32 years after Shailesh Jejurikar joined Procter & Gamble, he will be the first Indian to take over as its global COO come October 2021.

Global IndianstoryMeet Shailesh Jejurikar, the first Indian to take over as P&G’s global COO

Meet Shailesh Jejurikar, the first Indian to take over as P&G’s global COO

Written by: Global Indian

(August 13, 2021) Way back in 1989, when Shailesh Jejurikar joined Procter & Gamble’s Personal Health Care team in India as assistant brand manager, he was a fresh out of college youngster, with stars in his eyes and an ambition to one day make it big. Over 32 years later, that day has arrived: 54-year-old Jejurikar will be the first Indian to take over as P&G’s global COO come October 2021.

Did you know that Shailesh Jejurikar, the Global President of P & G, was once the head boy and is currently a proud alumnus of HPS?!#HPSBegumpet #HPS #Begumpet #Alumni #ShaileshJejurikar pic.twitter.com/vR8RXSukPT

— HPS Begumpet (@HpsBegumpet) November 29, 2019

Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the Mumbai-born executive, has had a long innings with the Ohio-headquartered consumer goods major. His career at the company has spanned multiple businesses and is actively driving P&G’s “force for good and a force for growth” vision to ensure the company’s sustainability goals are integrated in its day-to-day business. Currently the CEO of the company’s largest business line, Fabric & Home Care, which accounts for more than a third of P&G’s $71 billion sales as of 2020, Jejurikar oversees 18,000 employees globally. This Global Indian is also responsible for over a dozen iconic brands such as Bounce, Downy, Gain, Tide, Cascade, Dawn, Febreeze, Mr Clean, and Swiffer.

From Mumbai to the world

Born in Mumbai in 1966, Jejurikar studied at the prestigious Hyderabad Public School (1984 batch) and counts Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella as his classmate. His batchmates describe him as a cheerful person and a natural leader. In an interview with The Hindu, his batchmate and champion race horse trainer Pratap Kamat, said, “He used to take everyone along with him and Satya (Nadella) always hung around him. They were very close as both of them played cricket.”

Jejurikar went on to graduate from Mumbai University with a BA in Economics in 1987 and then did his MBA from IIM-Lucknow.

Shailesh Jejurikar

Innings with Procter & Gamble

In 1989, he joined P&G’s Personal Health Care department as assistant brand manager, before also working in the company’s Skin Care and Personal Care Cleansing divisions. By 1999 he was the company’s marketing director in India and in 2000 he moved to Singapore as Marketing Director, Fabric & Home Care, ASEAN, Australia, India and Korea-Singapore. Since, he has worked in the company’s North America offices and grew to become the CEO of the company’s largest business line, Fabric & Home Care and eventually settled in Geneva, Switzerland.

Quite the jetsetter until the pandemic, Jejurikar would frequently travel to P&G’s various offices to interact with his teams. In an interview with Business Insider, Jejurikar said that his typical 12-hour workday begins at 5 am and is driven by where he happens to be in the world, whether at home in Geneva or at the P&G headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Known to lead with a growth mindset, he has been able to help his teams navigate the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic and has more than doubled the pace of growth for his unit, from 5% in Q2 2020 to 12% in Q2 2021.

Congratulations to P&G CEO of Fabric and Home Care, Shailesh Jejurikar for being recognized as one of the most impactful Asians and Asian-Americans & Pacific Islanders on this year’s @GoldhouseCo’s #A100 list. #AAPIHeritageMonth #UniqueAndUnited https://t.co/5B3ZQ0vBjp

— Procter & Gamble (@ProcterGamble) May 17, 2021

New beginnings

In his new role as the company’s global COO, Jejurikar will also have profit and loss responsibility for P&G’s Enterprise Market-Latin America, India, Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe. He will also lead information technology, global business services, sales, market operations, new business, purchasing, manufacturing, and distribution efforts for the company.

As executive sponsor of P&G’s sustainability program, he works with the company’s chief sustainability officer on products such as EC30 swatches, a waterless form of shampoos and cleaners that are in development to fight climate change.

Quite the innovator, Jejurikar when faced with the dilemma of how to create products for an unknown marketplace, developed a process called ‘progility’ where he challenges his teams to question paradigms of what’s assumed to be true. “In the case of Downy Unstoppable Beads, everyone assumed no one would want a fabric enhancer during a pandemic, yet it would go on to become one of Fabric & Home Care’s fastest-growing businesses,” Jejurikar told Business Insider.

