The three are Jayshree Ullal of Arista Networks; Neerja Sethi, co-founder of Syntel; and Neha Narkhede, co-founder of Confluent.
The coveted Forbes list of America’s 80 Richest Self-Made Women of 2019 is out. And among these ceiling-crashers are three Indian American women.
Making to the list of extraordinary women achievers are Jayshree Ullal, President and CEO of the Santa Clara-based Arista Networks, a computer networking firm; Neerja Sethi, who co-founded Syntel, an IT consulting and outsourcing firm in Troy, Michigan; and Neha Narkhede, CTO and co-founder of the Palo Alto-based streaming data company Confluent.
Ullal, who has been on the Forbes billionaires club for several years, with a net worth of $1.4 billion, is ranked 18th on the Richest Self-Made Women list.
ALSO READ: Indian Americans Jayshree Ullal, Neerja Sethi in Forbes’ list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women for the second time (May 23, 2017)
Born in London and raised in Delhi, she has been president and CEO of Arista Networks since 2008. In 1977, she came to the US, at age 16, to enroll for a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at San Francisco State University. Ullal joined Arista in 2008, as President and CEO and, within six years, she took the company public.
Syntel co-founder Neerja Sethi is on the 23rd spot the Forbes list. She founded Syntel, along with her husband, Bharat Desai, back in 1990, with an initial investment of only $2,000. Sethi’s current net worth is $1 billion. In 2018, Syntel was bought by Atos SE, a French IT company. Sethi got about $510 million for her stake.
Narkhede, who is ranked 60th, has a net worth of $360 million. Confluent is currently valued at $2.5 billion.
ALSO READ: Entrepreneurs Neerja Sethi, Jayshree Ullal in Forbes’ list of richest self-made women in America (June 3, 2016)
She came to the United States in 2006, armed with a bachelor’s degree in computer science from University of Pune, to enroll for a master’s at Georgia Institute of Technology. One of her first jobs out of school was at Oracle Corporation, as a Member of Technical Staff, in 2008.
Two years later, Narkhede joined LinkedIn, where she worked for four years, till cofounding Confluent in September 2014.
The Richest Self-Made Women list is topped by Diane Hendricks, who chairs ABC Supply, a distributing firm for roofing and windows. Hendricks has a net worth of $7 billion. Other prominent women on the list includes Sheryl Sandberg, Oprah Winfrey, Madonna, Beyonce, Ellen DeGenres and Serena Williams, among others. Forbes said: “women are creating new businesses and amassing fortunes than ever before, leading it to expand its ranking.”
Here’s the complete list.
Arista Networks CEO Jayshree Ullal named ‘EY Entrepreneur of the Year’
Arista Networks CEO Jayshree Ullal named ‘EY Entrepreneur of the Year’