The current crop of Indian CEOs also represent the cream their generation, according to venture capitalist Venktesh Shukla, who is president of the Silicon Valley branch of networking organisation The Indus Entrepreneurs.

"They mostly came here in the days of socialism in India when opportunities were very limited and United States immigration policy only let in the most highly qualified," he said. "So what you have here is the best of the best."

Understanding diversity

But it’s not all about academic qualifications.

Shukla also believes that Indian culture can help create a successful management paradigm because he says it's a nation that places high value on both competition and individual humility. Diversity is also ingrained in a country where even in small villages there may be multiple languages spoken, several religions and more than one type of local cuisine.

"If you've grown up in India you instinctively know people are different, not superior, just different. The ability to leverage diversity is a strength here in Silicon Valley where if you can get more revenue or deliver a better product it doesn't matter what you look like or how you speak."

Gurnek Bains, founder and chairman of a global business psychology consultancy YSC and author of Cultural DNA: The Psychology of Globalization added that this ingrained understanding of diversity also comes from the Indian traditions of multiple gods, multiple realities and multiple perspectives.

"It also means they can engage the ambiguity of a fast-changing world in industries such as IT," said Bains, whose company carries out in-depth assessments of business leaders around the world. Bains suggested that Americans are more likely “to think: ‘This is the right way of doing things. It works in America.’ ”

The research, based on content analysis of YSC's assessments of 200 executives from each of the world's regions, also revealed that Indians have a strong will to achieve and, are unusually strong in the intellectual domain, Bains said.

Still, no one is perfect. For all their strengths, there is a major flaw. "Indian executives are the weakest of any country when it comes to teamwork," according to the research Bains said, of an area where Americans and Europeans do well.

The path forward

For now, it seems the best path to the top of the executive or entrepreneurial tree might be rooted in India and finished abroad. And those Indian executives who do best at multinational companies, Bains added, are those who've spent a long time outside their home country developing their teamwork skills.

“Kids all over India are looking at the new CEOs of Microsoft and Google, the two brands they use most, and they're Indian,” said Wadhwa, who first made his name as an Indian-born tech entrepreneur in America. “This is motivating and inspiring those kids to become like them.”

But soon they may not need to travel to the US to emulate their success, Wadhwa continued, as by one measure India becomes the third-largest economy in the world after the US and China.

Unlike their predecessors, today’s young generation may just want to stay put.

“In next three to five years in India, half a billion people are going to be coming online using smartphones. You're going to see a tech revolution there. You're going to see dozens of billion dollar companies coming out of India,” he said. “If I was an entrepreneur I wouldn't come to America. I'd stay in India right now because that's where the opportunities are.”

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