“The only way to anticipate change is to commit to learning. Asking questions, being curious, listening carefully to the responses. A leader should always say, ‘I knew,’ never, ‘I know.'”

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For your eyes only: Dr GN Rao, the Founder Chairman of LVPEI, gave India a clear vision

Dr GN Rao left behind a lucrative practice in the US to return to India and set up the LV Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad. He is now a renowned ophthalmologist in India and abroad. In 2020, Stanford University ranked him among the top two per cent of researchers in the world in ophthalmology and microbiology. Earlier this year, Dr GN Rao received the prestigious, Heroes of Public Health Award 2023 from the WHO. (August 3, 2023) Back in September 2013, when the then President of the Republic of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Laureate (Peace), arrived in New Delhi to receive the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize, her itinerary comprised an equally pressing engagement — a visit to the LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) in Hyderabad. A year prior to her visit, her son had received treatment at the hospital. When Ellen visited the hospital and got a feel of the facilities first-hand, she was mighty impressed. She immediately sought the help of LVPEI founder chairman Dr Gullapalli Nageswara Rao for setting up similar eye care facilities back home. Come 2018, Dr Rao helped establish the first formal eye-care system in the war-ravaged country. “The journey has been extremely gratifying with the

l eye-care system in the war-ravaged country. “The journey has been extremely gratifying with the Institute providing services to over 35 million people, particularly those from economically, socially and geographically disadvantaged backgrounds,” smiles Padmashri Dr GN Rao, taking time out from his busy schedule to speak exclusively to Global Indian.

[caption id="attachment_43139" align="aligncenter" width="502"] Dr. GN Rao, founder and chairman of the LVPEI.[/caption]

LVPEI is the leading institution for eye research in the country and one of the best among the top 10 institutions in the world. People, not only from the country but across the globe seek the services of the prestigious institution. Recently, Dr GN Rao was recognised and used with the prestigious Heroes of Public Health Award 2023 by the World Health Organisation’s South-East Asia Regional Office. The award acknowledges his exceptional contribution to public health in the country.

“Our institute has made impactful contributions through our work, collaborations, education, public health and research,” says Dr Rao, referring to WHO’s recognition. LVPEI, he informs, is the biggest corneal transplantation centre in the world and their eye bank is the biggest in the Asia Pacific region and in the developing world. “Our collaborations, education, public health and extensive research in eye care are also the reasons behind the recognition,” says the 74-year-old.

Off to the US

Born in Chodavaram in Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh, Dr Rao was sent to his maternal uncle living in Edupagallu village near Vijayawada when he was three. He studied at a local school till class 8. Thereafter, he did his postgraduate residency training in Ophthalmology at the All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. He then left for the United States of America in 1974 for training at the Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston.

“I aspired to become a doctor in my growing up years. My father too was an Ophthalmologist and I chose to follow in his footsteps,” says Dr Rao, who also trained and taught for a while at the Rochester School of Medicine in the US.

Setting up LVPEI

By 1980, he left behind a lucrative practice in the US and returned to India. Six years later, LVPEI was born. It was made possible largely through the donation of five-acre land in the upmarket Banjara Hills and Rs one crore by Ramesh, the son of the legendary film director LV Prasad.

“Providing quality eye care to all, irrespective of their ability to pay forms the core of our institution. Excellence with equity is the vision on which LVPEI was founded. It was my duty to give back to the country,” informs the specialist, whose exposure to the high standards of care in the US helped him a great deal in setting up and running LVPEI, the not-for-profit hospital, which is among the top 10 best eye care institutions in the world.

Specialised segment

Within five years of its inception, LVPEI gained a reputation as a top-notch institution in eye care. With that, expanded its operations. “A specialised segment of “Rehabilitation Programmes” for people with irreversible vision loss was launched. The idea was to provide all services related to eye care available under one umbrella,” says Dr Rao, who then began addressing the health care needs of people from rural and tribal areas.

