Google's India-born CEO Sundar Pichai and Nasdaq President Adena Friedman to get 2019 Global Leadership Award

Google's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sundar Pichai and Nasdaq President Adena Friedman have been picked for the coveted Global Leadership Awards 2019 by business advocacy group USIBC. The duo has been recognised for their companies' contribution as the leading technology-driven platforms.

The Washington-based US-India Business Council (USIBC) gives this award for achievements in over 30 categories to leaders who took extra efforts in nation building while nurturing the global economy to grow. The award will be conferred upon Indian-American Pichai, 46, and Friedman, 50, during the next week's 'India Ideas Summit'.

Given annually since 2007, the USIBC Global Leadership Awards acknowledge top corporate executives from the US and India whose companies play a pivotal role in fostering growth in the US-India commercial corridor.

With companies such as Google and Nasdaq at the vanguard, bilateral trade in goods and services has grown by nearly 150% over the past five years to touch $142.1 billion in 2018, the USIBC said.

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"Growing up in India, I saw the profound impact technology has on improving people's lives, and I am proud that Google has been able to contribute to India's exciting growth story," Pichai said.

"At the same time, India is playing an increasingly important role in helping Google build products for the US and globally, and we're only at the beginning of what's possible," he said in an accompanying statement. The US-India relationship has never been more critical, he further added.

Meanwhile, Friedman is also of the view that the work performed by the USIBC is crucial to promoting mutually beneficial commercial and cultural ties between the US and India.

"At Nasdaq, we greatly value our partnership with the National Stock Exchange of India, as well as our advanced technology development center in Bengaluru. We greatly admire the opportunity and innovation that India represents as a world leading center of talent and technology," Friedman said.

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"We are enormously excited to recognise the contributions of Google and Nasdaq as leading technology-driven platforms that drive our markets and transform the way we live, learn, and do business," USIBC president Nisha Desai Biswal said.

While, commending Friedman for her contributions, Biswal added, "Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman has brought the best-in-class technology of Nasdaq to more than 50 countries, including India's National Stock Exchange. Her leadership and investment in India will ensure that capital markets in both countries benefit from Nasdaq's cutting edge market technology and innovative approaches."

US Chambers of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J Donohue too noted India as a market with tremendous potential for the US companies and praised Pichai and Friedman for their efforts to engage one of the world's most promising emerging markets.

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