From Shah to Nadella: Indian-origin CEOs running some of the world’s biggest companies

Indian-origin executives are at the helm of several of the world's largest corporations, a trend highlighted by recent appointments. The list includes Sundar Pichai at Alphabet and Google, Satya Nadella at Microsoft, and Parag Agrawal at Twitter, among others.

Other notable Indian-origin CEOs include Arvind Krishna at IBM, Shantanu Narayen at Adobe, and Rajeev Suri at Nokia. In the financial sector, Vikram Pandit formerly led Citigroup, while Indra Nooyi served as CEO of PepsiCo.

The rise of Indian-origin leaders spans technology, finance, and consumer goods, with many holding engineering degrees from Indian institutes before pursuing advanced degrees abroad. This trend underscores the global impact of the Indian diaspora in corporate leadership.

Recent appointments include Laxman Narasimhan as CEO of Starbucks and Nikesh Arora as CEO of Palo Alto Networks. The growing number of Indian-origin CEOs reflects a broader shift toward diversity in top executive roles worldwide.