[caption id="attachment_43140" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Global Indian | Dr. GN Rao Dr. GN Rao with Subroto Bagchi. Image: Vikas Khot / Forbes.[/caption]

By the mid-90s, Dr Rao and his team launched a cluster of secondary-level eye care centres, linked to the primary eye care vision centres, which went on to become the biggest network of eye care in the world. “Seeing the smiles on the faces of people who receive treatment at our institution is the most satisfying part,” says says the humble and soft-spoken medical professional, who has revolutionised eye care in India.

Along with high-quality eye care, LVPEI education academy has produced thousands of eye care professionals who are serving people in India and abroad.

Challenges

Setting up an institution of that magnitude came with its own set of challenges. “One of the main challenges was the availability of trained HR. We could overcome this by creating our own internal training programmes. It allowed us to create our own work culture,” says the widely respected ophthalmologist who was elected to the Ophthalmology Hall of Fame, instituted by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery in 2017.

Another challenge came in the form of getting the acceptance of the community for a different kind of healthcare culture and deploying new-age solutions. “Some systems and solutions were alien to the country which led to resistance and misunderstandings. But we remained focussed on quality care and overcame all challenges,” says Dr Rao, underlining the fact that making money was never a priority.

He says it’s their value system that led them to build high levels of credibility. “Not denying care to anyone, however complex their eye problem might be, whether they pay or not is the important part of that value system,” he says.

He feels good quality health care should be made available to everyone, irrespective of their socio-economic status. “Most people live in difficult situations and there is a need to model the health care systems to meet those requirements,” feels Dr Rao, a Fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, India.

Future plans

After completion of LVPEI’s first 25 years, Dr Rao came up with a plan called “Next 25” under which are two broad projects — Creating Institutes of Excellence on major causes of blindness which act as Global Resource Centres and continuing to refine and improve primary eye care for the people. “We aim to achieve the goals by adopting current knowledge, techniques and technology while remaining relevant and impactful all the time.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLZarGVMJzM

He believes creating and nurturing a high-quality workforce is fundamental to the institution’s sustainability. “Contentment is all that matters to me. It’s my life mantra,” adds the founder Chairman of LVPEI.

Dr GN Rao has received the degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) from the University of Melbourne, the International Blindness Prevention Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and the AEBA award from the Association of Eye Bank of Asia. He also served as the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness as a board member, secretary general (1998) and president (2004) on various occasions. Apart from training abroad, he is also serving as visiting professor at several universities in the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia. As of 2020, Dr Rao published more than 300 papers in peer-reviewed national and international journals and has served on the editorial boards of several journals. He has five honorary doctorates from Australia, the United Kingdom and India

Achievements

2012: Padma Shri
2017: Included in the Ophthalmology Hall of Fame at the meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS), Los Angeles.
Vision Excellence Award- The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness
World Cornea Congress Medal from the International Cornea Society for outstanding contribution to the field of cornea
Invited Editorial for the 100th-year issue of the British Journal of Ophthalmology
He was honoured with the institution of ‘Gullapalli N Rao – AIOS Endowment Lecture’ by the All India Ophthalmological Society
2006: International Blindness Prevention Award, by the Board of Trustees of the American Academy of Ophthalmology

Follow LV Prasad Eye Institute on LinkedIn

Rewriting the rules: CEO Nikesh Arora’s unconventional path to billionaire status

(January 9, 2024) In a twist on the usual tale of billionaires rising through entrepreneurship, the global rich list now includes a tech CEO who isn't a company founder. Meet Nikesh Arora, the former Google-employee-turned-CEO of cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks Inc. Unlike many on the billionaire's roster, Arora isn't a company originator, yet he's made it into the exclusive billionaire's club. Nikesh received a substantial $125 million stock and options compensation package when he took on the role of chief executive officer in 2018. Since then, Palo Alto Networks Inc. has seen a remarkable surge in its share price, more than quadrupling in the wake of increased demand for cybersecurity software. According to Bloomberg, the Global Indian's initial stake of $125 million is now valued at a staggering $830 million. When one factors in substantial pay awards from his earlier career, Arora's overall net worth stands at an impressive $1.5 billion. This distinctive position makes him a noteworthy figure as a non-founder billionaire tech CEO - the only one after Apple's Tim Cook - marking a shift from the usual entrepreneurial path to wealth. Talking about the exceptional growth of his company, the CEO said, "Today, we're the largest

an impressive $1.5 billion. This distinctive position makes him a noteworthy figure as a non-founder billionaire tech CEO - the only one after Apple's Tim Cook - marking a shift from the usual entrepreneurial path to wealth.

