Higher education continues to be valued globally not only because of reputed universities but also for the global exposure and the avenue of opportunities one gets access to through higher education. Admissions into prestigious universities or Ivy League offers unmatched opportunities and global exposure that further enhances the quality of education and the foundation of jobs.
When it comes to international students in US universities, Indian students constitute a significant amount. Here is a list of 30 successful Indians who completed their education in the US and continue to make India proud globally.
Adi Godrej
Education
Completed his schooling at St Xavier’s High School
Attended St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, for two years
Earned an undergraduate degree from HL College
MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management
Career
Joined the family business after returning to India
Took Godrej Group to great heights and heads the group alongside his brother
Beyond Godrej:
Chairman of the Indian School of Business from April 2011 to April 2018`.
President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 2012-13
Member of the dean’s advisory council of the MIT Sloan School of Management
Chairman of the board of governors of the Narsee Monjee Institue of Management Studies
Awards
Named Ernst &Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2012
Awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year for the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards 2010
Named as the Best Businessman of the Year for the GQ Men of the Year Awards 2010
Awarded the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Award in 2002
Ajay Bhatt
Education
Graduated from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India
Received his master’s degree from The City University of New York, United States
Career
Joined Intel corporation in 1990 as a senior staff architect
Nominated to take part in a Distinguished Lecture Series at leading universities in the United States and Asia
Awards
Won the European Inventor Award in the Non-European countries category in 2013
Awarded the Outstanding Achievement in Science & Technology Award at The Asian Awards in London in 2013
Anand Mahindra
Education
Completed his schooling at Lawrence School, Lovedale
Studied Film making and Architecture at Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1977
Completed his MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1981
Career
Joined Mahindra Ugine Steel Company Ltd as an Executive Assistant to the Finance Director in 1981
Appointed as President and Deputy Managing Director of the MUSCO in 1989
Took the role of Deputy Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. in 1991
Selected as the Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. in 1997
Appointed as the Vice Chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. in 2001
Took the role of Chairman of the board and Managing Director of the Mahindra Group in 2012
Beyond Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
Joined the International Advisory Council of Singapore's Economic Development Board in 2011
Became a member of the board of U.S.–India Business Council in 2014
Appointed on a four-year team as a Trustee of the Natural History Museum of London in 2015
Awards
Awarded the ‘Disruptor Personality of the Year Award’ by Bloomberg TV India in 2016
Awarded the Business Today CEO of the Year in 2014
Named the Entrepreneur for the Year – Forbes India Leadership Awards in 2013
Anil Ambani
Education
Bachelor of Science degree from Kishinchand Chellaram Colleges
MBA at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1983
Career
Made his debut in the entertainment industry with an acquisition of a majority stake in Adlabs Films in 2005
Renamed Adlabs Films to Reliance MediaWorks in 2009
Took the business to a global level with a joint venture worth US$1.2 billion with Steven Spielberg's production company DreamWorks
Awards
Voted the 'Best role Model' among business leaders in the biannual Mood of the Nation poll conducted by India Today magazine in 2006
Conferred 'the CEO of the Year 2004' in the Platts Global Energy Awards
Conferred 'The Entrepreneur of the Decade Award’ by the Bombay Management Association in 2002
Azim Premji
Education
Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from Stanford University
Career
Returned to India in 1966 and took charge of Western Indian Vegetable Products Ltd.
Renamed Western Indian Vegetable Products Ltd to Wipro and entered the high-technology sector in 1980
Awards
Cited by Forbes magazine as one of the "Heroes of Philanthropy list of 30 altruists" in the Asia-Pacific region in 2019
Conferred with Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) – the highest French civilian distinction by the French Government
Awarded Padma Vibhushan in 2011
Honored with the title of Padma Bhushan for his outstanding work in trade and commerce in 2005
Barkha Dutt
Education
Graduated from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi in English Literature
Received a Master’s in Mass Communications from Jamia Millia Islamia Mass Communication Research Center, New Delhi
Master's degree in journalism from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, New York
Career
Started her journalism career with NDTV and rose to head the English news wing of the organization
Trailblazer in the field because of her coverage of the Kargil War
Moved to the role of consulting editor in 2015
Awards
Awarded as “TV Personality of the Year” by the Association for International Broadcasting in 2012
Recipient of the C H Mohammed Koya National Journalism Award in 2009
Received the Indian News Broadcasting Award for the Most Intelligent News Show Host in 2008
Indra Nooyi
Education
Bachelor’s degree in physics, chemistry, and mathematics from Madras Christian College of the University of Madras in 1974
Postgraduate program diploma from IIM, Calcutta, in 1976
Master’s degree in Public and Private Management in 1980 from Yale School of Management.
