as a pollen AgarwalThe new chief executive officer (CEO) of microblogging site Twitter, joining a growing number of Indian-American executives at top US tech firms, is no surprise as he is out of the box of being an elite IIT Bombay alumnus. Let’s check.
Fellow alumni of IIT-B across the US are celebrating the rise of Agarwal, who studied at Tech College from 2001 to 2005, as CEO of Twitter. “Things have changed since I was trying to break in. Brand IIT and Brand India are well established here. Together. Sunder Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet; Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft; Shantanu Narayan, CEO of Adobe Systems; and Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM; As the head of top US tech companies, these appointments are no longer big news here in Silicon Valley,” said Kanwal, a distinguished IIT-B alumnus. RekhiConsidered the first Indian-American founder and CEO to take Axelon, a venture-backed company, publicly on the NASDAQ in 1982, he told TIMESOFINDIA.com in an exclusive interview.
He said that many Indian-Americans like Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo; Vikram Pandit, former CEO of Citigroup; Rajeev L Gupta; former CEO of Rohm & Haas; And Ajay Banga, Executive Chairman of Mastercard, also made his mark as Power CEO in the US East Coast, increasing the respect the community enjoys.
Although Rekha, who graduated from IIT-B in 1967, does not know Agarwal personally, she feels that the Stanford University scholar must be “sharp as a nail”. “He has been on Twitter for a long time and was the CTO. My understanding is that he has been very influential and was responsible for shutting down (former) President Trump’s account. I am sure he will be able to handle Twitter well, it is a really simple ad-driven business,” said Rekha.
Suresh P Sethi, Professor and Director of the Center for Intelligent Supply Networks at the University of Texas at Dallas and a distinguished IIT-B alumnus, is delighted to see another IITian join the long line of successful alumni from his alma mater, whose It started with him. Batchmates in business Rajeev Gupta and Kanwal Rekhi and many top academicians in the world. “With excellent education from IIT-B and Stanford and a decade long experience on Twitter, Agarwal should do well. Given that the world is paying attention to what Twitter does and how influential the platform is, it needs a rational, thoughtful and empathetic person at its helm and apparently, he found that.
Several senior IITians in the US, who do not know Agarwal personally as he is several years his junior, still share the excitement of the young Indian American being named the CEO of Twitter. “It is an entire ecosystem of merit-based entrance exams, talented faculty, residential systems and an environment that fosters innovation, followed by an educational pathway to top US universities like Stanford that is behind the success of technology. Leaders like Agarwal,” said Pratim Biswas, dean, engineering, University of Miami, and board member of the IITB Heritage Foundation.
He said IIT-B’s strong alumni network, which was established in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 90s, helps connect members across US states and generations. “It is not just leadership roles in top corporate and cutting-edge start-ups; IIT-B alumni now also form a strong academic network, with over 250 holding senior faculty positions in US universities,” he said.
Sarita Adway, a professor at the Siebel Center for Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is also proud that Agarwal is from IIT-B, her alma mater. “There are many aspects to his appointment as the CEO of Twitter that are very touching to me. I am happy to see that he has done his PhD and started his career in research. Behind all visible changes in technology lies the importance of rigorous training provided by research,” she said.
He also highlighted the many ways in which technology is harming society today, through the inadvertent use of biased algorithms or the malicious propagation of misinformation and invasion of privacy. “Social media companies have a particularly big role to play here. While I am thrilled to see first-generation Indian Americans taking the lead in the tech sector, much more needs to be done to ensure that we all have people representing society. There is a multiplicity of perspectives,” she said.
He believes that the current technical leadership, including Agarwal, has a greater responsibility to bring about change.
Fellow alumni of IIT-B across the US are celebrating the rise of Agarwal, who studied at Tech College from 2001 to 2005, as CEO of Twitter. “Things have changed since I was trying to break in. Brand IIT and Brand India are well established here. Together. Sunder Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet; Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft; Shantanu Narayan, CEO of Adobe Systems; and Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM; As the head of top US tech companies, these appointments are no longer big news here in Silicon Valley,” said Kanwal, a distinguished IIT-B alumnus. RekhiConsidered the first Indian-American founder and CEO to take Axelon, a venture-backed company, publicly on the NASDAQ in 1982, he told TIMESOFINDIA.com in an exclusive interview.
He said that many Indian-Americans like Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo; Vikram Pandit, former CEO of Citigroup; Rajeev L Gupta; former CEO of Rohm & Haas; And Ajay Banga, Executive Chairman of Mastercard, also made his mark as Power CEO in the US East Coast, increasing the respect the community enjoys.
Although Rekha, who graduated from IIT-B in 1967, does not know Agarwal personally, she feels that the Stanford University scholar must be “sharp as a nail”. “He has been on Twitter for a long time and was the CTO. My understanding is that he has been very influential and was responsible for shutting down (former) President Trump’s account. I am sure he will be able to handle Twitter well, it is a really simple ad-driven business,” said Rekha.
Suresh P Sethi, Professor and Director of the Center for Intelligent Supply Networks at the University of Texas at Dallas and a distinguished IIT-B alumnus, is delighted to see another IITian join the long line of successful alumni from his alma mater, whose It started with him. Batchmates in business Rajeev Gupta and Kanwal Rekhi and many top academicians in the world. “With excellent education from IIT-B and Stanford and a decade long experience on Twitter, Agarwal should do well. Given that the world is paying attention to what Twitter does and how influential the platform is, it needs a rational, thoughtful and empathetic person at its helm and apparently, he found that.
Several senior IITians in the US, who do not know Agarwal personally as he is several years his junior, still share the excitement of the young Indian American being named the CEO of Twitter. “It is an entire ecosystem of merit-based entrance exams, talented faculty, residential systems and an environment that fosters innovation, followed by an educational pathway to top US universities like Stanford that is behind the success of technology. Leaders like Agarwal,” said Pratim Biswas, dean, engineering, University of Miami, and board member of the IITB Heritage Foundation.
He said IIT-B’s strong alumni network, which was established in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 90s, helps connect members across US states and generations. “It is not just leadership roles in top corporate and cutting-edge start-ups; IIT-B alumni now also form a strong academic network, with over 250 holding senior faculty positions in US universities,” he said.
Sarita Adway, a professor at the Siebel Center for Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is also proud that Agarwal is from IIT-B, her alma mater. “There are many aspects to his appointment as the CEO of Twitter that are very touching to me. I am happy to see that he has done his PhD and started his career in research. Behind all visible changes in technology lies the importance of rigorous training provided by research,” she said.
He also highlighted the many ways in which technology is harming society today, through the inadvertent use of biased algorithms or the malicious propagation of misinformation and invasion of privacy. “Social media companies have a particularly big role to play here. While I am thrilled to see first-generation Indian Americans taking the lead in the tech sector, much more needs to be done to ensure that we all have people representing society. There is a multiplicity of perspectives,” she said.
He believes that the current technical leadership, including Agarwal, has a greater responsibility to bring about change.
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