India has been a land of achievers, and history is filled with examples of such great Indian men and women who have proved their worth to the world. From tech giants creating ripples across Silicon Valley to tycoons leading the most prominent global business conglomerates, Indians and Indian-origin people have left their mark everywhere. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc. and Google, is a household name. The Padma Bhushan awardee inspires millions out there, and his journey is one for the books. Let’s look at other Indian-origin people who hold some of the most influential positions in the Corporate World.
Satya Nadella
Satya Narayana Nadella is the executive chairman and CEO of Microsoft, the American multinational technology corporation. He became the CEO in 2014 by succeeding Steve Ballmer, and then in 2021, he was further appointed as the executive chairman of the company. He was born in Hyderabad and completed his schooling at Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet. He then pursued Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology, Karnataka. He went on to study M.S. in computer science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1990 and then later got an MBA from the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business in 1997. He married Anupama in 1992, and together, the couple has two daughters and one son.
He started his career as a member of the technical staff of Sun Microsystems. He joined Microsoft in 1992 and worked on the development of Windows NT. He held several reputable leadership roles in business and enterprises across the company.
Leena Nair
The first woman of colour to head the French ultra-luxury lifestyle brand Chanel Leena Nair hails from the Kolhapur district of Maharashtra. She replaced Alain Wertheimer, who led the company since 2016. Leena Nair began her professional career with Unilever in 1992. She joined the company as a management trainee and donned many hats throughout her time there. From Factory Personnel Manager of Lipton (India) Ltd. to Management Development Planning Manager of Hindustan Lever, she has also served as an Employee Relations Manager of Hindustan Lever. She became the first female, first Asian and youngest-ever chief human resources officer at Unilever in 2016.
She got her early education from the Holy Cross convent school near her hometown. She then pursued electronics engineering from Walchand College of Engineering, Sangli. Finally, she earned her management degree from XLRI Jamshedpur, where she graduated as a gold medallist. Nair is among the lucky survivors of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
Laxman Narasimhan, Starbucks
Laxman Narasimhan took charge as the interim CEO of coffee-making giant Starbucks in 2022, replacing Howard Schultz. He will officially take the position in April 2023. Born in Pune, he earned his mechanical engineering degree from the College of Engineering Pune, Savitribai Phule Pune University. He pursued MA in German and International Studies from The Lauder Institute at The University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania. His professional journey began in McKinsey and he worked there for 19 years. He was promoted to the position of director and location manager for the New Delhi office. He joined PepsiCo in 2012. He served as CEO of the company’s Latin America, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa operations and previously as the CEO of PepsiCo Latin America, and the CFO of PepsiCo Americas Foods. Narasimhan has also served as a member of the UK Prime Minister’s Build Back Better Council and is a member of Verizon’s Board of Directors. He joined Reckitt in 2019 and was the first external candidate to take the helm since its inception in 1999.
Shantanu Narayen
Born in Hyderabad, he is an alumnus of Hyderabad Public School. Narayen wanted to be a journalist, but on his parent’s advice, he pursued engineering. He got his bachelor’s degree in electronics and communication engineering from Osmania University. He then earned a master’s degree in computer science from Bowling Green State University and another master’s degree in business administration from the University of California Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. He was honoured with a doctorate in applied science from his Alma Mater, Bowling Green State University, in 2011.
His career started with Measurex Automation Systems, a startup. He went on to start his own company, Pictra, an early pioneer of digital photo-sharing on the internet, which he eventually decided to sell off. Incidentally, while trying to sell it off to Adobe, he landed a job at the organisation, becoming its vice president of worldwide product research in 1998. He has earned himself the title of ‘Top CEO’ on Glassdoor.
Indra Nooyi
Born in Madras, Indra Nooyi attended the Holy Angels Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School in Chennai. She graduated from Madras Christian College of the University of Madras. She completed her Post Graduate Program Diploma from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta in 1976. After relocating to the US, she earned a master’s degree in public and private management from the Yale School of Management.
She began her career as a product manager for Johnson & Johnson and Mettur Beardsell. She served as a strategy consultant for the Boston Consulting Group for the next six years. She later worked for Motorola Inc. as Vice President and Director of Corporate Strategy and Planning. She became PepsiCo’s senior vice president of corporate strategy and growth in 1994. She was promoted to the position of company president and chief financial officer in 2001. She became the CEO in 2006 and also became chairman of the board. She was the first woman to lead the soft drink and snack food conglomerate.
In 2018 she stepped down as CEO and remained as the company’s chairman until early 2019. She currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Amazon.
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