Talking about the exceptional growth of his company, the CEO said, "Today, we're the largest cybersecurity company, we've outstripped our competitors. When I joined we identified cloud and AI as the overarching new technology trend for the coming decade. So, we designed our portfolio, bought 15 companies, and spent $4 billion. That was unique in cybersecurity, most companies would capture the trend of the moment, figure the business, and then as the trend shifted, a new cybersecurity company was born."

From square one

Born in Ghaziabad to Indian Air Force officer Jagdish Kumar Arora, Nikesh was a curious child, who loved to experiment with the things surrounding him. Nikesh's mother was a huge influence in his life. "My mother had a master's in mathematics and Sanskrit - which was a very big thing back in those days. She was all about ensuring I always put myself into learning something new. So, I and my sister not just learnt from the book, but by experimenting with things. I also moved around a lot - maybe to six different schools before I graduated high school, that also was a great learning process," he said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SExW_Erpz0

A student of The Air Force School (Subroto Park), Nikesh went on to pursue a bachelor's in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, BHU in Varanasi. In 1990, Nikesh moved to the United States of America to pursue an MBA from Northeastern University. "It was one of those years when the recession was in swing. My degree from Northeastern University wasn't as good in those days as it is ranked today. I was looking for a job in finance, which I was told I would get mostly on Wall Street. So, I found the college's Alumni directory and wrote to over 450 contacts requesting them for a job. I had graduated top of my class, I thought someone would want to hire me," laughed the CEO, adding, "Interestingly, I received 450 replies from everyone I wrote to saying 'Thank you for writing to us, but no thank you.'. I still have all those letters with me, telling me that I don't qualify for a job."

His journey in the financial sector commenced at Fidelity Investments. In 2000, Nikesh founded T-Motion, a subsidiary under Deutsche Telekom focused on delivering value-added services for the 3G Services of Deutsche Telekom. Within a few years, T-Motion seamlessly became an integral part of T-Mobile's core services.

Climbing to the top

Interestingly, Google recognised his talents in 2004. Over the next decade, Nikesh served as VP of Europe Operations (2004-07), as President, of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa from 2007 to 2009, and finally as President of Global Sales Operations and Business Development from 2009-10. "I met several amazing people at Google. When I joined the company was still figuring out how to organise its Europe operations, and I met Lawrence Edward Page and Sergey Brin - the co-founders of Google - for my initial interview. And I got the job," shares the CEO.

[caption id="attachment_48107" align="aligncenter" width="550"] CEO | Nikesh Arora | Global Indian Nikesh with U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland[/caption]

Contrary to many expectations, Nikesh departed from his role as senior vice president and chief business officer at Google in 2014 after a decade of service. He made a significant move to SoftBank Corp, taking on the positions of President and Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure, Arora set a Japanese record by receiving a total compensation exceeding $200 million.

Nikesh Arora’s recipe for success: Keep on learning

Sharing his mantra for success, the CEO said in an interview, "The one thing that has kept me going and has inspired me is that I have always found myself in situations where I am learning. Half the stuff that I do in any job that I have had, is stuff that I have never done before. I spent a lot of time learning about cybersecurity when I joined Palo Alto Networks Inc., and in fact, I am still learning. Back when I was at Google, I worked very hard on learning how marketing is done, and later at SoftBank I learnt how to do investment banking. And that is what is exciting for me - being able to go to work every day and thinking that I can master a skill I have never worked on before."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aykoBDLhsLQ

Currently, as the CEO and Chairman of Palo Alto Networks, Nikesh is looking to evolve his company's platforms. "I believe the industry is still in the early stages of this transformation. At Palo Alto, we are beginning to think about a long-term cybersecurity strategy and starting to build longer-term cybersecurity architectures to create this integrated platform, which gives a better outcome," shared the CEO.

