AN ELITE INDIAN INVASION

THE STEADY MIGRATION OF INDIAN academics and other professionals to the West is in its eighth decade.

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Those earlier generations were content to soak in the American Dream, or claim a modest foothold in a prosperous Europe. Then, from the '90s, came the first India-born techies/ managers who broke through the glass ceiling by not being merely content with senior management posts. Those first CEOs of multinational corporations, and the first captains of industry on foreign soil, like Lakshmi Mittal and the Hinduja brothers (who sparkle still with undiminished brilliance), are pathfinders. They have now led the way for a remarkable batch of men and women who have cornered some of the most coveted corner cabins in America's tech offices. Celebrated CEOs like Satya Nadella (Microsoft) and Sundar Pichai (Alphabet), icons already in India, head this year's High & Mighty list for Global Indians. We also take note of Ganesh Moorthy (Microchip Technology), Shantanu Narayen (Adobe) and Arvind Krishna (IBM). Not only have these India-born leaders of global tech firms overseen the increase of their firms' profits, their visionary outlook has also sought out the next best thing in tech: Artificial Intelligence and cloud computing. The well-established pre-eminence of Indian economists is underlined by Gita Gopinath and Ajay Banga in leadership positions at the IMF and World Bank, respectively, those pillars of global finance. Both are determined to keep driving their organisations to being forces of good in the teeth of conflict and climate change. And what to make of the career trajectory of Kolhapur-born Leena Nair, who defied ossified gender/race expectations when she became CEO of French luxury giant Chanel? For the talented global Indian, the final frontiers are being breached.

Intelligent Investor