A wave of Indian-origin executives is leading some of the world’s most influential technology companies, influencing the global digital landscape from Silicon Valley and beyond. Below are notable leaders who have made significant contributions to the industry and are making their mark on the tech world.
Sundar Pichai
Madurai-born Sundar Pichai became the CEO of Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, in 2019, having served as Google’s CEO since 2014. Over his 20-year career at Google, Pichai has led key businesses including Android, Chrome, and Maps. He holds a BTech from IIT Kharagpur, an MS from Stanford University, and an MBA from Wharton.
Satya Nadella
Satya Nadella took over as Microsoft’s CEO in February 2014, succeeding Steve Ballmer. Nadella joined Microsoft in 1992 and has a background in engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology, an MS from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Steve Sanghi
Steve Sanghi became the executive chairman of Microchip in March 2021. He was previously the CEO since 1991 and chairman of the board since 1993. Before Microchip, Sanghi worked at Waferscale Integration Inc. and Intel Corporation. He holds an MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Massachusetts and a BS in Electronics and Communication from Punjab University, India.
Nikesh Arora
Nikesh Arora joined Palo Alto Networks as CEO in 2018. He has held significant positions at Google and SoftBank. Arora has a bachelor’s degree from the Institute of Technology at Banaras Hindu University, an MBA from Northeastern University, and an MS from Boston College.
Shantanu Narayen
Shantanu Narayen has been with Adobe since 1998, becoming CEO in 2007. Prior to Adobe, he worked at Apple and Silicon Graphics. Narayen holds a BS from Osmania University, an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MS from Bowling Green State University.
Arvind Krishna
Arvind Krishna became IBM’s CEO in April 2020 after more than 30 years with the company, where he has held several senior positions. Krishna earned a bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and a PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Sanjay Mehrotra
Sanjay Mehrotra is the president and CEO of Micron Technology. He co-founded SanDisk and has worked at Integrated Device Technology, SEEQ Technology, and Intel. Mehrotra holds over 70 patents and has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of California, Berkeley.
Anirudh Devgan
Anirudh Devgan is the president and CEO of Cadence Design Systems, a role he assumed in 2021 after serving as president since 2017. Before joining Cadence, he was the executive vice president and general manager of the Digital & Signoff and System Verification groups. Devgan holds a BTech in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and MS and PhD degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
George Kurian
George Kurian is the CEO and president of NetApp, a storage and data management company, a position he has held since 2015. Kurian previously worked at Cisco Systems, Akamai Technologies, and McKinsey & Company. Originally from Kerala, he began a BTech course at IIT-Madras before transferring to Princeton University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and an MBA from Stanford University.
Jayashree Ullal
Jayashree Ullal has been the president and CEO of Arista Networks, a cloud networking company, since 2008. She completed her BS in electrical engineering from San Francisco State University and her master’s in engineering management from Santa Clara University.