Career
Product manager in India with Johnson & Johnson
Strategy consultant at Boston Consulting Group
Vice President at Motorola
Joined PepsiCo in 1994 as the Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning and held this position for two years, working her way up to Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Development and then the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
PepsiCo’s CEO in 2006 and Chairman of the Board in 2007.
Awards
Honored with Golden Book Awards in 2022
Inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2021
Received the Bower Award for Business Leadership from the Franklin Institute Awards Program in 2019
Named one of the “Best CEOs in the World” by CEOWORLD magazine in 2018.
Awarded the Padma Bhushan by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2013.
Named number one on Forbes annual ranking of Most Powerful Women in business for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.
Janhvi Kapoor
Education
Studied at Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Mumbai
Completed her acting course from Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in California
Career
Made her acting debut in 2018 with Dhadak
Awards
Zee Cine Awards for Best Debutant - Female in 2019
Jyotiraditya Scindia
Education
Educated at Campion School, Mumbai, and The Doon School, Dehradun
Admitted to St. Stephen's College, Delhi, University of Delhi, but later transferred to Harvard College, the undergraduate liberal arts college of Harvard University, where he graduated with a BA degree in Economics in 1993
MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business
Career
Formally joined the INC in 2001
Introduced to the Union Council of Ministers in 2007 as Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology.
Re-elected in 2009 for a third consecutive term and became Minister of State for Commerce and Industry
Appointed as the Minister of State for Communication in 2007
Appointed as General Secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh West along with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in 2019
Joined BJP in 2020, after quitting the Congress Party
Elected a BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh in 2020
Appointed as the Minister of Civil Aviation in the Second Modi ministry in 2021
Kalpana Chawla
Education
Schooling from Tagore Baal Niketan Senior Secondary School, Karnal
Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College, India
Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1984
Second Master's in 1986 and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering in 1988 from the University of Colorado Boulder
Career
Began working at NASA Ames Research Center in 1988
Joined Overset Methods, Inc. as vice president and Research Scientist in 1993
Joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1995
Began her first space mission in 1997
Awards & Honors
Posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the NASA Space Flight Medal, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal
Madhu Trehan
Education
Graduated from Welham Girls’ School, Dehradun, in 1962
Studied journalistic photography at Harrow Technical College & School of Arts in London in 1968
Master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, New York, in 1972
Career
Founded and started the news magazine India Today in 1975
Produced and anchored Newstrack, India's first video news magazine in 1986
Published her first book, Tehelka as Metaphor: Prism Me, a Lie, Tell Me a Truth, in 2009
Launched Wah India, a website and print magazine, in 2000
Launched a crowd-sourced media critique website called Newslaundry in 2012
Mira Nair
Education
Attended Loreto Convent, Tara Hall, Shimla
Majored in Sociology at Miranda House at Delhi University
Offered a full scholarship at Cambridge University but turned it down and accepted a full scholarship to Harvard University
Career
Produced a black-and-white film titled Jama Masjid Street Journal in 1979 for her thesis at Harvard
Made her second documentary titled So Far from India in 1982
Co-wrote Salaam Bombay! with a friend in 1983 and won 23 international awards
Set up an annual film-makers' laboratory, Maisha Film Lab, in Kampala, Uganda, in 2005
Awards
Awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2012
Awarded with Faith Hubley Web of Life Award, Rochester-High Falls International Film Festival in 2004
Won the Audience Award, Canberra International Film Festival: Monsoon Wedding in 2002
Nominated at the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film: Salaam Bombay! In 1989
Nabaneeta Dev Sen
Education
Attended Gokhale Memorial Girls' School and Lady Brabourne College
Received her BA in English from the University of Calcutta
Obtained her MA from the Department of Comparative Literature at Jadavpur University in 1958
Obtained another MA (with distinction) in comparative literature from Harvard University in 1961
Receive a doctorate from Indiana University in 1964
Career
Held executive positions in the International Comparative Literature Association (1973–1979) and the International Association of Semiotic and Structural Studies (1989–1994)
Published her first collection of poems Pratham Pratyay (First Confidence), in 1959
Published her second poetry collection Swagato Debdoot in 1971
Published her first novel Ami Anupam (I, Anupam), in 1976 in the Puja Issue of the Ananda Bazar Patrika.
