NEW YORK: The Brand Finance Brand Guardianship Index just in has ranked Microsoft boss, Satya Nadella, as the top CEO in the world. Nadella, a first-generation Indian immigrant to the US, “has been credited with overhauling Microsoft’s fortunes by changing its culture towards one of teamwork, innovation, and inclusivity, and instilling a growth mindset throughout the business”.

Three other Indian-origin expat CEOs rank high: Sundar Pichai of Google is at 5, Shantanu Narayan of Adobe at 6, and Puneet Renjen of Deloitte at 14. The India Empire Magazine had put Nadella, along with Pichai, Narayan and two others on the cover of the December 2021 issue.

N. Chandrasekhar of the Tatas is at 25 in the list and Anand Mahindra of M&M and Mukesh Ambani of Reliance are at 41 and 42, respectively. State Bank of India’s Dinesh Kumar Khara is at 46.

The top 10 of the Brand Finance ranking is dominated by CEOs (referred to repeatedly as brand guardians) from the tech and media sectors. Tech boasts six of the top ten - Tim Cook is in second place, having overseen Apple becoming the first to hit a $3 trillion market valuation.

"Satya Nadella has been credited with overhauling Microsoft’s fortunes by changing its culture towards one of teamwork, innovation, and inclusivity, and instilling a growth mindset throughout the business"