Sabih Khan Joins the Club: Meet Indian-origin executives powering the world's biggest companies

Sabih Khan is the latest name to join the ever-growing club of Indian-origin executives leading global companies. On July 8, 2025, the tech giant announced that Khan will replace Jeff Williams as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) as part of a long-planned succession.

"Sabih is a brilliant strategist who has been one of the central architects of Apple's supply chain," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, in a press release. "While overseeing Apple's supply chain, he has helped pioneer new technologies in advanced manufacturing, overseen the expansion of Apple's manufacturing footprint in the United States, and helped ensure that Apple can be nimble in response to global challenges. He has advanced our ambitious efforts in environmental sustainability, helping to reduce Apple's carbon footprint by more than 60 percent. Above all, Sabih leads with his heart and his values, and I know he will make an exceptional chief operating officer."

According to The Indian Express, Khan holds a dual bachelor's degree in economics and mechanical engineering from Tufts University in the US, as well as a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He joined the Cupertino-headquartered company in 1995 after working at GE Plastics. He has been at Apple for 30 years and joined the executive team as Senior Vice President of Operations in 2019. His work for Apple's global supply chain, especially during the challenging years of the COVID-19 pandemic, is highly regarded. He is credited with transforming the process and is responsible for overseeing planning, procurement, manufacturing, logistics, and product fulfilment functions, as well as partnering with suppliers to propel green manufacturing.

Khan was born in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, but his family moved to Singapore when he was in school. The 58-year-old executive is also part of the exclusive club of Indian-origin executives who come from small towns in India and are now conquering the tallest peaks of the corporate sector. Here's a look at some other Indian-origin executives who come from small towns in India but are leading global companies.

Ajay Banga, President, World Bank Group; Born in Khadki, Pune, Maharashtra

Ajay Banga made history in May 2023 when he was elected president of the World Bank, following his nomination by US President Joe Biden. He is the first Indian-born executive to hold this prestigious role in the bank’s history.

Born in Khadki, Pune, Banga is an alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad. With over three decades of experience in finance and economics, he has held leadership roles including CEO of Mastercard and served as an advisor to diverse organizations such as the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods, and Dow Inc.

Ajit Jain, Vice Chairman, Insurance Operations, Berkshire Hathaway; Born in Sundargarh, Odisha

Ajit Jain has been part of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway for nearly four decades. He began his career at IBM in 1972 as an engineer and salesman. A mechanical engineer from IIT-Kharagpur, Jain later earned an MBA from Harvard University and worked at McKinsey & Co from 1978 to 1986.

In 1986, Jain joined Berkshire Hathaway's National Indemnity Co., marking the start of his long journey with the conglomerate. He is the older cousin of Anshu Jain, the former Co-CEO of Deutsche Bank. In 2009, Jain was appointed CEO of Berkshire Hathaway's reinsurance business.

"Under Ajit, our insurance operation has blossomed from an obscure Omaha-based company into a world leader, renowned for both its taste for risk and its Gibraltar-like financial strength," wrote Warren Buffett in his 2025 shareholder letter.

Arvind Krishna, CEO, IBM; Born in West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh

In January 2020, Arvind Krishna began his tenure as CEO of IBM, succeeding longtime chief Virginia "Ginni" Rometty. With over three decades at IBM, Krishna played a key role in transforming it from a hardware-focused company into a leader in artificial intelligence, cloud, quantum computing, and blockchain technologies.

One of the milestones of his career was leading IBM’s $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat, a pivotal move that strengthened the company's hybrid cloud strategy. Born in West Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh, Krishna is an alumnus of IIT-Kanpur and earned a PhD in Philosophy of Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois in 1991.

He joined IBM in 1990 at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center and steadily climbed the ranks, holding several influential roles that shaped IBM's future direction.

Devika Bulchandani, Global CEO, Ogilvy; Born in Amritsar, Punjab

Devika Bulchandani was appointed Global Chief Executive Officer of Ogilvy & Mather in September 2022, becoming the first woman of colour to lead the global agency network.

