Indian-descent CEOs helm some of the world’s largest companies. These corporate titans lead in terms of market capitalisation and influence. These CEOs often share common traits – many have pursued higher education in the US.
Indian CEOs dominate at top companies. For instance, Microsoft, under CEO Satya Nadella, boasts a market capitalisation of $3.25 trillion, while Sundar Pichai, leading Alphabet (formerly Google), has driven its market cap to $2.05 trillion (as of July 22, 2024).
They are widely recognised as innovators in their fields. The impact of these CEOs extends beyond corporate success – many have also amassed significant personal wealth due to their companies’ achievements. These are the top on our list of Indian-descent CEOs in the US:
Satya Nadella (Microsoft), 56
He has climbed the ranks at Microsoft, now leads a $3.25 trillion tech giant. Born in Hyderabad, he came to the US as a student, earning an MS in computer science from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an MBA from University of Chicago. Nadella replaced billionaire Steve Ballmer as Microsoft CEO in 2014. Nadella’s net worth is estimated at over $1 billion in 2024. In 2016 he oversaw the purchase of the professional network LinkedIn for $26.2 billion.
Sundar Pichai (Alphabet), 52
As CEO of Alphabet (formerly Google), Pichai a renowned figure in the technology world. He grew up in Chennai, India, Completed his Bachelor's degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur), earned a Master's degree in Material Science and Engineering from Stanford University, and graduated with an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He led Google Chrome's development, now heads both Google and Alphabet (market cap: $2.05 trillion). His net worth is estimated at around $1.3 billion as of July 2024.
Vasant Narasimhan (Novartis), 47
Narasimhan, a medical doctor, currently leads Novartis, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. He worked at McKinsey and joined Novartis in 2005. Born in Pittsburgh to parents from Tamil Nadu, India, he earned his degrees from University of Chicago, Harvard Medical School, and the JFK School of Government. Narasimhan reportedly received 13.3 Swiss Francs — or $15.3 million — in total compensation last year. A lifelong vegetarian, Vas lives in Basel, Switzerland, with his wife and two sons.
Shantanu Narayen (Adobe), 61
He joined Adobe in 1998, now chairs and leads the company. He became president and COO in 2005, CEO two years later and chairman of the board in 2017. Under his direction, Adobe became a cloud computing leader. Narayan went to Hyderabad Public School before moving to Osmania University (BE), Bowling Green State University (MS), and the University of California, Berkeley (MBA). He also took up roles at Apple and Silicon Graphics before co-founding an early photo-sharing startup, Pictra. Narayen has an estimated net worth of at least $358 million.
Arvind Krishna (IBM), 62
A 30-year+ IBM veteran, Krishna has been chairman and CEO of IBM since April 2020. He led the $34-billion Red Hat acquisition. Now chairs and leads IBM’s push into cloud computing. Wallmine estimates Krishna's net worth of at least $58.9 million (as of June 8, 2024). He reportedly owns over a number of IBM shares.
Laxman Narasimhan (Starbucks), 57
He is the newly-minted CEO of a major US company. He is a seasoned business leader with nearly three decades of experience guiding global consumer goods businesses. He led PepsiCo in Latin America and was the CEO of Reckitt. He joined Starbucks as interim CEO in October 2022, and succeeded Howard Schultz as CEO in April 2023. Benzinga reports that Narasimhan has an estimated net worth of $49.9 million.
Reshma Kewalramani (Vertex Pharmaceuticals), 51
Dr Kewalramani is physician-scientist and pharma executive who was born and grew up in Mumbai, India. She completed her medical education at Boston University (Summa Cum Laude). She has made significant contributions to medicine, both as a clinician and as a leader in the pharma industry. She has been the president and chief executive officer of Vertex, a biotech company since April 2020, and is the first female CEO of a large US biotech company. Her estimated net worth is at least $93.7 million dollars as of 24 May 2024.
Sanjay Mehrotra (Micron Technology), 66
He co-founded SanDisk, now leads Micron Technology. He earned his Bachelor's degree and Master's degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley. He graduated from the Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Program (SEP) in 2009. He co-founded SanDisk, and was its president and CEO from 2011 until its acquisition by Western Digital in 2016. Mehrotra's net worth is estimated to be at least $140 million dollars as of July 19, 2024.
Anirudh Devgan (Cadence), 54:
He is considered a leader in electronic design automation. Devgan, completed his Bachelor of Technology degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi), and his Master's degree and PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2018 (no information on completion). His net worth is estimated at around $213 million as of July 17, 2024, based on reported shares he holds in Cadence Design Systems Inc.
Nikesh Arora (Palo Alto Networks), 56
Born in Ghaziabad, India, Arora completed his schooling at The Air Force School in India. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the IIT Varanasi, a Master's degree in Finance from Boston College and an MBA from Northeastern University. He became a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) in 1999. Before he became CEO of SoftBank, he worked for Fidelity and Putnam, Deutsche Telekom, and Google. Since he joined Palo Alto Networks in 2018, he has helped significantly increase the company’s stock price.
