The Indian Panorama

Tag: Vishal Garg

  • Indian-origin CEOs who made headlines in 2023

    Indian-origin CEOs who made headlines in 2023

    Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s much-talked-about coup by hiring OpenAI’s Sam Altman shone the spotlight on how a good leader can make the best out of a difficult situation. The lesson in leadership was admired by global business leaders. Like Nadella, other Indian-origin CEOs made headlines in 2023, here’s a breakdown of some of them.
    Satya Nadella, Microsoft
    After OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was abruptly fired by the company board, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella pounced on the opportunity to bring him aboard. He announced that Altman and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman will be joining Microsoft to head a new advanced AI research team. Later, as events unfolded, Sam Altman was reinstated as the CEO of OpenAI. Responding to the development, Nadella told Bloomberg TV it doesn’t matter where Altman ends up working — because “irrespective of where Sam is, he’s working with Microsoft.” The tech giant is an investor in OpenAI, pouring $10 billion into the AI startup.
    Sundar Pichai, Alphabet

    Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai made headlines for the layoffs in the company and for the antitrust trial between Google and Fortnite developer Epic Games, which has accused the internet search giant of abusive, monopolistic practices via its app store. Pichai asserted that Google does not intentionally stifle competition when it came to the multiple rounds of layoffs in the company, Pichai stated, “Clearly it’s not the right way to do it. I think it’s something we could have done differently for sure.”
    Vishal Garg, Better.com
    The Better.com CEO made headlines in 2021 by laying off 900 employees over a Zoom call. In 2022, the company gave its employees in India the option to quit voluntarily and accepted over 900 resignations. Continuing the trend, in 2023, Vishal Garg laid off its entire real estate team and shut down the unit, according to a report by TechCrunch. In an interview with the publication, Garg said he underwent a lot of leadership training to rebuild the trust within and outside the company.
    Shantanu Narayen, Adobe
    The Adobe CEO recently made headlines after the company shelved its $20 billion cash-and-stock deal for cloud-based designer platform Figma, stating that there was “no clear path” for approvals from antitrust regulators in the European Union and the UK. Shantanu Narayen also made news when he did not agree with Infosys founder Narayan Murthy that young Indians should work 70 hours a week for the sake of the country’s development. “People should do what they want without taking the victim mentality –that I am being told what to do,” he said.
    Ajay Pal Banga, World Bank

    Indian-origin Ajay Banga made headlines earlier this year after being announced as the World Bank president. In May, the World Bank’s 25-member executive board elected Banga to a five-year term as president. Earlier in his career, Banga also led Mastercard as its COO and CEO. In 2016, he was also conferred with the Padma Shri for his contribution to trade and industry.
    Arvind Krishna, IBM
    As employers and employees tussle with the return to office mandate, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna made news after he issued a warning to his employees that remote work can hurt their career prospects, especially for managerial roles. The IIT Kanpur alumnus said he is not asking anyone to come back to the office now, but “We encourage you to come in, we expect you to come in, we want you to come in.”
    Parag Agrawal
    The former CEO of Twitter, now X, made headlines after Elon Musk released his autobiography. In it, Parag Agrawal’s ex-boss said that he lacked leadership qualities. Musk revealed that he met Agrawal over dinner before he bought Twitter and concluded that he did not have “leadership quality”. “He’s a really nice guy. What Twitter needs is a fire-breathing dragon and Parag is not that,” Musk reportedly said after meeting with Agrawal.

  • Indian-origin CEO who fired 900 employees over Zoom last month is returning to his position

    Indian-origin CEO who fired 900 employees over Zoom last month is returning to his position

    NEW YORK (TIP): Vishal Garg, the Indian-origin CEO of US-based homeownership firm Better.com, who recently fired nearly 900 employees over a Zoom call and triggered widespread outrage, is returning to his position more than a month after “taking time off” from the job.

    Garg had fired almost 900 employees over a Zoom call just weeks before Christmas last year.

    “I come to you with not great news. If you’re on this call you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off. Your employment here is terminated effective immediately,” Garg had said, drawing widespread criticism over the way he informed about 9 per cent of the company’s employees that they were being let go.

    Garg had later apologized for the way he handled the layoffs, saying, “I failed to show the appropriate amount of respect and appreciation for the individuals who were affected and for their contributions to Better. I own the decision to do the layoffs, but in communicating it I blundered the execution. In doing so, I embarrassed you.”

    It was announced on Wednesday that Garg is returning to his position, weeks after the company’s board had announced in a staff memo that he was “taking time off” following the “very regrettable events.”

    A report in The New York Times cited an email sent by the company’s board to staff that read, “As you know, Better’s CEO Vishal Garg has been taking a break from his full-time duties to reflect on his leadership, reconnect with the values that make Better great and work closely with an executive coach.”

    “We are confident in Vishal and in the changes he is committed to making to provide the type of leadership, focus and vision that Better needs at this pivotal time,” it said.

    A CNN report said that in a separate letter to employees, Garg said, “I understand how hard these past few weeks have been. I am deeply sorry for the angst, distraction and embarrassment my actions have caused. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about where we are as a company and the type of leadership Better needs…and the leader I want to be.” After firing the employees, Garg had told them that they could expect an email from the Human Resource department, detailing benefits and severance. Garg had cited market efficiency, performance and productivity as the reasons behind the firings.