Born in Amritsar, Punjab, Bulchandani began her career in advertising in 1995. Prior to joining Ogilvy, she spent 26 years at McCann, where she held several leadership roles, including President of McCann North America.

She is widely recognized for spearheading the 2017 'Fearless Girl' campaign, which placed a bronze statue of a young girl facing Wall Street’s charging bull. The statue became a global symbol of women's empowerment and one of the most awarded campaigns in the history of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Laxman Narasimhan, Former CEO, Starbucks and Reckitt; Born in Pune, Maharashtra

Narasimhan joined global coffee giant Starbucks in October 2022 and became its CEO in March 2023. He also served on the company's Board of Directors. Under his leadership, he helped improve the company's partner experience and led supply chain innovations that enhanced store operations. He stepped down from the role in August 2024.

Before Starbucks, Narasimhan held leadership positions at McKinsey & Co., PepsiCo, and Reckitt. He earned a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering from the College of Engineering, Pune, and holds a Master's in German and International Studies from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. He also pursued an MBA in Finance at the Wharton School.

Leena Nair, CEO, Chanel; Kolhapur, Maharashtra

Leena Nair, now the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, became Chanel's first female and Indian-origin CEO in December 2021. Born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, Nair holds a Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Telecommunication. She earned her MBA from XLRI as a gold medalist.

She began her career at Hindustan Unilever as a summer intern in 1992 and left in 2021 as the first female, first Asian, and youngest-ever chief human resources officer. Nair, who joined the French couture-and-beauty icon during a time of transition following Karl Lagerfeld's death in 2019, is tasked with extending the luxury label's long-running success while modernising its structures and storytelling.

Neal Mohan, CEO, YouTube; Born in the US, raised in Lucknow, UP

Neal Mohan joined Google when the tech giant acquired DoubleClick in 2007. Before that, he served as a senior analyst at Accenture. At Google, Mohan rose through the ranks to become the senior VP of display and video ads. He became YouTube's Chief Product Officer in 2015. And later, in 2023, he succeeded Susan Wojcicki as the CEO.

Mohan was born in Lafayette, Indiana and spent most of his childhood growing up in the US before moving to India with his family in 1985. In 1992, he moved back to the US and attended Stanford University.

Mohan has also worked with Microsoft and sits on the boards of Stitch Fix, genomics, and the now bankrupt biotechnology company 23andMe.

Nikesh Arora, Chairman and CEO, Palo Alto Networks; Born in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

Nikesh Arora was born into an Indian Air Force family, which meant frequent relocations growing up. He earned an electrical engineering degree from IIT-BHU, followed by an MS in finance from Boston College and an MBA from Northeastern University.

Arora’s career is marked by massive compensation milestones. He was Google’s highest-paid executive in 2012 with a $51 million package, and later accumulated around $200 million in stock awards. When he joined SoftBank in 2014, speculation swirled around him being Masayoshi Son’s successor. His first-year package there hit $135 million.

As per a 2023 Wall Street Journal report, Arora received a $151.4 million compensation at Palo Alto Networks, ranking him as the second-highest-paid CEO in the U.S.

Piyush Gupta, Former CEO, DBS Group; Born in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh

Piyush Gupta is credited with transforming DBS Group into one of the world's best banks. Born in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, Gupta holds a degree in economics from St. Stephen's College in Delhi and a postgraduate diploma in management from IIM-Ahmedabad.

He began his banking career with Citibank India in 1982 and rose through the ranks to become the CEO of Citibank in Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. His tenure at DBS Group began in 2009, when he joined the bank as its CEO. He spent 15 years at the group, spearheading the lender's journey through various financial markets, including setting up a wholly owned subsidiary in India.

He stepped down from his role on March 28, 2025.

Punit Renjen, CEO (Emeritus), Deloitte Global; Born in Rohtak, Haryana

Punit Renjen was born in Rohtak, Haryana, into a family of business owners. At age 14, financial hardship forced him to leave school and help at the family factory. However, he returned to education and earned a Rotary Foundation Scholarship, which enabled him to pursue studies in the US.

