PALO ALTO, Calif. (Diya TV) — Nikesh Arora, the Indian-born CEO of Palo Alto Networks, has secured the number two spot on The Wall Street Journal’s 2023 list of highest-paid CEOs in the United States. His total compensation reached an impressive $151.43 million, primarily derived from stock options.
This report underscores the significant presence of executives of Indian descent among the highest earners in the US corporate world. A total of 17 executives of Indian origin made it into the top 500, highlighting their remarkable achievements. Among them, Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe, followed closely behind Arora, ranking 11th with a total compensation of $44.93 million.
Interestingly, 2023 saw tech giants like Tesla’s Elon Musk and Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, who is also of Indian origin, adopting non-traditional compensation structures. Musk reported no compensation, while Pichai earned a relatively modest $8.80 million. Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, another prominent figure, earned $24.40 million, falling between the two extremes.
Arora’s journey to this pinnacle is noteworthy. An alumnus of Delhi’s Air Force Public School, he rose to prominence during his tenure as Google’s chief business officer. After leaving Google in 2014, he made headlines by leading SoftBank in Japan with a record-breaking compensation package. Since 2018, Arora has been steering Palo Alto Networks, a leading cybersecurity firm, towards continued success.
Hock Tan of Broadcom topped the overall list of highest-paid CEOs with an earning of $162 million. Several other Indian-American CEOs also made significant appearances in the top ranks. Sanjay Mehrotra of Micron Technology, Ajei Gopal of Ansys, and Reshma Kewalramani of Vertex Pharmaceuticals were among those who ranked within the top 120.
The report further highlighted the achievements of other prominent Indian-descent leaders across various industries. Arvind Krishna of IBM, Badrinarayanan Kothandaraman of Enphase Energy, and Sanjiv Lamba of Linde, among others, showcased the diversity and success of Indian-origin executives in the corporate world.