Awards
Awarded the Mystic Kalinga Literary Award in 2017
Awarded the Padma Shri in 2000 by the Government of India
Awarded the Celli Award from Rockefeller Foundation in 1993
P. ChidambaraM
Education
Completed his schooling at the Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School, Chennai
Graduated with a BSc degree in statistics from the Presidency College, Chennai
Bachelor of Laws from the Madras Law College
Master's degree from Loyola Colle, Chennai
MBA from Harvard Business School in 1968
Career
Appointed Minister of Finance (India) in 2004
Appointed Minister of Home Affairs (India) in 2008
Elected Minister of Finance (India) in 2012
Appointed the Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha in 2016
Padmasree Warrior
Education
Completed her schooling at the Children's Montessori School and Maris Stella College in Vijayawada
Received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from IIT Delhi in 1982
Holds a master's degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University
Career
Joined Motorola in 1984 and served as Corporate Vice-President and general manager of Motorola's Energy Systems Group, and Corporate Vice-President and Chief Technology Officer in its Semiconductor Products Sector
Named Motorola’s CTO in 2003 and Executive Vice-President in 2005
Became the CTO at Cisco Systems in 2007
Board Member and CEO and Chief Development Officer for NIO U.S in 2015
Founded Fable and serves as its President and CEO since 2019
Awards
Featured among "America's Top 50 Women In Tech" by Forbes in 2018
Listed as the 71st most powerful woman in the world by Forbes in 2014
Ranked as the 11th Most Influential Global Indian by The Economic Times in 2005
Raghuram Rajan
Education
Attended Delhi Public School, R. K. Puram, from 1974 to 1981
Enrolled at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi for a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1981
Master of Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad in 1987
Joined the doctoral program at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Awarded an honorary doctorate by the London Business School in 2012, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2015, and Université Catholique de Louvain in 2019
Awards
Awarded "Yashwantrao Chavan National Award 2018" for his contribution to economic development in 2019
Conferred the "Governor of the Year Award 2014" from the London-based financial journal Central Banking in 2014
Awarded the fifth Deutsche Bank Prize in Financial Economics for his "ground-breaking research work which influenced financial and macro-economic policies around the world in 2013
NASSCOM named him Global Indian at its 7th annual global leadership awards in 2010
Ranveer Singh
Education
Joined H.R. College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai
Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University with a minor in theatre
Career
Worked for a few years in advertising as a copywriter with agencies like O&M and J. Walter Thompson in 2007
Auditioned for a lead role in Maneesh Sharma's Band Baaja Baaraat in 2010
Awards
Recipient of four Filmfare Awards: Best Male Debut for Band Baaja Baaraat (2010), Best Actor for Bajirao Mastani (2016) and Gully Boy (2019), and biographical drama 83' (2021) and Best Actor (Critics) for Padmaavat (2018).
Awarded the Best Actor IIFA Award in 2016 and 2019
Ratan Tata
Education
Studied at the Campion School, Mumbai, till the 8th class, followed by Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai, and at Bishop Cotton School in Shimla,
Graduated from Riverdale Country School in New York City in 1955
Received a degree in Architecture from Cornell University in 1959
Attended the seven-week Advanced Management Program of Harvard Business School in 1975
Career
Joined the Tata Group in 1962, and his first job involved working with the Tata Steel division in Jamshedpur
Appointed as the Director-in-Charge of the National Radio & Electronics Company Limited (Nelco) in 1971
Paved the way to become the Chairman of Tata Industries in 1991
Awards
Awarded the “Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE)” by Queen Elizabeth II
Awarded “Transformational Leader of the Decade” by Indian Affairs India Leadership Conclave in 2013
Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year – Lifetime Achievement in 2013
Received the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s most distinguished civilian awards, in 2000
Sara Ali Khan
Education
Studied history and political science at Columbia University in New York
Career
Debuted in 2018 with Abhishek Kapoor's film Kedarnath
Awards
Won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut in 2019
Won the Screen Award for Best Female Debut in 2019
Won the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year - Female in 2019
Satya Nadella
Education
Attended the Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet
Received a bachelor's in electrical engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology in Karnataka in 1988
Studied for an M.S. in computer science at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1990
Received an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 1997
Career
Worked at Sun Microsystems as a member of its technology staff before joining Microsoft in 1992
Led major projects that included the company's move to cloud computing and the development of one of the largest cloud infrastructures in the world at Microsoft
Worked as the senior vice-president of research and development (R&D) for the Online Services Division and vice-president of the Microsoft Business Division
Appointed as the President of Microsoft's $19 billion Server and Tools Business
Appointed as the new CEO of Microsoft in 2014
Awards
