Executive Satya Nadella appears most likely to be named Microsoft’s new CEO but the name of another India-born technology executive is doing the rounds as a candidate for the top job.

Sundar Pichai, the 42-year-old head executive for Google Chrome and Apps, is the “top choice” for the the position of Microsoft CEO and negotiations with him are on in full swing, SiliconANGLE, a media Web site that focuses on the technology industry, said.

“Microsoft could really move the ball down the field with Sundar Pichai in creating a new open operating system model for cloud, mobile and social,” Dave Vellante, chief analyst at Wikibon, was quoted as saying in the report.

“The market has been looking for a CEO who can balance the role of leading the enterprise transformation while keeping that consumer momentum with xBox and reboot mobile. Pichai is the total package of technology leadership and business acumen.”

SiliconANGLE quoted sources close to the hiring team as saying that Pichai is the leading external candidate and is in discussions with the hiring committee.

Pichai is Senior Vice-President for Android, Chrome and Apps at technology major Google. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Technology from IIT-Kharagpur, holds a Master’s degree from Stanford University and an MBA from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

SiliconANGLE reported that he had been a “force driving Androidintegration” across Google and was rumoured to be in the running for leading jobs at Twitter. Google paid Pichai $50 million to stay with the firm, the report said.

Microsoft is expected to announce its new CEO, only the third in the company’s 38-year history after co-founder Bill Gates and current chief Steve Ballmer, this week.

The emergence of Pichai’s name, pitted against another Indian for the top job at the world’s leading technology company, appears unprecedented and reflects the growing number of India-born executives climbing corporate ladders globally.

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