Famous NRIs from Hyderabad
Hyderabad, the capital city of the Indian state of Telangana, is located along the banks of River Musi. This ancient city is known for its rich culture and royal Nizami heritage, which is reflected in the everyday life of its people even in modern times. Another extremely famous aspect of the city is its cuisine, which comprises of flavorful dishes made primarily from rice, wheat, meat and a wide variety of spices. Today Hyderabad is renowned as a major education and IT hub of India and houses the operations of leading multinationals in these fields. Hyderabad is also the birthplace of several renowned personalities including the below listed famous NRIs who have made a great mark in the global landscape.
Satya Nadella
First name in our list of famous NRIs from Hyderabad is Satya Nadella. Most people know Satya Nadella as the brilliant engineer and CEO of Microsoft having Indian origins. However, not many people are aware of the fact that this Indian American business executive was born in Hyderabad on 19th Aug 1967. He was bought up and educated in the city before he shifted to USA for pursuing higher education. Before joining Microsoft in 1992, Nadella worked with Sun Microsystems as a member of its technology staff. He held several different positions in Microsoft before being named as its CEO in 2014. Under Nadella’s leadership, Microsoft acquired a series of other high-profile companies besides which he helped in redirecting the company’s focus.
Shantanu Narayen
Shantanu Narayen is the Indian American business executive, famous for being the Chairman and CEO of Adobe Inc. Narayen was born in Hyderabad on 27 May 1963 and earned his B. Tech in Electronics and Communication engineering before moving to USA to pursue Master degree programs. Before joining Adobe in 1998, Narayan worked with Apple and Silicon Graphics in addition to being the co-founder of Pictra Inc. Before being appointed the CEO in 2007, Narayen had been working in the position of President and COO for Abode since 2005. He is a very good sailor and once even represented India in the sport in an Asian Regatta.
Diana Hayden
This beautiful and glamorous NRI does not need any introduction as she is quite famous for being the winner of Miss World title in 1997. She also won three other subtitles at the event and is the only title holder to have achieved this feat. Born on 1st May 1973in Hyderabad, Diana was bought up and educated in Hyderabad and even started her modeling career in the city. She moved to London to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts after completing her tenure as the global representative of the Miss World organization. In 2013, she married Collin Dick from Las Vegas and has three children with him.
Prem Watsa
This Indo-Canadian billionaire businessman is known for being the founder, chairman, and chief executive of the Toronto based Fairfax Financial Holdings. Watsa was born in Hyderabad on 5th Aug 1950and completed his schooling from the city before joining IIT Madras to gain a degree in Chemical Engineering. He then shifted to London in Ontario, Canada to pursue MBA, leaving India with a meager amount of Rs. 8 in his pocket. He sold air conditioners and furnances to support himself while studying in London and later on took up a job with Confederation Life after completing his studies. He started his own investment firm in 1984 in partnership with his former boss Tony Hamblin and in 1985, the company overtook a small Canadian trucking insurance company named Markel Finance that was on the verge of bankruptcy. He renamed the new company Fairfax Financial Holdings and the rest, as they say, is history.
Rafi Ahmed
Rafi Ahmed is a renowned Indian- American immunologist and virologist and holds the position of Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Emory University. Rafi was born in Hyderabad in 1948, grew up here to complete his B.Sc. in Chemistry from Osmania University in 1968. He moved to Idaho in 1970 to complete another B.S degree and then pursued an M.S. in Microbiology. He completed his Ph.D. in Microbiology in 1984 from HarwardUniversity and then started teaching at the UCLA as an Assistant Professor before leaving it to join Emory University in 1995. He is quite well-known for his research on T-cells which was his area of study during his postdoc. He has specifically studied the possibility of using these cells against dangerous viruses including HIV and Hepatitis.
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