On joining big league of Indian-origin CEOs, Rajiv Ayyangar said: ‘but I’m also…’

Rajiv Ayyangar is the US-born CEO of Product Hunt (Image credit: @rajivayyangar/Twitter)

Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Shantanu Narayen, Laxman Narasimhan and Leena Nair have one thing in common – they are all Indian-origin CEOs leading some of the world’s biggest companies. But a new entrant on this impressive list of India-origin CEOs is wary of being identified as such - Rajiv Ayyangar, the recently-appointed chief executive of Product Hunt, wants people to know that he is also half Filipino.

In a post introducing Rajiv Ayyangar as the new CEO of Product Hunt, a Twitter user wrote: “Another Indian CEO in the big leagues, we love to see it.”

Ayyangar himself responded to the post to remind his followers that he is also half Filipino. “Seeing this take a lot...but I'm also half Filipino! Don't sleep on the growing Philippines startup scene,” he wrote.

Seeing this take a lot...but I'm also half Filipino! Don't sleep on the growing startup scene! https://t.co/xtEFQxvZZb

— Rajiv Ayyangar (@rajivayyangar) September 20, 2023

In a blog post announcing his appointment as CEO, Ayyangar said he first heard about product launch and discovery platform Product Hunt in 2014 while commuting on a Yahoo shuttle. A few months later, he left Yahoo and launched his own startup – a social wine app – on Product Hunt.

“I'm thrilled to be able to shape the next chapter of Product Hunt - a company that's changed my life and countless others,” the new CEO of Product Hunt said.