Amid H-1B visa clampdown, T-Mobile names Srini Gopalan CEO; Molson Coors elevates Rahul Goyal

As the US tightens entry for Indian professionals and students under MAGA-driven policies, T-Mobile has bucked the trend, naming Srinivas (Srini) Gopalan, an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, as its new CEO-signaling continued trust in Indian talent at the helm of major American firms, according to The Times of India.

Gopalan, 55, who currently serves as chief operating officer, will succeed Mike Sievert on November 1, the TOI report said. Sievert, who has helmed the company since 2020, will move up as vice-chairman. An industry veteran, Gopalan began his career at Hindustan Unilever before taking leadership roles at Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, and Deutsche Telekom. Having grown up in Delhi, he studied at DPS and St. Stephen's College before heading to IIM-A.

In a parallel development, Molson Coors-the Chicago-based beer maker and the world's fourth-largest brewer after Anheuser-Busch, Heineken and Carlsberg-has elevated Rahul Goyal as its new CEO. Goyal, 49, who has been with the company for over two decades and is currently chief strategy officer, will succeed Gavin Hattersley on October 1. An engineering graduate from Mysore, Goyal later pursued business administration in Denver.

These appointments add to the roster of Indian-origin leaders heading major US companies, including Microsoft, Google, IBM and FedEx, a trend that TOI noted is increasingly drawing the ire of anti-globalization MAGA loyalists opposed to foreign-born executives taking charge of American corporations.