What makes Indian managers like incoming Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan unique? It's in their DNA

Laxman Narasimhan

As Laxman Narasimhan is named the CEO of the world's largest coffeehouse chain Starbucks, the spotlight has again fallen on the spectacular rise of Indians at the top of the global corporate order.

Narasimhan, the 55-year-old consumer-industry veteran with roots in Pune, will become Starbucks' CEO and member of the Board of Directors on April 1, 2023, stepping into the big shoes of outgoing CEO Howard Schultz, who built the US coffee chain into a global empire.

He joins the long list of Indian-origin leaders at the helm of multinational conglomerates as CEOs including Chanel’s Leena Nair, Twitter’s Parag Agarwal and Sundar Pichai at Google.

But what makes Indian managers shine? To find out, Moneycontrol interacted with senior corporate leaders, leadership mentors and professors who have served in both Indian and international markets.

Indians are more 'battle-ready'

Three qualities -- the ability to handle ambiguity and find clarity; to think and act synchronously and to quickly settle into new and strange environments without losing our own identity -- are distinct about Indian leaders that help them succeed and do well on the international stage, says Raj Narayan, who retired as EVP and CHRO from watch manufacturer Titan last year and is currently a mentor and coach with years of international experience in talent and leadership development in Europe and Asia Pacific.

“We have enough opportunity to develop and hone all these skills in the multicultural and diverse milieu we have in India and to which many are exposed at home,” he told Moneycontrol.

“The heritage of our cultural values promotes a deep humility, allowing us to build win-win situations, where the first win is always for the other party,” says Career Coach Sawan Kapoor.

Even outgoing CEO Howard Schultz alluded to this while speaking about Laxman Narasimhan’s focus on Starbucks' partner-centred approach.

“Added to this premise is the fact that we Indians are more battle ready, this positions us as some of the best CEOs on the planet,” Kapoor says. “The ultimate goal of any global organisation's founder must be to eventually have their company run by a CEO from India or of Indian origin,” he mused in a lighter vein.

The cultural DNA 

Leadership competencies require visioning, a holistic view, a sense of inspiration, adaptability and creative thinking, among others. These all are present in the cultural DNA of an Indian, says Dr Deepak Sharma, Associate Professor at Bengaluru-based Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies.

He says India as a country offers a high emphasis on social values and provides a highly stable family environment, leading to the development of high aspirations and building resilience amongst the “more grounded middle-class family members”.

Emphasising the ‘groundedness’ as a resource, Sharma says, “Absence of early luxuries in life helps typical middle-class Indian individuals develop a sense of ‘jugaad’ which means designing creative insights and instincts to problems.”

"(He has) a proven track record in developing purpose-led brands and driving consumer-centric and digital innovation," his former company Reckitt Benckiser has said about Narasimhan. "He has previously led complex operational businesses and inspired teams across developed and emerging markets to achieve market-leading performance."

Professor Kamal Jain from IIM Raipur concurred with Sharma and said struggling, tough living conditions that many of them (corporate leaders) have seen make them strong.

“Upbringing in a joint family is a great learning experience. This teaches you values like help, support, cooperation, and the value of each member of the family,” he adds.