From IITs to Ivy Leagues, meet the top Indian-origin executives powering the world’s biggest corporations
Indian-origin leaders are making their mark at the helm of some of the world’s most influential companies. Armed with a combination of Indian academic rigor and international exposure, these CEOs have built global reputations for innovation, leadership, and resilience, reported timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
Sundar Pichai
Born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, and raised in Chennai, Sundar Pichai studied Metallurgical Engineering at IIT Kharagpur, followed by an M.S. from Stanford University and an MBA from Wharton. Now based in California, he has served as CEO of Google since 2015 and Alphabet since 2019.
Satya Nadella
Hailing from Hyderabad, Nadella attended Hyderabad Public School, earned his B.E. from Manipal Institute of Technology, then pursued an M.S. at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and an MBA at Chicago Booth. He is the Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, headquartered in Redmond.
Shantanu Narayen
Also from Hyderabad, Narayen holds a B.E. from Osmania University, an M.S. from Bowling Green State University, and an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas. He became CEO of Adobe in 2007 and Chairman in 2017, based in California.
The academic paths of these nine leaders—from IIT Kharagpur to Wharton and XLRI—reveal how Indian education continues to shape world-class CEOs at the global forefront
Ajay Banga
Born in Pune into a military family, Banga studied Economics at Delhi University and earned an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. Formerly CEO of Mastercard, he became President of the World Bank in June 2023, residing in Washington, D.C.
Arvind Krishna
From Andhra Pradesh, Krishna completed a B.Tech at IIT Kanpur and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from University of Illinois. He joined IBM in 1990 and is now CEO (since 2020) and Chairman (since 2021), living in the New York metro area.
George Kurian
Born in Kottayam, Kerala, Kurian studied at Princeton University (B.S.E.E.) and Stanford University (M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science). He joined NetApp in 2011 and became CEO in 2015, leading the company from Silicon Valley.
Nikesh Arora
Originally from Ghaziabad, he studied at The Air Force School (Subroto Park), earned a B.Tech from IIT-BHU, and pursued an MBA from Boston College and Northeastern University. He’s been the CEO and Chairman of Palo Alto Networks since 2018.
Leena Nair
From Kolhapur, Maharashtra, Nair earned her B.E. in Electronics from Walchand College and a gold-medalist MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur. Formerly CHRO at Unilever, she became CEO of Chanel in 2022, now residing in Paris.
Ravi Kumar S
Mumbai-born Ravi Kumar holds a B.E. from Shivaji University and an MBA from Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar. After leading at Infosys, he was appointed CEO of Cognizant in January 2023, and is currently based in New Jersey.
