Expat CEOs a rare commodity in India Inc
According to data sourced from Prime Database, there are 28 non-India expat CEOs among the 2,521 CEOs cumulatively appointed by 2,048 listed companies at end of FY24. The number of expat CEOs has hovered around the same levels over the past decade with several being individuals of Indian origin.
In a country that is a CEO factory for the world, an expat CEO remains an exotic species. India Inc has largely been homogeneous in its C-suite appointments with a clear preference for home-bred desi CEOs. This is due to a variety of reasons such as cost, culture fit, understanding of the market complexities & regulatory systems.
Companies in the more globalised aviation and pharma sectors — Air India, Indigo, DRL, Biocon (at the group level) and Syngene International — have managed to rope in expat CEOs. Sun Pharma too roped in Israel Makov, former CEO of Teva Pharma, as the chairman of its board for ten years ending 2022. In the past, Ranbaxy, Jet Airways and Spicejet have had expat CEOs.
Among business groups, Tata group has been at the forefront in onboarding expat CEOs. Air India, Tata Technologies and Agratas (Tata group's battery cell company) currently are led by expat CEOs while Tata Motors, Vistara and Tata Teleservices have had expat CEOs in the past.
Reliance Digital has had an expat CEO Brian Bade since 2010.
The multinational FMCG companies like HUL and P&G have traditionally preferred to have an Indian CEO to helm their Indian operations rather than have an outsider lead it. Nestle India was an
