Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai in Fortune’s 100 Most Powerful in Business list

Fortune ranks leaders based on business size, health, innovation, influence, and overall global impact.

Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai. / Fortune

Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai, both of Indian origin, have secured top positions in Fortune magazine’s 2025 list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Business. Nadella, CEO and Chairman of Microsoft, is ranked second, while Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, is in sixth place.

Nadella, born in Hyderabad, India, has led Microsoft through two major shifts—from personal computing to cloud services, and now into the AI era. Fortune credits his early bet on OpenAI as positioning Microsoft at the forefront of the generative AI race. While Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI has faced tensions, the company has maintained its place among Big Tech’s most dominant players.

“Considered one of the sharpest strategic minds in management today as well as a charismatic and empathetic leader,” Fortune wrote, “He has the ear of Fortune 500 CEOs, startup founders, investors, and presidents and prime ministers.”

ALSO READ: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella receives TiE Lifetime Achievement award

Pichai, who grew up in Chennai, India, and later moved to the U.S., oversees a conglomerate that includes Google, YouTube, Android, and Waymo. With a market cap over $2 trillion, Alphabet remains a central player in global tech.

“Pichai… knows that he can’t sit still,” Fortune noted. The company has faced pressure from regulators and the rising threat of AI disruption to its core search business. Under his leadership, Alphabet has reorganized its internal AI teams and rolled out new features like AI overviews in search results.

ALSO READ: Sundar Pichai takes a dig at Satya Nadella on podcast

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, topped this year’s list, displacing Elon Musk, who fell to fourth place. Last year’s No. 1, Musk dropped in the rankings following a shift in Fortune’s assessment of his influence, especially after his diminished role in U.S. political affairs.

Other Indian-origin leaders on the 2025 list include Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen (ranked 38), Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani (56), Vertex Pharmaceuticals CEO Reshma Kewalramani (62), and Adani Group founder Gautam Adani (96).

Narayen has focused Adobe’s efforts on integrating AI while expanding its recurring revenue and global partnerships. Kewalramani, a licensed doctor, led Vertex through a major FDA approval for an opioid-free pain drug this year. Ambani, the richest person in Asia as of May 2025, continues to reshape Reliance and groom the next generation of leadership. Adani, added to the list for the first time this year, remains a polarizing figure amid ongoing legal and political scrutiny.

“Gone are the days when a leader can remain on this list without constantly reinventing their company, their strategy, everything,” said Fortune Executive Editor Lee Clifford.

The list is compiled using Fortune’s proprietary methodology, which considers the size and health of a leader’s business, along with their innovation, influence, and broader impact.

Comments

This is a Premium Article, available exclusively to our subscribers.

Read 500+ such News or articles every month by subscribing today!
Monthly

Free

Limited Access

Limited View

Free weekly E-Paper

Subscribe Now
Monthly

$10

Full Access

Unlimited View

Free weekly E-Paper

Free daily newsletter

Subscribe Now
Annual

$50

Full Access

Unlimited View

Free weekly E-Paper

Free daily newsletter

Subscribe Now
Start the conversation

Become a member of New India Abroad to start commenting.

Sign Up Now

Already have an account? Login