Digital Dreaming and Diasporic Tech Icons: Reading Sundar Pichai’s Corporate Ascent as an Aspirational Template

This chapter discusses the celebrated success story of Indian American Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of Alphabet and Google and the second most highly paid CEO in the United States. Pichai’s meteoric rise to easily the most powerful position in the tech world has caught the world’s attention, envy, admiration and above all has aroused great curiosity about his background in India and preparation for this role. How is the arc of his ascent narrativized in the United States and how does he gain celebrity status in India? This chapter looks closely at how the figure of Pichai and his success narrative circulate transnationally as templates for success to inspire aspiring minds both in the United States and India. It highlights the complex intersections of race, gender, class and nation that define and qualify his celebrity status. Through a critical reading of select public appearances of Pichai in academic contexts in the United States and India, this chapter shows how the figure of Sundar Pichai and his transnational positioning inspire particular readings of what self-making and digital success in a global environment involves, entails and requires.