Indian-Origin Leaders Make a Mark in the United States
Indian-origin personalities have become a consequential force in the United States, from the power corridors in Washington to the boardrooms of Silicon Valley and the bright lights of Hollywood. As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, Forbes has spotlighted 26 Indian-born and Indian-origin leaders among “America’s Most Successful Immigrants”, recognising their contributions to technology, business, politics, entertainment and public life. The list includes 26 Indian-born and Indian-origin leaders whose achievements have left an indelible mark in America. Among the Indian-origin leaders who made it to the Forbes immigration list that was released as part of America’s 250th anniversary coverage are Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Abhijit Banerjee, Indira Nooyi, Vinod Khosla, among others. Here is a look at some of the most notable Indian-origin politicians, business leaders and celebrities who have made a mark in the US. Born in Chennai , Pichai is among the most influential personalities of Indian origin in the United States. He completed his Bachelor’s in Technology from IIT Kharagpur and later moved to America to pursue a Master of Science in Materials Science from Stanford University. Pichai later did his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He joined Google in 2004 as Vice President of Product Management and was appointed CEO of the tech giant in 2015. Born in Pune , Khosla is an entrepreneur, investor, and technologist, and the founder of Khosla Ventures, which started in the US in 2004 to support budding entrepreneurs who are building technology-driven companies. Khosla completed his graduate studies in electrical engineering at IIT Delhi and went on to earn a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon. It was followed by an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Khosla co-founded Sun Microsystems in 1982, where his “work on open systems and commercial RISC processors reshaped enterprise computing. Born in Oakland, California, Harris became the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to be sworn in as Vice President of the United States in January 2021. Her Indian roots can be traced 14,000 kilometres from Washington DC in Thulasendrapuram, a small village in Tamil Nadu where Harris’ maternal grandparents were from, the BBC reported. Harris, who was Democrats presidential candidate for the 2024 election, posted a photo with his mother on X a couple of years earlier and said that her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, a breast cancer researcher, belonged to Chennai and moved to the United States from India at the age of 19. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Khanna’s parents immigrated to the United States from India in the 1970s in search of opportunities. His connection to India and commitment to public service emanate from his grandfather, Amarnath Vidyalankar, who was a freedom fighter and worked with Lala Lajpat Rai and spent several years in jail with Mahatma Gandhi during India’s independence movement, USA Today reported. Khanna graduated in Economics from the University of Chicago and received a law degree from Yale University. He has been serving as the US representative from California’s 17th congressional district and is serving his fifth term. Born in Davis, California, Minhaj is a stand-up comedian, writer, and political commentator whose weekly comedy show, Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj on Netflix, received a 2019 Peabody Award and a 2019 Primetime Emmy Award, the Kennedy Center stated. He is a first-generation American of Indian descent, as his parents, Najme and Seema Minhaj, immigrated to the United States from India. Minhaj earned accolades for his performance hosting the 2017 White House Correspondents’ Dinner and for a one-hour Netflix special, Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King, in 2018, which led him to win another Peabody Award.