Follow Nikesh Arora on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram

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Jayshree Ullal: The Indian-origin CEO who is on Forbes’ 2022 list of America’s richest self-made women

(July 27, 2022) In a fireside chat with Satya Nadella, when Jayshree Ullal brought up the topic of leadership, Nadella quickly responded that he finds people like her, who have created massive organisations out of nothing, inspirational and that he learns quite a lot by watching such leadership. Since the time Jayshree joined as the CEO and president of the then newly launched Arista Networks in 2008, she has nurtured the organisation into a global leader in networking technology. An American computer networking startup with just 50 employees and pretty low revenue, Arista Networks blossomed into a specialised market leader in the area of open-source cloud software and Ethernet switches. Under Jayshree’s leadership, the company went public and launched its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014. It has scaled up to an employee strength of close to 3,000 and a revenue of $2.95 billion as recorded in 2021. Global Indian turns its spotlight on the quintessential woman in STEM. [caption id="attachment_27412" align="aligncenter" width="644"] Jayshree Ullal, CEO, Arista Networks[/caption] From London to India to the USA Born in London to physicists Sudarajan and Nirmala Vedantham, Jayshree moved to India as a five-year-old. She studied at

ass="red-underline" data-startindex="653" data-endindex="655" data-paragraphid="5"> Global Indian turns its spotlight on the quintessential woman in STEM.

[caption id="attachment_27412" align="aligncenter" width="644"] Indian CEO | Jayshree Ullal | Global Indian Jayshree Ullal, CEO, Arista Networks[/caption]

From London to India to the USA

Born in London to physicists Sudarajan and Nirmala Vedantham, Jayshree moved to India as a five-year-old. She studied at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Delhi — an all-girls school with an inclination towards math and science, in contrast to the popular choice of her classmates.

Right after completing her high school, she moved to the US, where her father was transferred. She chose San Francisco State University for her degree in electrical engineering. However, interestingly, she was among the only two girls in the class of 70. Unfazed by this gap, she continued pursuing what she loved and went on to get her master’s degree in engineering management from Santa Clara University, California.

To ensure that there are more women in the sphere of technology, in an interview with BusinessLine, she said:

"We should encourage girls to pursue science and math in their early school years and must not let them opt out."

[caption id="attachment_27415" align="aligncenter" width="687"] Indian CEO | Jayshree Ullal | Global Indian Jayshree Ullal with her sister when they were kids[/caption]

Broadening the skill set

Starting her career in the 1980s with Advanced Micro Devices, Jayshree went on to work for organisations like Fairchild Semiconductor and Ungermann-Bass. She moved up the ladder at Crescendo Communications, where she became vice president of marketing, having broadened her skills to transform herself into an engineer with a knack for marketing.

When Tom Mendoza, former president and vice chairman of the pioneering data management company NetApp, conducted a virtual conversation with her for his webinar series, Jayshree gave solid advice for aspiring professionals and students. "In today’s world, interdisciplinary fields are more important than ever," she mentioned.

Recommending to not just seek what one’s gift is, but also to know how one can connect the dots between one’s gift and other areas, she said:

"If you’re in engineering, you might have to learn some business. If you’re in computer science, you might want to learn something about data science and analytics. If you’re in marketing, you might want to study how lead generation is done today."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvvzomxBn5I

In 1993, Cisco Systems purchased Crescendo Communications, and Jayshree became an integral part of the tech giant, overseeing more than 20 mergers and acquisitions in her journey to becoming senior vice president of the organisation. She invested 15 years of her career polishing her leadership skills at Cisco when the initial contract with the organisation was just for two years.

Setting the benchmark

Later, Jayshree Ullal took charge as the top executive of Arista Networks and added her own touch of leadership to the organisation with the notion that neither two CEOs nor two companies and their business models are alike, and hence, working with one’s own trademark leadership style, fine-tuning it with the nature of the business, is something that is going to help the organisation thrive. Arista Networks thrived, indeed becoming a game changer under Jayshree’s leadership.

According to reports, the Indian-origin CEO with an entrepreneurial bent of mind owns about 5 percent of Arista's stock and has a net worth of close to $2 billion as of 2022. She has also joined the board of directors of Snowflake, a cloud computing company that went public in September 2020.

The value of human connections

The leader, who has constantly defied norms, strongly believes in a support system – be it family at home or colleagues at work. The mother of two has always credited the support of her husband, Vijay Ullal, her parents, sister and her spouse for her successful innings as a top business executive. "Not trying to be perfect all the time, being realistic" and "to be able to make trade-offs" are some of her winning mantras for sailing successfully in both worlds.

