Digital
Online gaming in India is among the world’s most vibrant, says MoS I&B Dr L Murugan at Storyboard18 DES 2025
From Madurai to Moradabad! Small-town India connection powering global tech giants
The latest addition to this growing list is Sabih Khan, who has just been named Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Apple. Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Neal Mohan, are amongst others in this list.
Many of today’s most powerful tech leaders hail from small towns and non-metro cities across India
India’s influence on global technology leadership has never been more prominent, and it’s not just about IIT degrees or Silicon Valley success. What’s striking is how many of today’s most powerful tech leaders hail from small towns and non-metro cities across India, bringing with them not just technical excellence but deeply rooted Indian values, resilience and global ambition.
The latest addition to this growing list is Sabih Khan, who has just been named Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Apple. Born in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, Khan has been with Apple for over 30 years, leading its global supply chain, pioneering green manufacturing efforts and steering the company through turbulent times like the COVID-19 pandemic.
He joins a formidable list of Indian-origin tech leaders who are reshaping the global tech landscape:
- Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, guiding innovation in AI and data, was born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
- Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, credited with reinventing the company’s culture and product vision, hails from Hyderabad, Telangana.
- Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe, instrumental in driving Adobe’s digital transformation, is from Hyderabad, Telangana.
- Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO of IBM, known for his work on cloud computing and blockchain, was born West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.
- Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, named Cloud Wars CEO of the Year for 2024, comes from Pampady, Kerala.
- Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of Micron Technology, also co-founder of SanDisk with over 70 patents, was born in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
- Neal Mohan, YouTube’s CEO, raised in a traditional Indian household in the US, with roots tracing back to India.
SPOTLIGHT
The Storyboard18 Digital Entertainment Summit (DES) unpacked India's strategy for leading the digital entertainment economy, with top policymakers where they putlined how talent, technology, and governance would fuel future-ready growth.
Read MoreIn Photos: At DES 2025, India charts ambitious course for digital entertainment leadership
At the Storyboard18 Digital Entertainment Summit in New Delhi, policymakers and industry leaders outlined how talent, technology, and governance will drive India’s push to dominate the global entertainment economy.