Indian towns and cities that gave the world its most powerful CEOs

Indians have time and again proved themselves to be pioneers, be it in the field of science, art, sports and technology. With the progress of the 21st century, this list has gone on to include the business sphere as well. Leaders such as Sundar Pichai, Leena Nair and Satya Nadella have created a footprint in the international market as some of the world’s most powerful changemakers. But where do these leaders come from? Where did they grow up and study? Here is a list of some of the most powerful Indian-origin CEOs and where they come from:

Leena Nair of Chanel - Kolhapur, Maharashtra

Leena Nair was born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. She completed her initial schooling in the state until she moved to Jharkhand to pursue an MBA. Her rise to fame included a three-decade-long stint with Unilever, where she became the first female Executive Officer. In 2021, she wrote history once again, as she became the first female CEO of Indian origin of luxury fashion brand Chanel. She is also the youngest CEO the company has ever appointed.

Parag Agrawal of Twitter - Mumbai, Maharashtra

At 37, Parag Agrawal has become the youngest CEO to lead an S&P 500 company. He took over as the CEO of Twitter after Jack Dorsey in December 2021. Agrawal is a Mumbaikar by origin with an education from IIT Bombay. He contributed to research at companies like Microsoft, Yahoo!, and AT&T Labs, before joining Twitter in 2011.

Shantanu Narayen of Adobe Inc - Hyderabad, Telangana

Shantanu Narayen of Hyderabad became the CEO of Adobe Inc—a California-based software company catering to about 12 million users across the world—in 2007. He holds a degree from Osmania University in Hyderabad, and also from Haas School of Business, University of California in Berkeley. Despite having left the country over 30 years ago, he continues to contribute to India’s digital literacy by providing free Adobe software to underprivileged students.

Sundar Pichai of Alphabet Inc - Chennai, Tamil Nadu

The son of an electrical engineer and a stenographer, Pichai Sundararajan was born and raised in a middle-class family in Chennai. He earned his degree from IIT Kharagpur, where he also met the love of his life, Anjali. Pichai became the CEO at Alphabet Inc and its subsidiary Google in 2019, but before that, he was also considered for the position at Microsoft in 2014.

Sanjay Mehrotra of Micron Technology Inc - Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh

Sanjay Mehrotra is the CEO of Micron Technology Inc in the US, but his roots lie in Kanpur. The pursuit of education took him to the University of California in Berkeley, and in 1988, he co-founded SanDisk in California. After serving as its CEO till 2016, he transitioned into the same position at Micron Inc, where he is leading till date.

Punit Renjen of Deloitte - Rohtak, Haryana

Punit Renjen is currently heading Deloitte—one of the Big Four service firms headquartered in England—from his home in Portland, Oregon. Renjen is originally from Rohtak in Haryana, where he grew up until leaving for a master’s degree at Willamette University in Salem. In 2015, he became the first person of Asian origin to lead Deloitte.

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