Indian-Origin CEO | Global Indian

Jayshree has always voiced the significance of identifying the special gift that we possess, creating one’s own turning points, and valuing the human connections in the journey of life.

Some of the awards and recognition that have come her way:

Ernst & Young bestowed her with the Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2015.
She was recognised as one of Barron's World’s Best CEOs in 2018.
She was recognised as one of the Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology by the California Diversity Council in 2018.
She became one of Fortune’s Top 20 Business Persons in 2019.
In the list of 100, she appears on 15th position on Forbes 2022 America’s Richest Self-Made Women

Follow Jayshree Ullal on LinkedIn

Reading Time: 5 mins

Grammarly’s new chapter: Indian-American Rahul Roy-Chowdhury appointed CEO

(March 24, 2023) As Grammarly approaches its fourteenth birthday, it’s going through an exciting transition with the appointment of its new CEO.  The market leader in helping people communicate better and one of the first platforms providing assistive AI to millions of people will now be headed by Indian-American, Rahul Roy-Chowdhury. “I joined Grammarly two years ago because of a deep belief in our mission to improve lives by improving communication. I’m honoured to serve that mission in a new capacity as Grammarly’s CEO, starting May 1,” Roy-Chowdhury shared on LinkedIn and Twitter. “Our millions of users remain our north star as we continue solving their real communication challenges. Grammarly has been harnessing innovation in AI responsibly for over a decade, and we’re just getting started!” added Roy-Chowdhury who has been serving as the Global Head of Product in the organisation since 2021. [caption id="attachment_36485" align="aligncenter" width="494"] Rahul Roy-Chowdhury[/caption] He thanked his predecessor Brad Hoover for his leadership over the last 12 years. “It can only be described as an epic run!” Roy-Chowdhury mentioned in his message. From Google to Grammarly The business executive spent over a decade in Google, starting out in the Bengaluru office as a product manager in

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[caption id="attachment_36485" align="aligncenter" width="494"] Grammarly CEO | Indian CEO |Global Indian Rahul Roy-Chowdhury[/caption]

He thanked his predecessor Brad Hoover for his leadership over the last 12 years. “It can only be described as an epic run!” Roy-Chowdhury mentioned in his message.

From Google to Grammarly

The business executive spent over a decade in Google, starting out in the Bengaluru office as a product manager in 2007. He climbed the hierarchy ladder, becoming the vice president of product management during his 14-year stint. Two years after he joined Google, he moved to California.

Roy-Chowdhury spent his years at Google leading the safety, security and privacy teams coming up with unified solutions across Google’s product portfolio. He also led the product management teams for Chrome OS and the Chrome browser.

The empathetic leader and team builder has been passionate about his craft of product management, applying a human-centred approach to problem solving.

Inclusivity and mentorship

With a mission-driven mindset, Roy-Chowdhury places emphasis on the value of inclusive process in building a high-quality decision-making culture at workplace.

I care about the mission, and I care about the possibility that what I am working on can impact the world. Trying to bring about the world we believe in keeps me going.

Rahul Roy-Chowdhury said in a podcast

Mentoring product leaders and entrepreneurs and sharing the lessons he has learned, has been an important part of Roy-Chowdhury’s career graph.

From Grammarly to GrammarlyGO

Roy-Chowdhury has announced Grammarly’s new AI tool, GrammarlyGO - the next evolution of the digital writing assistant. “GrammarlyGO brings the power of generative AI to Grammarly: it works everywhere you write, uses context to create personalized and relevant content, keeps you safe from harm and brings the comfort of our enterprise-grade security and privacy guarantees. Let's GO!!” Users would be able to use the new assistive tool from April onwards.

[embed]https://twitter.com/Grammarly/status/1637906922220269569?s=20[/embed]

Driving excellence

Brad Hoover, Roy-Chowdhury’s predecessor at Grammarly is all praise for his abilities. “During his two years at Grammarly, Rahul has focused on driving excellence and helped us up-level as a company. He has pushed our thinking and driven the organization forward with clarity, keen judgment, and sound decision-making,” he said, as he announced Roy-Chowdhury’s appointment. “Under Rahul’s leadership, we also took a big step forward with our product, increasing quality and introducing solutions to help beyond the revision stage of communication,” he added.

