Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai among top 10 in fortune 100 power list

The 2025 edition of Fortune's "100 Most Powerful People in Business" shines a spotlight on a new era of global leadership, with technology executives dominating the top ranks. At the very pinnacle is Jensen Huang, CEO and founder of NVIDIA, followed closely by Satya Nadella of Microsoft and Sundar Pichai of Alphabet (Google) firmly positioned within the Top 10. The annual listing evaluates not just financial metrics and scale, but a leader's influence, strategic vision, and capacity to reshape industries.

The Indian diaspora's prominent footprint

This year’s list underscores the international and particularly Indian-origin influence in global business leadership:

• Satya Nadella (Ranked 2): As CEO and Chairman of Microsoft, Nadella is lauded for guiding the company through twin revolutions—from PC dominance to cloud computing, and now to the forefront of the AI race. His foresight in partnering early with OpenAI gave Microsoft a critical advantage in generative AI, despite recent tensions as OpenAI seeks greater independence. Nadella's influence is reflected in Microsoft's $3.7 trillion market cap, the ubiquity of Office 365, Azure’s steady encroachment on AWS, and continued investments in developer-centric platforms like GitHub Copilot. He is recognized not only for operational excellence and innovation but also for his empathetic, charismatic leadership.
• Sundar Pichai (Ranked 6): Heading Alphabet, Pichai helms a conglomerate with leading businesses ranging from Google search and YouTube to Android and Waymo. With a market capitalization exceeding $2 trillion, Pichai has had to navigate regulatory threats and disrupt Google’s structure to keep ahead in AI, notably integrating their Gemini models across the product suite. His leadership is marked by agility in the face of generative AI’s disruptive impact on search advertising, and bold reorganization to maintain Google’s dominance.
• Shantanu Narayen (Ranked 38): The longtime CEO of Adobe has been a pioneer in embracing AI while assuring customers it is a tool for enhancement, not replacement. In 2024–2025, Adobe's integration of generative AI features and innovative partnerships, such as with the English Premier League, has driven substantial recurring revenue growth and cemented Narayen’s influence.
• Reshma Kewalramani (Ranked 62): The Mumbai-born CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals enters the list as the company breaks ground in opioid-free pain relief and maintains its global leadership in cystic fibrosis drugs. Her medical background and strong strategic direction have propelled Vertex’s valuation past $110 billion.
• Neal Mohan (Ranked 83): Recently appointed YouTube CEO, Mohan's focus has been on expanding short-form video, launching AI-driven features, and bolstering both Music and Premium subscription growth. Under his leadership, YouTube TV subscribers surpassed 8 million, and the platform crossed 125 million paid accounts.
• Mukesh Ambani (Ranked 56): As Reliance Industries' chairman and Asia’s richest man, Ambani’s empire spans petrochemicals, telecom, retail, and entertainment. He orchestrates India’s most significant conglomerate while grooming the next generation of leaders within the family, maintaining a net worth around $100 billion as of July 2025.
• Gautam Adani (Ranked 96): Adani is among India’s most influential and controversial business leaders, building the Adani Group from a commodity trading firm to a multi-sector empire. He remains a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and commands vast influence, despite facing scrutiny domestically and abroad over political ties and legal controversies.

Female leadership and diversity

Nineteen women, including Julie Sweet (Accenture, No. 11), Jane Fraser (Citigroup, No. 12), Lisa Su (AMD, No. 14), and Ana Botín (Banco Santander, No. 20), punctuate this year’s list, reflecting incremental progress in gender diversity at the apex of corporate power.

Power list: Key takeaways

• The top five in the 2025 list: Jensen Huang (NVIDIA), Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Elon Musk (Tesla/SpaceX), Wang Chuanfu (BYD), with Sundar Pichai (Alphabet) at No. 6.
• The Fortune 100 ranks leaders for their industry-shaping impact, vision, innovation, and the scale of businesses they run.
• Technology continues to be the major force transforming the landscape and propelling diverse leaders into the global spotlight.

This ranking underscores how Indian and Indian-origin executives are not only leading iconic multinational companies—but are shaping the future of global business.