(January 9, 2024) In a twist on the usual tale of billionaires rising through entrepreneurship, the global rich list now includes a tech CEO who isn’t a company founder. Meet Nikesh Arora, the former Google-employee-turned-CEO of cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks Inc. Unlike many on the billionaire’s roster, Arora isn’t a company originator, yet he’s made it into the exclusive billionaire’s club.
Nikesh received a substantial $125 million stock and options compensation package when he took on the role of chief executive officer in 2018. Since then, Palo Alto Networks Inc. has seen a remarkable surge in its share price, more than quadrupling in the wake of increased demand for cybersecurity software. According to Bloomberg, the Global Indian‘s initial stake of $125 million is now valued at a staggering $830 million. When one factors in substantial pay awards from his earlier career, Arora’s overall net worth stands at an impressive $1.5 billion. This distinctive position makes him a noteworthy figure as a non-founder billionaire tech CEO – the only one after Apple’s Tim Cook – marking a shift from the usual entrepreneurial path to wealth.
Talking about the exceptional growth of his company, the CEO said, “Today, we’re the largest cybersecurity company, we’ve outstripped our competitors. When I joined we identified cloud and AI as the overarching new technology trend for the coming decade. So, we designed our portfolio, bought 15 companies, and spent $4 billion. That was unique in cybersecurity, most companies would capture the trend of the moment, figure the business, and then as the trend shifted, a new cybersecurity company was born.”
From square one
Born in Ghaziabad to Indian Air Force officer Jagdish Kumar Arora, Nikesh was a curious child, who loved to experiment with the things surrounding him. Nikesh’s mother was a huge influence in his life. “My mother had a master’s in mathematics and Sanskrit – which was a very big thing back in those days. She was all about ensuring I always put myself into learning something new. So, I and my sister not just learnt from the book, but by experimenting with things. I also moved around a lot – maybe to six different schools before I graduated high school, that also was a great learning process,” he said.
A student of The Air Force School (Subroto Park), Nikesh went on to pursue a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, BHU in Varanasi. In 1990, Nikesh moved to the United States of America to pursue an MBA from Northeastern University. “It was one of those years when the recession was in swing. My degree from Northeastern University wasn’t as good in those days as it is ranked today. I was looking for a job in finance, which I was told I would get mostly on Wall Street. So, I found the college’s Alumni directory and wrote to over 450 contacts requesting them for a job. I had graduated top of my class, I thought someone would want to hire me,” laughed the CEO, adding, “Interestingly, I received 450 replies from everyone I wrote to saying ‘Thank you for writing to us, but no thank you.’. I still have all those letters with me, telling me that I don’t qualify for a job.”
His journey in the financial sector commenced at Fidelity Investments. In 2000, Nikesh founded T-Motion, a subsidiary under Deutsche Telekom focused on delivering value-added services for the 3G Services of Deutsche Telekom. Within a few years, T-Motion seamlessly became an integral part of T-Mobile’s core services.
Climbing to the top
Interestingly, Google recognised his talents in 2004. Over the next decade, Nikesh served as VP of Europe Operations (2004-07), as President, of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa from 2007 to 2009, and finally as President of Global Sales Operations and Business Development from 2009-10. “I met several amazing people at Google. When I joined the company was still figuring out how to organise its Europe operations, and I met Lawrence Edward Page and Sergey Brin – the co-founders of Google – for my initial interview. And I got the job,” shares the CEO.
Nikesh with U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland
Contrary to many expectations, Nikesh departed from his role as senior vice president and chief business officer at Google in 2014 after a decade of service. He made a significant move to SoftBank Corp, taking on the positions of President and Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure, Arora set a Japanese record by receiving a total compensation exceeding $200 million.
Nikesh Arora’s recipe for success: Keep on learning
Sharing his mantra for success, the CEO said in an interview, “The one thing that has kept me going and has inspired me is that I have always found myself in situations where I am learning. Half the stuff that I do in any job that I have had, is stuff that I have never done before. I spent a lot of time learning about cybersecurity when I joined Palo Alto Networks Inc., and in fact, I am still learning. Back when I was at Google, I worked very hard on learning how marketing is done, and later at SoftBank I learnt how to do investment banking. And that is what is exciting for me – being able to go to work every day and thinking that I can master a skill I have never worked on before.”
Currently, as the CEO and Chairman of Palo Alto Networks, Nikesh is looking to evolve his company’s platforms. “I believe the industry is still in the early stages of this transformation. At Palo Alto, we are beginning to think about a long-term cybersecurity strategy and starting to build longer-term cybersecurity architectures to create this integrated platform, which gives a better outcome,” shared the CEO.