Successfully enabling billions of people worldwide access the power of the open web, Roy-Chowdhury oversaw the entire functioning of the writing assistance software - managing the product, design, and data science teams.

The course of life

Roy-Chowdhury’s academic accomplishments are as impressive as his professional journey. After doing his BS in mathematics from Hamilton College, he went on to do MS in computer science from Columbia University, and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

On the personal front, one of his big goals has been to impart his love for ’80s music to his children, and has made some progress with the British rock band, Queen’s ‘Another One Bites the Dust’.

Follow Rahul Roy-Chowdhury on Twitter and LinkedIn

Reading Time: 5 mins

Meet Dr Mukesh Aghi: A significant pillar of the US-India ties

(May 14, 2023) “This year, United States became India's largest trading partner with trade nearing near the $200 billion mark,” shared a happy Dr Mukesh Aghi, President and CEO of US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) in one of his social media posts last week. Since the inception of USISPF in 2017, Dr Aghi has played a pivotal role, working with business and government leaders in the US and India to promote trade and strengthen ties between the two countries. “It's a remarkable achievement but more can be done, as the Indian government sets policies and executes new schemes to improve and enhance the business environment in India, thereby creating a stronger environment to create more foreign investors,” the business leader added. A recipient of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman 2021 for his outstanding contributions to the Indian diaspora, through promoting economic ties between India and the US, Dr Aghi has immense love for his native country. Although he was born in India, Dr Aghi has lived around the world to study and work. With a distinguished career spanning both the private and public setors, Dr Aghi has held senior leadership positions in companies like IBM (Singapore and India), Steria (France), and L&T

r Aghi has immense love for his native country. Although he was born in India, Dr Aghi has lived around the world to study and work. With a distinguished career spanning both the private and public setors, Dr Aghi has held senior leadership positions in companies like IBM (Singapore and India), Steria (France), and L&T Infotech (USA).

Indian CEO | Dr Mukesh Aghi | Global Indian

As the President and CEO of the nonprofit organization USISPF, Dr. Aghi has been a vocal advocate for the interests of the Indian American community. He has pushed for policies that benefit Indian companies operating in the United States and has been a strong proponent of initiatives that promote education, innovation, and entrepreneurship among the Indian diasporas.

The Global Indian has been recognized for his leadership and contributions through various awards and accolades, including the JRD Tata Leadership Award. He was recognized by the New York-based Esquire Magazine as a Global Leader. For his extensive philanthropic work, he received the prestigious ‘Ellis Island Medal of Honor’ in America in 2018.

Taking US-India strategic partnership forward

“I believe that the US-India relationship is the most important relationship of the 21st century. This has been stated by President Obama, President Trump and President Biden,” Dr Aghi remarked in a chat show conducted by Business World during his recent visit to India.

His non-profit, USISPF serves as a platform for dialogue and collaboration between businesses, government officials, and thought leaders from India and USA.

Established with the goal of enhancing bilateral trade and investment ties, fostering economic growth, and advancing shared interests and values between the two countries, USISPF focuses on various sectors including technology, energy, healthcare, defense, education, and agriculture. “India's demographic dividend, (now as the world's largest populous country) and tech talent, and the robustness of the American tech economy enable a synergy in the tech space,” Dr Aghi remarked in a social media post emphasizing how both countries complement each other.

[caption id="attachment_38609" align="aligncenter" width="443"] Indian CEO | Dr Mukesh Aghi | Global Indian Dr Mukesh Aghi with US President, Joe Biden[/caption]

The organisation acts as a forum for stakeholders to exchange ideas, address challenges, and explore opportunities for economic cooperation. It also organizes high-level meetings, conferences, and events that bring together industry leaders, policymakers, and influencers to discuss key issues and promote business partnerships.

USISPF also provides research and analysis on important economic and policy issues affecting the U.S.-India relationship. It produces reports and publications that offer insights and recommendations to policymakers, businesses, and other stakeholders.

Utilizing India’s potential

In his recent conversation with Business World Dr Aghi said, “India has tremendous resources to build AI, while the US has fantastic algorithms on the AI side. If we merge those algorithms with the data of 1.4 billion people, we can come up with fantastic solutions that will be a win-win. However, it is important for policymakers on both sides to sit down and discuss how they can establish certain fences around AI so that it does not become a threat to society.”

