A CEO or Chief Operating Officer is a person who is accountable for every aspect of an organization: be it sales & marketing, human resource, production or daily operations. On some aspects of management, the accountability of a CEO is much more than the Founder himself.
A CEO of a large corporation is usually hired after deliberating several conditions and pointers; example his previous track record, his association with the business, his overall social status and his business acumen. If we are being brutally honest here, then the person’s nationality also matters, especially in those corporations where nationals from developed countries hold maximum control. It becomes quite a feat when a citizen from a developing country is chosen instead of a national from a developed country.
Considering these factors, it is indeed a matter of great pride and respect that right now, there are several Indians who have been hired as CEO of multi-billion dollar corporations having thousands of employees.
Here, we present before you 8 India-born CEOs who are currently heading corporations having collective revenues of $300 billion+ annually.
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Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google [$66 billion revenues in 2014]
Sundar Pichai’s meteoritic rise in Google has been propelled by his hard work, dedication and powerful business acumen. Last year, when he became Senior Vice President of Chrome, Android and Apps, we had shared how did he become the most powerful Indian inside Google. After a recent restructuring at Google, he was named the new CEO of the most powerful Internet company in the world.
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft [$86 billion revenues in 2014]
Last year in the month of February, Microsoft chose Satya Nadella to replace Stephen Ballmer as their new CEO. Known as Mr. Nice Guy, Satya Nadella was earlier heading the Cloud and Enterprise Division which churned out $20.1 billion of revenue in 2013, making it one of the most profitable businesses for Microsoft. Although he is Mr. Nice, but he is not afraid of taking some bold decisions. For example, firing of 18,000 employees within 5 months of becoming CEO of world’s largest software company (their stocks reached new heights after this mass firing of 18000 employees)
Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo [$67 billion revenues in 2014]
Being an Indian women, heading a 117 year old company, which is world’s second largest food and beverages company is no mean feat. Indra is the only women in our list, who has achieved something which 99% of Indian women can only dream of. In 2006, when she became CEO of Pepsi, she was the first woman ever to head this giant corporation. She was the first to introduce healthy products under Pepsi’s portfolio, and changed several things for good. In May this year, she was rightfully included into Forbes list of 100 most powerful women on Earth.
Ivan Menezes, CEO of Diageo [$21 billion revenues in 2014]
Pune born Ivan has been heading Diageo as CEO since 2013. Having 36,000 employees and annual revenues of $21 billion, Diageo is world’s largest producer of spirits. Ivan joined Diageo in 1997, and before becoming the CEO, he worked in several positions such as: Chief Operating Officer; Chairman, Latin America & the Caribbean; Chairman, Asia Pacific; President and CEO, Diageo North America; and Chief Operating Officer, Diageo North America.
Rakesh Kapoor, CEO of Reckitt Benckiser [$13.75 billion revenues in 2014]
With 36,000 employees and annual revenues of $13.7 billion, Reckitt Benckiser is world’s leading producer of health, hygiene and home products. Rakesh joined Reckitt Benckiser in 1987, and worked in positions such as Regional Sales Manager, North India; General Manager, Indian Southern Region; and Regional Marketing Director, South Asia. He became CEO of this company in 2011.
Rajeev Suri, CEO of Nokia [$14.14 billion revenues in 2014]
A passout of Manipal, Rajeev Suri became the CEO of $25 billion worth Nokia in 2009, when Nokia and Siemens merged to form a giant corporation. He is known as the ‘turnaround specialist’, as he was instrumental in tripling the revenues of Nokia Siemens Networks’ Services. After Microsoft acquired Nokia, Rajeev was reinstated as the CEO of Nokia, and under his leadership, the company is planning some big ‘turnarounds’.
Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of ArcelorMittal [$79.26 billion revenues in 2014]
Although Lakshmi Mittal is the founder of ArcelorMittal, a $100 billion behemoth; he is also the current chairman and CEO of the corporation, which makes him eligible to be listed here. Considering that he is the CEO, he is accountable for all operations, profit and loss of the organization. ArcelorMittal is right now world’s largest steel producer and ranked 91st among Fortune 500 companies.
In the past, Indians have been chosen as CEOs of other large corporations such as Citigroup, Vodafone, Motorola and Deutsche Bank. In future, Nikesh Arora, who is President of Japanese telecom major and Venture capital firm Soft Bank, will very soon succeed as CEO of the firm.
No wonder, Time magazine has declared CEOs as being India’s leading export; and have said that India can be “the ideal training ground for global bosses”.
