Indians at Helm of U.S. Firms Cause Bit of Stir in China: Report

NEW YORK: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella joining the growing list of India-born chiefs at the helm of American companies has caused a "bit of a stir" in China, according to a media report. The Wall Street Journal report titled 'Why China Doesn't Export World-Class CEOs' also said Indians' good command over the English language and their willingness to move gives them an edge over their Chinese counterparts to get the top jobs. "Language and familiarity with Western culture are the obvious reasons why chief executives such as Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo Inc.,

Anshu Jain of Deutsche Bank and MasterCard Inc's Ajay Banga have succeeded in the West. But headhunters also say Indians are more willing to move than Chinese, who see more opportunity and good pay at home," it said. The report said that Nadella's appointment as CEO has "caused a bit of a stir in China, where people are questioning why Indians but not Chinese are getting top jobs in the U.S." The other reasons cited by the report are the high pay and advancement opportunities that are keeping many Chinese executives at home. It said annual salaries for management positions at the director level in China are already at about $131,000, which is four times as much as in India, where executives at that level earn $35,000 on average.

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