Over the past few decades, India has emerged as a major power in the tech world. While the country’s tech industry has scaled heights, many persons of Indian origin have also solidified this reputation by taking charge of some of the biggest companies in the tech world. As India turns 75, we take a look at 5 such people of Indian origin, who are leading prestigious tech behemoths and making the country proud.
Sundar Pichai - Alphabet
Sundar Pichai was born in Madurai in Tamil Nadu, and studied metallurgical engineering at IIT Madras for his undergraduate degree. He went on to prestigious institutions like Stanford University, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Pichai joined Google in 2004, where he led product management and innovation teams for products like Chrome, Chrome OS, Google Drive, Gmail, Google Maps. He later took over the Android business from former boss Andy Rubin.
In 2015, he was appointed CEO of Google as founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page moved to parent company Alphabet Inc. In 2019, Pichai took over as CEO of Alphabet as well.
Satya Nadella - Microsoft
Satya Nadella was born in Hyderabad in what is now Telangana. After completing his undergraduate studies from the Manipal Institute of Technology, he went to the US for an MS in computer science, and later an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Nadella joined Microsoft in 1992, where he led projects that included the company’s move to cloud computing, and the development of one of the largest cloud infrastructures in the world, the Azure cloud. In 2011, he was made President of the Server & Tools Division at Microsoft.
In 2014, he took over as the company’s third CEO, following founder Bill Gates and Steve Balmer in the role.
Anjali Sud - Vimeo
Anjali Sud was born in Detroit in the USA to Indian immigrant parents. After studying at prestigious business schools like the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Business School, Sud held positions in finance, media, and e-commerce at companies like Time Warner and Amazon.
She joined Vimeo in 2014 as Head of Global Marketing, later serving as General Manager. In July 2017, Anjali Sud was appointed CEO of Vimeo, at the age of 34.
Under Sud’s leadership, Vimeo pivoted from hosting and investing in original content, to offering software and tools for video creators, and spun off as a public company in May 2021.
Sud has been featured in Fortune’s 40 under 40 business leaders list, and is a designated Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.
Arvind Krishna - IBM
Born in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, Arvind Krishna studied electrical engineering from IIT Kanpur, before earning a PhD in the same from the University of Illinois in the US.
He joined IBM in 1990 at IBM Research, where he was appointed senior vice president in 2015. He later became senior vice president of IBM’s cloud and cognitive software division.
Arvind Krishna led the building and expansion of new markets for IBM like AI, cloud, quantum computing, and blockchain. He was appointed as CEO of IBM in January 2020.
Shantanu Narayen - Adobe
Shantanu Narayen grew up in Hyderabad, and attended Osmania University for his bachelor’s degree in electronics and communication engineering. He further went on to study computer science at the Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and received an MBA from the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley.
After working at Apple in senior managements positions, Narayen joined Adobe in 1998 as senior vice-president of worldwide product development. In 2005, he was appointed president and CEO, a position he has held since.
As CEO, Narayen has overseen the transformation of the company’s media creation suite, including Photoshop and Premiere Pro, from desktop to cloud-based apps. In 2018, with Narayen at the helm, Adobe exceeded $100 billion in market cap and joined the Fortune 400 for the first time.