Awarded Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in India by the Government of India in 2022
Recognized as Global Indian Business Icon at CNBC-TV18's India Business Leader Awards in Mumbai in 2020
Named Financial Times Person of the Year and Fortune magazine Businessperson of the Year in 2019
Shantanu Narayen
Education
Attended Hyderabad Public School, Hyderabad
Earned a bachelor's degree in electronics and communication engineering from the University College of Engineering, Osmania University in Hyderabad
Received a master's degree in computer science from Bowling Green State University in Ohio in 1986
Received an MBA from the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, in 1993
Career
Joined a Silicon Valley start-up called Measurex Automation Systems in 1986
Worked at Apple in senior management positions from 1989 to 1995
Co-founded Pictra Inc., a company that pioneered the concept of digital photo sharing over the Internet in 1996
Joined Adobe in 1998 as senior vice president of worldwide product development
Executive vice-president of worldwide products from 2001 to 2005
Announced as the CEO of Adobe in 2007
Awards
Recipient of India's Padma Shri award in 2019
Ranked #12 on Fortune's "Businessperson of the Year" list
Deemed "Global Indian of the Year" in 2018 by The Economic Times of India
Appointed as a member of Barack Obama’s Management Advisory Board in 2011
Shashi Tharoor
Education
Joined the Montfort School, Yercaud, in 1962, subsequently moving to the Campion School (1963–68)
Spent his high school years at St. Xavier's Collegiate School in Kolkata (1969-71)
Graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from St Stephen's College, University of Delhi
Obtained an M.A. in International Relations at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University in Medford
Obtained his Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy in 1977 and his Ph.D. in International Relations and Affairs in 1978
Career
Worked as a staff member of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva in 1978
Head of the UNHCR office in Singapore in 1981
Appointed special assistant to the Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs in 1989
Appointed Director of Communications and Special Projects and Executive Assistant to Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1996
Appointed as Interim Head of the Department of Public Information (DPI) at the Assistant-Secretary-General level in 2001
Nominated for the post of UN Secretary-General in 2006
Sworn in as Minister of State for External Affairs, in charge of Africa, Latin America, and the Gulf, including the Haj pilgrimage, and the Consular, Passports, and Visas services of the Ministry in 2009
Awards
Sahitya Akademi Award for his book, An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India, in 2019
PETA's "Person of the Year" in 2013
Digital person of the year, Indian Digital Media Awards (IDMA), for popularising the digital medium in India in 2010
Inspiration of the Year Award at GQ's Man of the Year Awards in 2009
Commonwealth Writers' Prize for the Best Book of the Year in the Eurasian Region for The Great Indian Novel in 1991
Sundar Pichai
Education
Completed his schooling at Jawahar Vidyalaya Senior Secondary School in Chennai
Completed Class XII from Vana Vani school at IIT Madras
Earned his degree from IIT Kharagpur in metallurgical engineering
M.S. from Stanford University in materials science and engineering
MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Career
Worked in engineering and product management at Applied Materials and in management consulting at McKinsey & Company
Joined Google in 2004, where he led the product management and innovation efforts for a suite of Google's client software products
Became the CEO of Google in 2015
Became the CEO of Alphabet Inc. in 2019
Awards
Received the Padma Bhushan from the Government of India, its third-highest civilian award
Vikram Shankar Pandit
Education
Studied at Bishop Cotton School in Nagpur and then completed his schooling at the Dadar Parsee Youths Assembly High School in Dadar, Mumbai
Attended Columbia University for his undergraduate program and, in 1976, earned his B.S. degree in electrical engineering in only three years.
Completed his M.S. in electrical engineering in 1977
Earned an MBA and Ph.D. in finance from Columbia Business School in 1986
Career
Taught economics at Columbia, then had a stint as a professor at Brock University in St. Catharines, Canada
Joined Morgan Stanley as an associate in 1983, one of the first Indians to join the company
Chosen as the managing director and head of the US Equity Syndicate unit of Morgan Stanley in 1990
Became the managing director (MD) and head of its worldwide Institutional securities division in 1994
Started the hedge fund Old Lane LLC in 2006
Named the new CEO of Citigroup in 2007
Created a new operating company, The Orogen Group, to invest in financial services companies with backing from Comcast Corporation in 2016
Awards
Awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2008
Vinod Khosla
Education
Attended Mount St Mary's School for elementary school
Attended IIT Delhi, where he earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1976
Received a master's in biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University on a full scholarship
Received an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1980
Career
Founder and Chief Financial Officer of Daisy Systems in 1980
Co-founded Sun Microsystems (Stanford University Network Microsystems) in 1982
Joined the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, as a general partner in 1986
Founded his own venture capital firm, Khosla Ventures, in 2004
Awards
Finalist for the World Technology Award in 1999
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