Mumbai: There was once a time when it was joked that if you were Indian, you’d never make it to the position of CEO at an American company. But times have changed, and so has the narrative. Today, the joke has flipped entirely.

Another Indian has now reached the topmost position in a major American company. Shailesh Jejurikar, a Mumbaikar, has been appointed as the President and CEO of Procter & Gamble, a multinational FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) company. He became the first Indian ever to hold the CEO position in the company’s 187-year history.

Prior to this, Apple appointed Sabih Khan—born in Moradabad—as its Chief Operating Officer. He is set to take over his responsibilities at the end of this month.

This year, 11 CEOs of companies listed in the Fortune 500 rankings are of Indian origin. The combined valuation of these companies comes to around ₹565 lakh crore (approximately £525 billion), meaning that Indian-origin leaders are now at the helm of some of the world’s most powerful corporate empires.

Notable among them:

  • Satya Nadella – Chairman and CEO of Microsoft
  • Sundar Pichai – CEO of Google and Alphabet
  • Shantanu Narayen – Chairman and CEO of Adobe
  • Arvind Krishna – Chairman, President and CEO of IBM
  • Vasant Narasimhan – CEO of Novartis
  • Reshma Kewalramani – President and CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals
  • Sanjay Mehrotra – Chairman, President and CEO of Micron Technology
  • Anirudh Devgan – President and CEO of Cadence
  • Leena Nair – Global CEO of Chanel
  • Raj Subramaniam – CEO of FedEx