The Indian-CEO Alpha

Source: https://x.com/deedydas?s=20Look at the chart, it is striking. $1 invested equally across US-listed companies the moment an Indian-origin CEO took the helm would have compounded to $58 by May 2026 against $7.7 for the S&P 500. A 30.3% CAGR versus 14.2%. Yay for Indian-origin talent! There is an obvious caveat though. This is a tech-heavy portfolio in a tech-dominated cycle. But dismissing it entirely as a sector artifact misses the point. I am also not celebrating in borrowed glory. I am wondering why these individuals ended up running American companies instead of Indian ones? To me, the data describes what Indian human capital looks like when it operates without the constraints Indian institutions impose on it.Billionaire Michael Milken’s dataset is a proxy for what governance liberation does to human capital. On this episode of The relevant lesson for Indian pharma isn’t “hire more Indian-Americans” but “what would your strategy look like if your professional managers had the same mandate and equity stake as a Satya Nadella?” That question should make pharma promoters sit up and think. Listen in 👆 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mypharmareviews.substack.com