According to a study conducted by the University of Southern New Hampshire, Indian managers are more successful and most preferred by international companies due to "a paradoxical blend of genuine personal humility and intense professional will".
Sundar Pichai - Google
This seems to have worked out really well for Sundar Pichai, who was most recently appointed as the CEO of restructured Google. Chennai-born, 43-year-old, Sundar Pichai will take charge as the new CEO of slimmed Google in the context of Google founders creating a parent company ‘Alphabet’. This has become great news for Pichai and good news too for India, as he becomes latest Indian to take over high-profile job in the US technology industry. Many top companies around the world are now helmed by CEOs of Indian origin. Here is a look at some of them.
Also read: Google Names New India-Born CEO
Satya Nadella - Microsoft
Born in Hyderabad to a Telugu family, Satya Nadella was the son of an IAS officer. Nadella completed hid degree in electrical engineering from the Manipal University and left to US for MS and MBA. Nadella entered Bill Gates’ Microsoft in 1992 and was named as the head of Microsoft in February 2014.
"I am... defined by my curiosity and thirst for learning," Satya Nadella told staff after joining. "I buy more books than I can finish. I sign up for more online courses than I can complete.”
Announcing Satya Nadella’s new role, Bill Gates, Microsoft’s Founder and Member of the Board of Directors, said, “During this time of transformation, there is no better person to lead Microsoft than Satya Nadella.”
Ajay Banga - Mastercard
Ajay Banga from Pune took over as the CEO of the credit card company, Mastercard, in July 2010. Banga began his career in 1981 at Nestle. He also worked for PepsiCo. In a speech he outlined his ‘grand plan’ at the beginning of his career.
"Get with somebody good. Get with somebody global. Do something that interested me. That's it. So, don't stress if you haven't got a detailed plan for your life. Anyone can have a good idea or plan; what makes it great is execution," Banga said.
Indira Nooyi - PepsiCo
Last year, Fortune magazine named Indira Nooyi as the third most powerful women in business. The Chennai born lady was named in 2006 as the CEO of PepsiCo in which she joined in 1994. Forbes says that the company, in Nooyi’s leadership, is “winning the soda wars in the market: Its stock raced past rival Coca-Cola’s last year, returning 17% to Coke’s meager 5%.”
Indira Nooyi said in an interview that, growing up outside US has benefitted her, as she could understand exactly how the world works and see the world through the eyes of people from outside the US.
Shantanu Narayen - Adobe Systems
Hyderabad native Shantanu Narayen has run Adobe Systems since December 2007. Narayen who began his career with Apple said in the interview that Hyderabad's schools helped him to progress as they were modelled on the British public school system.
In an interview in February, Narayen said of Silicon Valley that there is an Indian community that is vibrant and thriving. "We attribute a lot of that to the importance of education that we all grew up with."
The names mentioned above are few of many Indians who took over executive positions at various top companies globally.
-Sumana
