Google's new Chief Executive Officer is Indian-born Sundar Pichai. Because of his recent status, several schools are claiming that Pichai is one of their alumnus, at least on the Internet.
Sundar Pichai, who spent his growing up years in India, is now heading Google, one of the largest companies in Silicon Valley, California. According to The Indian Express, Pichai has been an American citizen for 25 years now. The 43-year old CEO has risen to fame that even some schools appear to be claiming to be his alma mater particularly in Wikipedia where facts can be edited. Three schools have cited Pichai to be their alumnus but none of them is true.
Based on a report from India Times, Sundar Pichai also known as Sundi, went to Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) in 1989 to study engineering. A hostelmate even recalls Sundar as the boy whom everyone made fun of at the Nehru residence hall.
Before Pichai reached where he is now, he started from humble beginnings. The Straits Times reports that Pichai used to live with his family in a two-door apartment in Chennai, India where he and his younger brother slept in their living room. His father was an electrical engineer while his mother was a stenographer.
After graduating from IIT-Kharagpur, Pichai earned a scholarship to Stanford University to study semi-conductor physics and material science. Pichai's father had to give up his savings which was more than a year of his earnings for his air fare and other expenses. Originally, Pichai's plan was to be in academics but he dropped from Standford after finishing his masters. He worked as an engineer and product manager at a semi-conductor company. Pichai got an MBA at Wharton School of Business and worked as a consultant at Mckinsey. Pichai started working at Google in 2004 where he became a product manager before being promoted as CEO this year.
Aside from his skills, Sundar Pichai's work ethics such as being emphatic and friendly are one of the things that made him rise from the ranks.
Join the Conversation