400 Job Rejections To $130 Billion Firm: Palo Alto CEO Nikesh Arora's Journey
Nikesh Arora, the CEO of cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks, might be helming a $130 billion company at the moment but the road to glory wasn't easy.
Mr Arora said that after graduation, he would write letters to multiple companies in search of jobs; all he received in return were rejection letters, in a conversation with Human of Bombay.
Opening up about the early struggles in his career when he faced as many as 400 rejections, Mr Arora said that he didn't lose hope and eventually got a job at Fidelity Investments. And while he knows what success feels like, he still keeps those rejection letters in his closet, reminding himself he has to keep moving forward.
Born in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, Mr Arora completed his graduation in engineering from IIT-BHU, and then, earned degrees from Boston College and Northeastern University in the US. He said he barely had $100 when he started looking for higher education. So, he decided to aim for institutions that waived application fees.
Mr Arora said that Northeastern University offered him a scholarship but offered him to opt for computer science, so he had no other option but to accept it.
In 1992, he joined Fidelity Investments, where he held various positions before eventually rising through the ranks to become the Vice President. Even though people told him he wasn't fit for finance, he didn't give up; instead, he chose to earn a master's degree and get a CFA certification, which helped him land a job at Google in 2004.
Mr Arora spent a decade at Google and called his journey "amazing." Asked what made him leave Google, he said, "It was time to move on and I wanted to do something different."
He moved to SoftBank, where he was chosen by CEO Masayoshi Son as the company's President and COO. However, he had to leave the company after 2.5 years because Mr Masayoshi was expected to retire at age 60 as part of a 10-year life plan.
He joined Palo Alto in 2018 after taking a sabbatical, spending his time playing golf. "I got worse at it. I realised I needed to sink my teeth into something," he laughed.
At the time when Mr Arora joined, Palo Alto was valued at around $18 billion. As of today, it's approximately $118 billion.
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Time of India
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- Time of India
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Indian Express
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Reportedly, Microsoft is offering 16 weeks of salary to low-performing employees who opt for voluntary exit. On the other hand, Amazon was among the first to introduce a three-month salary package to employees resisting work-from-office mandates. While there is a cost to companies with buyouts, big tech seems to be viewing these voluntary exits as more profitable than forced resignations, which could also lead to lawsuits, demoralisation among staff, and damage to goodwill and reputation. For companies the rationale moves beyond cost savings. Some experts feel that severance packages could free up the budget to hire AI talent that require premium pay packages. Reportedly, Microsoft pays AI engineers up to $375,000 annually, which is substantially higher than standard developers. For senior staff, buyouts afford them the resources they need during the job search. However, younger staff with minimal tenure receive smaller severance packages and are thrust into an oversaturated market. Employees accepting buyouts may be higher, since there is a lack of clarity on exact numbers. For high-performing employees, these severance packages may help them embark on their startup journeys. While buyout packages allow companies to cut costs while maintaining employee morale, their risks include uneven loss of critical talent and disruption in alignments within teams. As of today, there are AI-driven efficiency pressures, and more roles seem to be becoming obsolete, pushing companies to push for voluntary exits. This could signal a future of lean hybrid workforces with fewer permanent roles, and continuous reskilling and employee adaptability becoming a necessity. With AI continuing to automate various functions, companies will be compelled to reconfigure their workforces. In an alternative scenario, if talent becomes scarce, companies may have to switch back to retention packages. This quiet restructuring is changing thousands of career paths, yet its true scale remains largely invisible. Bijin Jose, an Assistant Editor at Indian Express Online in New Delhi, is a technology journalist with a portfolio spanning various prestigious publications. Starting as a citizen journalist with The Times of India in 2013, he transitioned through roles at India Today Digital and The Economic Times, before finding his niche at The Indian Express. With a BA in English from Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara, and an MA in English Literature, Bijin's expertise extends from crime reporting to cultural features. With a keen interest in closely covering developments in artificial intelligence, Bijin provides nuanced perspectives on its implications for society and beyond. ... Read More
