Top Indian CEOs Heading Major Corporations

Indian executives are making waves in global business, leading some of the world’s largest companies in the technology, pharmaceutical, and luxury fashion industries. At the helm of heavyweights such as Google and Microsoft, these leaders are shaping future innovations, driving trillion-dollar businesses, and often amassing large fortunes.

For example, Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora received over $150 million in compensation in 2023, making him one of the world’s highest-paid chief executives.

Many of these CEOs have backgrounds in engineering or business and have built their careers at multinational firms, climbing the corporate ladder before taking the top job. Here’s a look at 10 of the most prominent Indian CEOs, their journeys, and how they’re driving their companies forward.

1. Satya Nadella

Chairperson and CEO, Microsoft (MSFT)

Born in Hyderabad, India, Satya Nadella has led Microsoft as CEO since 2014, transforming it into a leader in cloud computing and AI.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Mangalore University, a master’s in computer science from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Under Nadella’s leadership, Microsoft has significantly expanded its artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services. In January 2025, Nadella announced a plan to invest $3 billion in India’s cloud and AI infrastructure industries over the next two years.

Nadella’s tenure has also been marked by key acquisitions, including LinkedIn and Activision Blizzard.

As of February 2025, Microsoft’s market capitalization was roughly $3.1 trillion, making it the third-largest company in the world by that measure.

2. Sundar Pichai

CEO, Google and Alphabet (GOOGL)

Sundar Pichai became the CEO of Google in 2015 and took on the role of CEO for Alphabet, Google’s parent company, in 2019.

He grew up in Chennai, India, and studied engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology before receiving a master’s degree from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

Pichai has spearheaded major advancements in AI, cloud computing, and hardware, helping Alphabet amass a market capitalization of nearly $2.27 trillion as of February 2025.

3. Vasant Narasimhan

CEO, Novartis AG (NVS)

Vasant Narasimhan took over as CEO of Novartis, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, in 2018.

Originally from Pittsburgh, Narasimhan attended the University of Chicago and Harvard Medical School. He’s also worked on public health issues such as malaria and tuberculosis in India, Africa, and South America.

Since joining Novartis in 2005, Narasimhan has focused the company’s efforts on key therapeutic areas and technologies such as siRNA, radioligand, and gene and cell therapies. The Switzerland-based company had a market capitalization of over $213 billion in February 2005.

4. Shantanu Narayen

Chairperson and CEO, Adobe (ADBE)

Shantanu Narayen has led Adobe as president and CEO since 2005, CEO since 2007, and chairperson of the board since 2017.

Along the way, he has transformed the company into a leader in software and cloud-based creative tools. Under Narayen’s direction, Adobe shifted to a subscription-based model that helped fuel record revenue figures.

Thanks to its dominance in digital creative tools, Adobe’s market capitalization was close to $197 billion in February 2025.

5. Arvind Krishna

Chairperson and CEO, IBM (IBM)

Arvind Krishna has spent over three decades at IBM, becoming CEO in April 2020 and board chair in 2021. He has guided IBM’s push into cloud computing and AI and led the company through its $34 billion acquisition of software company Red Hat.

Krishna received his undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In February 2025, IBM’s market capitalization stood at $244 billion.

6. Leena Nair

CEO, Chanel

Born in Kolhapur, India, Leena Nair became Global CEO of privately-held Chanel in January 2022.

She earned an engineering degree from Walchand College of Engineering and an MBA from XLRI–Xavier School of Management. Before joining Chanel, Nair spent over three decades at Unilever, eventually becoming its first female and youngest-ever chief human resources officer.

Chanel posted revenues of $19.7 billion in 2023, up 22% from one year prior.

7. Reshma Kewalramani

CEO and President, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX)

Reshma Kewalramani took on the position of CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in 2020. She was one of the first female chief executives of a major U.S. biotechnology company.

Originally from Mumbai, Kewalramani came to the U.S. with her family from India at 11. She earned her undergraduate and medical degrees from the Boston University School of Medicine.

Under Kewalramani, Vertex Pharmaceuticals approved a CRISPR-based, gene-edited therapy that applies to some patients with sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia.

The company also deepened its research and development pipeline in other cell and gene therapies as well as areas such as renal disease, pain, Type 1 diabetes, mRNA, and more. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a market capitalization of almost $124 billion in February 2025.

8. Sanjay Mehrotra

CEO, Micron Technology (MU)

Born in Kanpur, Sanjay Mehrotra has led Micron Technology since 2017. He previously led computer technology company SanDisk until its sale to Western Digital in 2016.

Mehrotra is a driving force for breakthroughs in computing architecture and artificial intelligence technologies at Micron as the company seeks new memory and storage opportunities.

He has over 70 patents, including some that provided the foundation for high-capacity flash memory.

Mehrotra holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkeley, and he completed the Stanford Graduate School of Business executive program.

With a market capitalization of approximately $113 billion in February 2025, Micron is among the top 15 largest players in the semiconductor industry.

9. Anirudh Devgan

President and CEO, Cadence (CDNS)

Anirudh Devgan became CEO of Cadence Design Systems in 2021. Before joining Cadence in 2012, he worked at Magma Design Automation and IBM.

With Devgan’s guidance, Cadence’s computational software and hardware portfolio has grown into new markets. In addition, the company has booked record revenue growth for a number of years. He is a leading authority in electronic design automation (EDA) and spearheaded the application of massively parallel and distributed architectures. He holds 27 patents.

Devgan studied electrical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and earned a master’s and Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.

Cadence had a market capitalization of more than $74 billion in February 2025.

10. Nikesh Arora

Chairperson and CEO, Palo Alto Networks (PANW)

Born in Uttar Pradesh, Nikesh Arora has been the board chair and CEO of Palo Alto Networks since 2018.

Before joining the cybersecurity giant, he held executive roles at Google and SoftBank, where he was one of the world’s highest-paid executives. In 2023, Arora received over $151 million in total compensation from Palo Alto Networks.

Arora studied electrical engineering at the Institute of Technology at Banaras Hindu University, received an M.S. from Northeastern University in Business Administration, and an M.S. in Finance from Boston College.

In February 2025, Palo Alto Networks had a market capitalization of more than $129 billion.

The Bottom Line

Indian CEOs head some of the largest and most influential companies in the world. Their leadership is driving advancements in artificial intelligence, software, healthcare, and more. Their influence is evident at giants such as Microsoft, where Satya Nadella has powered cloud-computing growth, and Alphabet, where Sundar Pichai has pushed AI development. Innovative leaders such as Leena Nair at Chanel and Reshma Kewalramani at Vertex Pharmaceuticals have steered groundbreaking results in industries beyond the tech sector.