Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Neal Mohan, Ajay Banga, Jayshree Ullal, Vimal Kapur and numerous others of Indian origin have risen to top leadership roles in major companies around the globe. Over time, the increasing number of Indians helming some of the world's largest corporations highlights the growing influence and excellence of the Indian community. From Sundar Pichai at the helm of Google and Alphabet to Satya Nadella leading Microsoft and Neal Mohan as YouTube's CEO, talented Indian-origin executives are prominent in many multi-billion dollar companies.
The compensation of these high-profile CEOs has always been a topic of significant public interest. Every year, C-Suite Comp releases a list of the top 10 highest-paid CEOs in the US, which often attracts widespread attention. Surprisingly, this year's list did not include two of the most well-known Indian-origin CEOs, Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella.
This omission was unexpected, considering the high regard and recognition both Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella have earned. Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, topped the list as the highest-paid CEO with an estimated annual compensation of $1.4 billion. Other prominent names include Alexander Karp of Palantir Technologies ($1.1 billion), Airbnb's Brian Chesky ($303.5 million), and Oracle's Safra Catz ($304.1 million).
Despite the exclusion of Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella from the highest-paid CEOs list, India still has representation in the form of Nikesh Arora, the CEO of Palo Alto Networks. With an estimated annual compensation of $266.4 million, Nikesh Arora surpassed both Pichai and Nadella to secure his spot on the list. As the leader of Palo Alto Networks, a major player in cybersecurity, Arora has made his mark among the top earners.
For context, Arora earned $151.4 million the previous year, but a significant increase of $115 million propelled him to the 10th spot on C-Suite Comp's list. Hailing from Ghaziabad, India, and with an Army background, Nikesh Arora graduated from IIT (BHU) before going on to work at Google and SoftBank. He now serves as both Chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks, a company with a market capitalization estimated at Rs. 9,558 trillion.
Nikesh Arora is not the only Indian making waves in the corporate world. Yamini Rangan, another high-achieving CEO of Indian origin, has also been in the spotlight since the release of C-Suite Comp's list. Ranked eighth among the top 10 female CEOs in the U.S., Yamini Rangan's estimated annual compensation stands at $2.57 million. She is the only Indian woman on the list, joining other powerful female CEOs like Coty Inc.'s Sue Nabi, Levi Strauss & Co.'s Michelle Gass, Accenture PLC's Julie Sweet, and Citigroup Inc.'s Jane Fraser. Rangan is the CEO of HubSpot, an American software company with a market cap exceeding Rs. 2.11 lakh crore.
