Tech billionaire Elon Musk rightly said, “I think America has immensely benefited from talented Indians. I mean America has been an immense beneficiary of talent from India.” This weighs in on why American conglomerates continue to welcome Indian-origin talents to the C-suite. Indian American CEOs, from Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy to Asha Sharma (CEO of Microsoft Gaming) to Shailesh Jejurikar (Procter & Gamble CEO), are reshaping the US economy, from tech to FMCG to healthcare. Keeping up with the trend, Sridhar Kuppanna and Venkat Kavarthapu, recently joined the elite club of Indian-origin CEOs in USA.
New Indian American CEOs: Sridhar Kuppanna and Venkat Kavarthapu
Sridhar and Venkat from South India started their ‘American Dream’ journey on an H1B Visa (the most disputed US visa) after having studied in India. Both are from South India where higher education is an ambition in itself. Symplr, a US healthcare technology giant, appointed Venkat Kavarthapu as its CEO on 13 April, and Sridhar Kuppanna was named CEO of ST Engineering iDirect, a global satellite communications company, on 31 March.
Who is CEO Sridhar Kuppanna in USA
Sridhar was born and raised in Tamil Nadu, where he built his academic foundation in technology. He completed his undergraduate studies in computer science from the University of Madras and went on to earn a Master of Computer Applications from Alagappa University, Tamil Nadu. India’s telecom boom in the 1990s became the launchpad for his career before he moved to the USA in the early 2000s.
Today, with over 25 years of experience, Sridhar Kuppanna is a seasoned telecom and network technology leader. Known for his deep engineering expertise and long career in global communications infrastructure, he has steadily risen through technical and leadership roles to lead one of the world’s key satellite technology companies.
Career highlights and leadership journey:
- Former Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of Engineering at the same company (2023–2026)
- Over 16 years at Ribbon Communications in senior engineering and leadership roles
- Recognized industry expert in satellite communications, 5G networks, and cloud-based connectivity
- Named “CTO of the Year (2025)” in telecom industry circles
- Early career at Ind-Telesoft in India, working on telecom software and network systems
Who is newly appointed Symplr CEO Venkat Kavarthapu
Like Satya Nadella, Venkat Kavarthapu is from Hyderabad that sends to USA not only meritorious students but also aspiring leaders. His journey from Hyderabad to Houston, where Symplr’s headquarters is located, reflects the rise of India-educated leaders worldwide. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communication from Osmania University, Hyderabad, and studied MBA at IIM Lucknow. His career started in India’s IT sector before he travelled to the US to join Edifecs in 2009.
He saw the best of his career for 15 years at Edifecs, a leading healthcare data management company. He rose through ranks and responsibilities, and became CEO of Edifecs in 2021. By the time he resigned from his position of Edifecs’ CEO, he became an established name in the US healthcare tech industry. At Symplr, CEO Venkat Kavarthapu focuses on leveraging AI and data-driven analytics to improve efficiency, compliance, and patient outcomes across the US.