Renjen received his Master of Management from Willamette University's Atkinson Graduate School of Management in 1986 and joined Deloitte immediately afterward. Over the decades, he advised global clients on mergers, acquisitions, strategy, and integration efforts.

He became the first person of Asian heritage to lead one of the Big Four international professional services firms. In December 2022, Renjen stepped down as CEO and now serves as Global CEO Emeritus.

Ravi Kumar S, CEO, Cognizant; Born in Berhampur, Odisha

Ravi Kumar S is one of the newest members of the coveted club of Indian-origin executives leading global tech companies. He was appointed CEO of Cognizant in January 2023, after joining the company in October 2022.

Prior to Cognizant, Kumar spent two decades at Infosys, rising to the roles of President and COO. He holds an engineering degree from Shivaji University, Maharashtra, and an MBA from the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar.

Early in his career, he worked as a nuclear scientist at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, later transitioning to tech via PricewaterhouseCoopers. His resume also includes stints at Oracle and Publicis Sapient.

Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO, Micron Technology; Born in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh

The youngest of four siblings, Mehrotra always dreamed of studying in the US to fulfill his father's vision. He began at BITS Pilani but soon transferred to UC Berkeley, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

In 1988, Mehrotra co-founded SanDisk and served as its president and CEO from 2011 to 2016, until its acquisition by Western Digital. He joined Micron in 2017 and stepped into the CEO role following Mark Durcan's retirement. With over 40 years in the semiconductor memory field, Mehrotra holds more than 70 patents, many foundational to the high-capacity flash memory used in today's devices.

Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft; Born in Hyderabad, Telangana

Satya Nadella is the Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, having joined the company in 1992. Over the years, he held key positions including VP of the Microsoft Business Division and EVP of the Cloud and Enterprise Group, overseeing platforms like Bing, Xbox Live, and Office 365. He became CEO in February 2014.

Nadella holds 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. His career began at Sun Microsystems. Under his leadership, Microsoft made major moves like acquiring LinkedIn, Nuance Communications, and gaming giant Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. He’s also strengthened Microsoft’s AI efforts by partnering with OpenAI.

Shantanu Narayen, CEO, Adobe; Born in Hyderabad, Telangana

Shantanu Narayen joined Adobe in 1998 as VP and GM of its engineering technology group, eventually becoming President and COO in 2005, CEO in 2007, and Chairman in 2017. Prior to Adobe, he worked in product development at Apple and Silicon Graphics, and co-founded the early photo-sharing startup Pictra.

He holds a bachelor's in electronics engineering from Osmania University, a master's in computer science from Bowling Green State University, and an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. Narayen led Adobe’s transformation to a cloud-based subscription model for Creative Suite.

Appointed to the President's Management Advisory Board by Barack Obama in 2011, he also serves as lead independent director on Pfizer’s board and vice chairman of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum.

Sundar Pichai, CEO, Alphabet; Born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu

Sundar Pichai began his career at McKinsey & Co. before joining Google in 2004, where he led key software initiatives like Google Chrome, Chrome OS, and Google Drive. He later oversaw development of Gmail and Google Maps, and became CEO of Google in August 2015.

When Alphabet Inc. was formed, Pichai was appointed its CEO in December 2019, succeeding Larry Page. Under his leadership, Alphabet has made major strides in AI, advancing technologies in voice recognition, image processing, autonomous vehicles (Waymo), and generative tools like Google Gemini.

Pichai also oversaw the launch of Pixel smartphones, Google Nest, and Google Workspace, steering the company toward deeper integration of hardware and cloud-based services.

Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud; Born in Pampady, Kerala

Thomas Kurian was born in the Pampady village of Kottayam district, Kerala. He has an identical twin, George Kurian, who has been CEO of NetApp since 2015. Though initially accepted to IIT-Madras, both left early to attend Princeton University with partial scholarships.

Kurian holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Princeton and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. After a six-year stint at McKinsey, he joined Oracle and spent 22 years there, eventually becoming president of product development.

Following a reported disagreement with Oracle's co-founder Larry Ellison over cloud strategy, Kurian joined Google Cloud in November 2018. He is credited with revitalizing the platform through a customer-focused, sales-driven, and collaborative approach.