Fully invested in his purpose of leveraging the high potential of US-India partnership, he remarked that the time is ripe to enhance the two countries’ collaboration in the space sector, and work towards enhancing supply chain resiliency, ‘a focus for Prime Minister Modi and President Biden ahead of the Quad Leadership meeting’.

Expressing his joy, he added, “India is now becoming a hotbed of innovation which is going to the rest of the world. We have over 326 space startups in India, and they are doing fantastic innovation.”

[caption id="attachment_38610" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Indian CEO | Dr Mukesh Aghi | Global Indian Dr Mukesh Aghi in a meeting with PM Modi[/caption]

At the top of his game

Climbing peaks whether as a business leader or as a mountaineer is the Indian-origin leader’s core competency. While Dr Aghi served as chief executive and member of the board at L&T Infotech, he played a key role in tripling the company’s valuation. He expanded the business on a global level, led the company’s commercial growth strategy, established its global services function, and built the global sales leadership team preparing the organization for an IPO.

During his time as CEO at Steria, a European digital services and software development company, Dr Aghi successfully spearheaded the merging of Xansa and Steria into a more than $2 billion business. He managed P&L, sales strategies, service delivery, strategic partnerships, a global workforce of over 6,000 people, and the top 50 global accounts of the organisation. The business leader also directed the building of innovation labs and business solutions and liaised with the World Economic Forum and lobby groups in India and Europe during his time at Steria.

As the general manager of outsourcing in Asia-Pacific and President of India at IBM, Dr Aghi tripled the company’s revenue in three years and grew the market share, gross margins, and caliber of talent. He helped set up the IBM Lab in India and registered multiple patents from it.

Fluent in many international languages, as well as an avid marathon and mountaineering enthusiast, the business leader has competed in more than 27 international marathons and climbed some of the highest peaks in North America and Europe.

[caption id="attachment_38612" align="aligncenter" width="815"] Indian CEO | Dr Mukesh Aghi | Global Indian Dr Mukesh Aghi with Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal[/caption]

Reaping growth

Dr Aghi is the founding-CEO of Universitas 21 Global, which went on to become one of the world's largest e-learning joint ventures, hailed by global educational bodies as a premier online institution. He was responsible for Building the company from the ground up and spearheading strategies for all aspects.. He also led the board of corporate and academic leaders.

The company's online program became the fastest-growing online program with enrollment growing to more than 7,000 MBA students from 70 countries across the world. Five years after founding Universitas 21 Global, Dr Aghi sold the company to a private equity firm for a profit which was twelve times his investment value.

“We as individuals must decide on our own what our priority is. You must reflect ‘am I being a parasite in the world or am I being a contributor’. It's ok to create wealth but there must be a balance – a balance between accumulating the wealth and bringing change and contributing to society,” he said in a thought leadership conversation organized by Giggr.

[caption id="attachment_38615" align="aligncenter" width="779"] Indian CEO | Dr Mukesh Aghi | Global Indian Dr Mukesh Aghi with industrialist Shiv Nadar[/caption]

Giving back

A noted philanthropist, Dr Mukesh Aghi has been involved with several charitable organisations and supported causes related to education, healthcare and poverty alleviation. He has been at the forefront of relief efforts for issues ranging from the pandemic to the 2018 floods in Kerala. He also works with initiatives aimed at promoting clean energy and sustainability and has served as the CEO of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a non-profit organization in India that aims to bring transparency to the country’s democratic system.

He has also been involved with the Pratham Education Foundation, one of India's largest NGOs, which works to provide quality education to underprivileged children in India.

Indian CEO | Dr Mukesh Aghi | Global Indian

In 2017, Dr Aghi received the Community Leadership Award by the American India Foundation (AIF) for his philanthropic work. “Indian Americans are the most affluent and most philanthropic minority group in the US. It shows that as a community, we are not just focused on enhancing our own lives, but also the environment around us and the different cities we are staying in,” he said at a conference.

Dr. Aghi holds several degrees, including an advanced management diploma from Harvard Business School, a Ph.D. in international relations from Claremont Graduate University, California, an MBA in international marketing from Andrews University, Michigan and a BA in business administration from the Middle East College, Sultanate of Oman. Though he is based in the US, the business leader extensively travels to India for help power his country's growth.

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