Microsoft's Satya Nadella tops HSBC Hurun Global Indians List 2024

The report highlights the significant global influence of Indian-origin leaders, with 79 per cent of the list's entrants residing in the United States

Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella has claimed the top spot in the inaugural HSBC Hurun Global Indians List 2024, which ranks 226 leaders of Indian origin heading the world’s most valuable companies.

 

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan secured the second and third spots, respectively.

 

According to Hurun, the list was created based on a survey of 400 respondents, including wealth creators featured in its lists.

  The combined value of companies led by these leaders is estimated at $10 trillion. 

 

Companies in the list were ranked according to their market capitalisation or valuations in the case of non-listed companies, with the cut-off date being November 29, 2024.

 

The report highlights the significant global influence of Indian-origin leaders, with 79 per cent of the list's entrants residing in the US, followed by the UK at 5 per cent and UAE at 4 per cent. San Francisco emerged as the city with the most entries, home to 37 leaders, followed by New York and Palo Alto, California.

 

The software and services sector dominated the list with 87 entrants, reflecting the foothold of Indian-origin professionals in the technology industry. Financial services and healthcare followed, with 24 and 21 representatives, respectively. Leaders such as Vasant Narasimhan of Novartis and Shantanu Narayen of Adobe also featured in the list.

 

The list revealed that 57 per cent of the leaders are first-generation entrepreneurs, 41 per cent are professionals, and 2 per cent are inheritors. Notable first-generation leaders include Aneel Bhusri of Workday and Prem Watsa of Fairfax Financial Holdings. The youngest entrepreneur on the list is 27-year-old Tanay Tandon, co-founder of Commure.

 

The list features 12 women, leading with Reshma Kewalramani of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, followed by Jayshree Ullal of Arista Networks, and Leena Nair, Global CEO of fashion brand —Chanel, who is also recognised as the most influential woman of Indian origin.

 

According to the survey, Nadella and Pichai were identified as the most influential global Indians, with over half of the respondents voting for them.