The year 2021 has been a roller coaster ride for a lot many in the country. With the second wave in the Covid induced pandemic, to appointment of Indians to top positions at global giants, India has witnessed it all. Let’s check a few Indians who have been globally recognized this year in the field of business and entertainment.
1. Parag Agarwal
The first name has to be that of the newly appointed Twitter CEO, Parag Agarwal. Adding to the list of Indian-origin individuals who are globally heading some of the major technology companies like Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella, Parag, a confidante of Jack Dorsey and the CTO of Twitter since 2017, was appointed as the CEO of Twitter in December 2021. Born in Mumbai and an alumnus of IIT, the 37-year old has done what many can only think of at such an early age.
2. Jay Chaudhry
The richest Indian American in 2021, Jay Chaudhry has come a long way. From walking 4 kms to attending school, to being featured on the Forbes list, Jay Chaudhry’s life has been proof that hard work is the only route to success. Founder of a string of companies that were eventually taken by global giants, Jay Chaudhry found Z-Scaler, a cloud-based information security firm in 2008 which was listed on Nasdaq. The tenth richest Indian in the world according to Hurun List 2021, his family owns a 42% stake Z-Scaler.
3. Leena Nair
With an illustrious career spanning over three decades, Leena will step down from the position of Unilever’s Chief Human Resources Officer, to take on the French Luxury group Chanel’s Global CEO position in January 2022. Nair was the youngest and the first woman Chief HRO at Unilever. An alumnus of XLRI, Leena Nair is one of the few cases of Indian women such as Indra Nooyi and Sonya Syngal becoming CEOs of global giants.
4. Anupam Tripathi
Squid Game created a frenzy of sorts after it became one of the most-watched shows of 2021 on Netflix. And Anupam Tripathi, who played the role of Abdul Ali on the show, garnered global recognition for his performance. His character in the show was known to be that of the selfless guy who was caring, loyal and knew to keep hopes high amidst obstacles. Born in Delhi, he attended the National School of Drama and then the Korea National University of Arts. Tripathi is now settled in South Korea and is fluent in Hindi, English and Korean.
5. Adarsh Gourav
Born into a Telugu family in Jamshedpur, Adarsh began his acting career at the age of 14. But the film ‘The White Tiger’, in which he played the role of Balram Halvai is what brought him into the limelight this year. Variety, called him “a small marvel” and The Telegraph recognized his work as that which “gives the definition of a breakthrough performance”. Known for his silences that conveyed more than his words in the film, Adarsh will now be seen sharing screen space with Meryl Streep and Kit Harrington in Extrapolations!
6. Harish Patel
Indian stage and film actor Harish Patel is the newest actor to be recognised in Hollywood. From his debut in Mandi in 1983, to acting in iconic films and television shows like Mr India and Malgudi Days, Harish Patel has been recognised for his performance this year as Karun in Marvel Studios’ Eternals. 68-year old Harish is known for his catchphrase “Gayee Bhains Pani Me” from the movie Mr India.
With more Indians being accepted for their talents and experience worldwide, one can only wait and watch what the year 2022 will have in store for us all.
