frameworks covering gender diversity, disability inclusion, equitable hiring practices, and employee well-being. These efforts are supported by internal councils, employee resource groups, and regular reporting on workforce metrics.

Human resources leadership at Wipro has also played a role in managing organisational change, including leadership transitions, restructuring efforts, and shifts in strategic priorities. Culture and people practices have been closely linked to broader business goals such as talent retention, leadership development, and skills transformation.

Cherian’s retirement comes at a time when Wipro has been navigating executive changes and business realignments over the past year. The company has publicly acknowledged the importance of workforce stability, leadership continuity, and people development as part of its ongoing operations in a competitive global technology services environment.

Her departure closes a long chapter in Wipro’s people leadership history, following a career that developed entirely within the organisation and influenced how culture and human resources were managed at scale.