Why India produces more overseas CEOs than China, wonders Chinese media

It's generally China which takes the cake when compared to India on issues ranging from the economy to the military.

However, there is one sector where a reverse trend has been observed and it is the number of Indians as the chief executive officers (CEOs) in large multi-national companies in the US like Google and Microsoft.

According to a piece (http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1106620.shtml) in China's Global Times which is operated by the state-run People's Daily: "Indians seem to have outperformed Chinese in terms of their presence in the corporate management world, with more Indians holding CEO positions in large multinational companies in the US such as Google and Microsoft."

To seek answer for this disparity, Global Times spoke to a couple of business personalities - one Indian and another Chinese - and it found out that India had a lead over China in producing more chief executives because of it nurtures talent better and also has a linguistic advantage and that help its people to adapt to different conditions and cultures easily.

The Chinese who go to the US for studying, on the other hand, prefer to return to their country and focus on the home economy.

In recent years, India-borns Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella were appointed as the CEOs of Google and Microsoft. Besides these two giants, many other big firms in the West have people of Indian origin as their CEOs - a feat which is yet to be matched by the Chinese.

One reason why the Indians have led in the race is the popularisation of the MBA degree and ample scope of its study in Indian educational institutes.

According to Sumeet Chander, country head of global professional services provider Evalueserve:

"Most of my friends pursued an MBA degree after undergraduate study. The institutions where we did our MBAs were some of the top business schools in India, and then we managed to get jobs with some of the better-known corporations, banks or consulting firms," the Global Times report said, quoting him.

"Generally speaking, holding a bachelor's, master's, especially an MBA, or even a PhD degree in engineering has become standard for CEOs of Indian origin in US high-tech firms. This trend is demonstrated in the profiles of the CEOs of Google, Microsoft, Adobe, SanDisk and many other firms," the Times report quoted Chris Dong, global research director at technology advisory firm IDC China, as saying.

He said most Indians at US hi-tech firms take the same career path.

"They start as an engineer and then manage products. It's crucial for those who wish to pursue high-level management posts, as rotations in different product or business units help one better understand the firm's strategies and operations," the Global Times quoted him as saying.

The Chinese engineers, on the other hand, prefer to take up a career in the technical field.

On the question of adaptation, Indian's strong educational backgrounds and eagerness to adjust and lead also help them remain leaders in the race, the experts said, the Times report added.

"Most of the good students in India tend to be proficient in English, so when they move to the US, Canada or the UK, it's relatively easy for them to adapt," the Times report quoted Chander is saying.

He said for the Chinese, the preference is more to move back to their homeland for work. Besides, language is also an issue for them, especially the first-generation folks, and this causes problem in adapting fast.

According to Dong: "It's common to see Indian students developing friendships with Americans and those from other countries and regions, while most Chinese students are confined to their small circle," the Times report added.

Dong also said that the Indian talents have an advantage in the fact that foreign firms are more open to set up outsourcing centres in India.