Indian-origin executive Arvind Krishna was appointed Chief Executive Officer of global tech firm IBM on Friday replacing long-time CEO Virginia Rometty.

From policy-makers to fellow Indian-origin executives, the news has been quite well-received on social media.

“Delighted to see a brilliant Indian taking over as CEO of IBM. @ArvindKrishna is a visionary, a leader who has led IBM’s newer technologies like artificial intelligence, cloud and quantum computing,” said Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant (@amitabhk87) on Twitter.

Defence Secretary, Dr Ajay Kumar (@drajaykumar_ias) tweeted, “Hearty  congratulations  @ArvindKrishna for being nominated as CEO @IBM. We are proud of you, Arvind!  Congratulations  @IITKanpur for being the proud alumni. @karandi65.”

“Extremely delighted to see an Indian @ArvindKrishna taking over the rein of global tech major @IBM. It’s equally enthralling to watch how India’s top tech talent league has poised to drive the global tech revolution and set standards for others to emulate,” Dr Omkar Rai (@Omkar_Raii), Director General at STPI, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, said.

Wow! I have to say I am just super stoked to see another brilliant Indian at the helm of global tech!  NASSCOM President, Debjani Ghosh(@debjani_ghosh_) said on Twitter.

With this news, Krishna has joined the growing list of Indian-origin executives heading some of the biggest multinationals across the globe alongside Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen.

The fact hasn’t gone unnoticed by Twitterati who have praised and expressed their pride over the fact.

“What a stunning endorsement of the managerial capabilities of Indian-origin managers. Satya, Sundar, Shantanu & Arvind running four US tech giants. This places a responsibility on Indian managers to demonstrate that they can take Indian companies to the top as well...!” said Anand Mahindra(@anandmahindra), Chairman, Mahindra Group

“My warmest  congrats  to good friend Arvind Krishna, on being named CEO of the iconic American company, @IBM,” VM Ware CEO and Former President, SAP, Sanjay Poonen (@spoonen), said. “As a fellow Indian-American immigrant, so proud to see such leaders at @Microsoft @Google @Adobe @IBM @Mastercard & other Fortune 500 brands!”

Former journalist and founder of Editorji Technologies Vikram Chandra(@vikramchandra) sent out a tweet that said, “Many congratulations  to Arvind Krishna! It’s great to see Indians heading so many major tech giants - Google, Microsoft, IBM, Adobe and so on. It shows what we are capable of!”

India Inc also has a positive outlook on the change in leadership, and soon followed suit congratulating Krishna on the platform.

“Our best wishes to trailblazer @GinniRometty and proud  congratulations  to #ArvindKrishna @IBM @IITKanpur Arvind taught me two mantras and gave a new acronym to M&M - Migration & Modernisation. Thank you, Arvind. Today, you made every Indian’s heart swell with pride,” said CP Gurnani, CEO & MD, Tech Mahindra.

Marico Chairman Harsh Mariwala (@hcmariwala) tweeted, “Years ago, when a multinational conglomerate offered to buy us over, I refused. I wanted to be India’s home-grown company. It fills my heart with pride when I see Indians excel. May it inspire many others to work harder & pursue their dreams. #ArvindKrishna”

Krishna was previously the Senior Vice President of IBM’s Cloud and Cognitive Software wing and had played an integral role in IBM’s landmark deal with Red Hat to innovate in the field of hybrid cloud solutions.

IBM had acquired the tech company in 2019 for $34 billion.

An IIT Kanpur alumni and a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Krishna had joined IBM in 1990.

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