Pandit joins Nooyi and Aiyer; Indians rock US corporate world

Washington, Dec 12: Indians are going global and they are among the 15 foreign-born chiefs running Fortune 100 companies in the United States.

After PepsiCo's Indra K Nooyi and Hartford Financial Services' Ramani Ayer, Vikram S Pandit has been another proud Indian to carve a niche for himself in the American corporate world.

A native of Nagpur, Mr Pandit was yesterday appointed the chief executive of Citigroup, the world's largest bank.

In future, it is expected that more Indians would be recruited to the ranks of top executives as business schools are selecting more foreign students and more companies are hiring worldwide.

While Mr Pandit moved to the United States for earning undergraduate, master's and doctorate degrees at Columbia, Ms Nooyi attended the Yale School of Management. Like these, Mr Ayer came here to attend graduate school at Drexel University.

Also, the companies are now focussing more on the foreign markets for growth.

''As you move through the company and you're looked at for a promotion, one of the things we're going to look at is, do you have international experience?'' Susan Bishop, a spokeswoman for General Electric, was quoted by the New York Times as saying.

However, there are few who have made their mark with no American educational support. Ethan Allen Interiors chief executive M Farooq Kathwari said, ''I have been shaped by my experience moving on my own at age 21 from the Kashmir region of India to the United States.'' ''When you leave your home, leave your family and come to a different country, you have had the instincts of an entrepreneur,'' he added.

With their hard work and strong work ethics, Indians are undoubtedly making a mark in the US.

UNI