The list of Indian-origin CEOs of major global companies appears to be only expanding. Several major companies, including Big Tech Alphabet and Microsoft, have an Indian name on the captain’s deck.
Some of the top Indian-origin CEOs leading the world are:
- Neel Mohan - CEO of YouTube
- Sundar Pichai - CEO of Google and Alphabet
- Satya Nadella - CEO of Microsoft
- Leena Nair - CEO of Channel
- Arvind Krishna - CEO of IBM
- Laxman Narasimhan - CEO of Starbucks
- Amrapali 'Ami' Gan - CEO of OnlyFans
- Shantanu Narayen - CEO of Adobe Systems
- Sanjay Mehrotra - CEO of Micron Technology
- Sanjay Jha - CEO of Motorola
- Rajeev Suri - CEO of Inmarsat
- George Kurian - CEO of NetApp
- Revathi Advaithi - CEO of Flextronics
- Ravi Kumas S - CEO of Cognizant
- Nikesh Arora - CEO of Palo Alto Networks
- Anjali Sud - CEO of Vimeo LLC
- Jayshree Ullal - CEO of Arista Networks
- Rangarajan Raghuram - CEO of VMware
Let's start with a few around the globe -
Neel Mohan - CEO of YouTube
Indian-American Neal Mohan replaced Susan Wojcicki as the new CEO of YouTube on February 16, 2023. Wojcicki, who headed the Google-owned video-sharing platform for nine years and was one of its earliest employees, announced her departure the same day.
Mohan graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1996. He later earned an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. At the business school, he was an Arjay Miller Scholar – an award given to the highest 10 percent of the graduating MBA class.
Sunder Pichai - CEO of Google & Alphabet
Pichai Sundararajan, also known as Sunder Pichai, was born in Tamil Nadu, India. He earned a degree from IIT Kharagpur in metallurgical engineering and is a distinguished alumnus of that institution.
He holds an M.S. from Stanford University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where he was named a Siebel Scholar and a Palmer Scholar.
In 2019, he was named the CEO of Google’s parent company Alphabet. Pichai, one of the most successful Indian-origin CEOs of any foreign company, has appeared on Time’s 100 Most Influential People in 2016 and 2020.
Satya Nadella - CEO of Microsoft
Hyderabad-born Satya Nadella has completed his B.E. from the Manipal Institute of Technology, an MS from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
In 1992, Nadella joined Microsoft. He served as Executive Vice President of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise Group. Nadella gave a new direction to the Redmond-headquartered company and transformed it into a modern-day giant.
He became the CEO of Microsoft succeeding Steve Ballmer in 2014. He also succeeded John W. Thompson and was named the Chairman of Microsoft in 2021.
Leena Nair - CEO of Chanel
French luxury group Chanel named Leena Nair as its global CEO. Nair, a veteran in the FMCG sector, was the first female and youngest-ever Chief Human Resources Officer of Unilever — a group she worked with for 30 years since starting as a trainee on the factory floor.
Born on June 11, 1969, in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, Leena Nair was an Electronics Engineering student at Walchand College of Engineering. After graduation, Leena went to XLRI Jamshedpur from where she came out as a gold medallist.
Nair joined the Anglo-Dutch company Unilever and was notably appointed as the Chief Human Resource Officer of the firm in 2016. She was recognized as the youngest, the first female and the first Asian ever to achieve the feat.
Arvind Krishna - CEO of IBM
Arvind Krishna, 60, became the chief executive officer of IBM and a member of the Board of Directors in April 2020. He was elected chairman of the Board of Directors in December 2020.
Krishna was born in Dehradun, India. He completed his schooling at St Joseph's Academy, Dehradun, and the Stanes School, Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. He then received a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 1985 and eventually got a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering.
Laxman Narasimhan - CEO of Starbucks
Laxman holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the College of Engineering, University of Pune, an M.A. degree in German and International Studies from The Lauder Institute, and an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania.
He joined Starbucks under the title "interim CEO" in October 2022 and following the transition will succeed interim CEO Howard Schultz on April 1, 2023.
