Indian people are currently heading some of the world's most successful IT companies. A wide range of corporations, from Vimeo to Nokia to tech giants like Google and Microsoft, admit CEOs of Indian origins have really upped their game. And there are many interesting and tricky stories behind the scenes that can inspire you. Let’s dive into them!
Sundar Pichai is probably the most famous Indian-American business executive who currently “rules” Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company. He is the CEO of the company that boasts a revenue of $257.5B.
Pichai was born in Chennai, India, and grew up in a middle-class family where the father was an electrical engineer. So, no wonder Pichai earned a Bachelor of Technology degree in metallurgical engineering and then a Master of Science degree in material sciences and engineering.
Yet, his IT story began when Pichai joined Google in 2004 as a product manager, where he led the development of the Google Chrome web browser and the Chrome OS. With that, he also worked on other well-known products such as Google Drive, Google Maps, and Gmail. Almost ten years later, in 2013, Pichai became the senior vice president of Android, Chrome, and Apps at Google. After a while, he was promoted to CEO of Google (in 2015). In 2019, Pichai became the CEO of Alphabet Inc. An excellent career, indeed!
Satya Nadella is another prominent Indian-American business executive who heads the Microsoft Corporation. Nadella was born on August 19, 1967, in Hyderabad, India, in a family of engineers (his father was a civil servant). Nadella earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering, a Master of Science degree in Computer Science, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Nadella began his career at Sun Microsystems and joined Microsoft in 1992, where he worked on developing Windows NT, the company's flagship OS for business use. Over the years, he held various leadership roles within Microsoft, including senior vice president of research and development for the company's online services division and the executive vice president of Microsoft's Cloud and Enterprise group. In February 2014, Nadella was named the CEO of Microsoft. And in 2020, Nadella was included in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Jayshree Ullal is a well-known Indian-American business executive who is widely recognized for her contributions to the technology industry. She is the President and CEO of Arista Networks, a leading provider of cloud networking solutions, which she co-founded in 2008. Before joining Arista Networks, Ullal spent 15 years at Cisco Systems, where she held various leadership positions, including Senior Vice President of the Data Center, Switching, and Security Technology Group. During her time at Cisco, Ullal played a key role in boosting the company's growth and innovation, helping to transform it into a global technology powerhouse.
Ullal has also been widely recognized for her contributions to the technology industry - she was named to Fortune's list of the "Top 20 Most Powerful Women in Business" and Forbes' list of the "World's 100 Most Powerful Women." Ullal is a strong advocate for women in technology, and she actively supports diversity and inclusion in the IT industry.
Shantanu Narayen is an Indian business executive who is holding the position of CEO of Adobe Inc. Narayen was born in Hyderabad. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in electronics and communication engineering from Osmania University in India, he moved to the US, where he earned a Master of Science degree in computer science.
Narayen began his career at Apple Inc., where he worked on the development of the first laser printer for the company. He later joined Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) and held various leadership roles at the company (including vice president and general manager). Narayen joined Adobe in 1998 as senior vice president of worldwide product research and became CEO in 2007. In 2020, he entered Forbes' list of America's Most Innovative Leaders.
Anjali Sud is one more businesswoman of Indian origin who currently holds the position of CEO at Vimeo, a leading online video platform. Sud joined Vimeo in 2014 as the Head of Marketing and later served as General Manager and Senior Vice President of the Creator Platform. She was appointed Vimeo's CEO in 2017, becoming one of the youngest female CEOs in the technology industry.
Under Sud's leadership, Vimeo has continued to expand its platform and services, catering to the most ambitious needs of video creators and businesses. She has also launched the initiatives such as diversity and inclusion and mental health support for employees.
Sud is an advocate for women's empowerment and gender equality.
Arvind Krishna is another successful business executive, currently CEO of IBM Corporation. Krishna was born in 1962 in India and grew up in the Indian state of Karnataka. Krishna joined IBM in 1990 and has held various leadership roles at the company over the years.
In April 2020, Krishna was named CEO of the company. Krishna is widely recognized for his contributions to the technology industry and has been awarded more than 15 patents. Krishna is also a philanthropist who is making significant donations to education and healthcare causes in India.
Sanjay Mehrotra is a very influential businessman who holds the position of the president and CEO of Micron Technology, Inc., a global leader in the semiconductor industry. He was born in Delhi, India, and completed his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in Delhi as well.
Mehrotra began his career at Intel Corporation as a developer of non-volatile memory technologies. In 1988, he swapped his job place for SanDisk Corporation, a company that pioneered the development of flash memory technology. At SanDisk, Mehrotra served in various roles, including CEO. In 2017, Mehrotra was promoted to the president and CEO of Micron Technology. He is also actively involved in philanthropic and community initiatives, supporting education and healthcare sectors in India and the US.
Thomas Kurian is one more famous Indian-American businessman who is currently leading the Google Cloud. Kurian was born in Kerala, India, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. He joined Oracle Corporation in 1996 and boasted various leadership roles at the company, including executive vice president and president of product development. In 2018, Kurian joined Google Cloud as CEO.
He is also known for his philanthropic work and has been involved with several non-profit organizations focused on education and healthcare.
Ajay Banga is the CEO of Mastercard. He was born in Pune, India, in 1959 and earned his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Banga joined Mastercard in 2009 (he became the CEO in 2010) and has immediately focused on expanding the company's presence in emerging markets, particularly in Asia.
Before Mastercard, Banga worked for Nestle India in 1981 and held different leadership positions, including CEO at PepsiCo, where he spent 13 years.
Banga is widely recognized for his contributions to the business world. He has even been named one of the "World's Greatest Leaders" by Fortune magazine in 2018 and one of the "100 Most Powerful People" by Forbes in 2020. He is also a member of the US-India CEO Forum and serves as the Chair of the US-India Business Council.
Revathi Advaithi is another Indian businesswoman who is the president and CEO of Flex Ltd. (a global manufacturing and supply chain solutions company). She has over 30 years of experience in the manufacturing industry, having held various leadership roles at companies such as GE, Honeywell, and Eaton. Before joining Flex in 2019, she worked as the CEO of Eaton's electrical sector.
Now, as the CEO of Flex, Advaithi focuses on driving innovation and digitalization across the company's operations, emphasizing the importance of data analytics, automation, and artificial intelligence. She also prioritizes sustainability and social responsibility, setting ambitious goals for the company to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.
Yamini Rangan closes the list of the most influential Indian businesswomen. She managed to achieve the position of Chief Customer Officer (CCO) at HubSpot, a leading marketing, sales, and customer service platform. Rangan has over 20 years of experience in the technology industry and has already held some serious positions at such companies as SAP, Workday, and Dropbox. She joined HubSpot in 2018 as the Chief Customer Officer, where she is now responsible for the company's customer-facing teams, including sales, marketing, and customer service.
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Summing It All Up
As you see, gender, origin, and background don’t matter in most cases. It’s your skills and desire that can set you up above the competition. The majority of the aforementioned business CEOs began with little or nothing and undergone through numerous challenges in building their career. So, “impossible is nothing” if you really put effort into it. And you may get closer to your dream by starting to code with CodeGym. Who knows, probably, after a while, you’ll have all the chances to top our next list of the most well-known Indian CEOs.![Top 11 of FamousTech CEOs of Indian Origin: From Google and Microsoft to Adobe, Mastercard, and more - 12](https://cdn.codegym.cc/images/article/aa6b23a4-3248-4915-9546-b99295783dc7/original.png)