#101 CEO Google Cloud, Thomas Kurian: Competitor-Aware and Customer-Obsessed
Grit29 Elo 2022

#101 CEO Google Cloud, Thomas Kurian: Competitor-Aware and Customer-Obsessed

“When I grew up in Bangalore, I’d never seen a computer,” says Thomas Kurian. The former president of Oracle, now the CEO of Google Cloud, remembers learning how to write while sitting outside his childhood home, and doing homework by candlelight during power blackouts. He credits his “trailblazer” mother, who instilled curiosity and discipline in all her children, with helping them understand the value of education beyond doing well on the next test. Something must have stuck, because Thomas is not the only Kurian in a major leadership position in Silicon Valley; his twin brother, George, is the CEO of NetApp.

In this episode, Thomas and Joubin discuss how he accidentally got into computer programming, giving children the freedom to be curious, how to order a sandwich, leading 60 software acquisitions, knowing your own value-add, innovation through experimentation, investing in the future, and being competitor-aware and customer-obsessed.

In this episode, we cover:

  • Thomas’ childhood in India (03:45)
  • His twin brother George — the CEO of NetApp — and their trailblazing mother (07:40)
  • Nostalgia for simpler times without responsibilities (14:03)
  • Working up the ranks at Oracle, from product manager to president (21:40)
  • The Google Cloud opportunity (30:12)
  • How to succeed inside a huge organization (32:38)
  • The big difference between Oracle and Google Cloud in 2019 (39:35)
  • The “mother of God” opportunity of the cloud (42:35)
  • The advice Thomas gives to other CEOs (48:25)

Links:

Jaksot(279)

#198 CEO & Co-Founder Wayfair, Niraj Shah: Homeward

#198 CEO & Co-Founder Wayfair, Niraj Shah: Homeward

Guest: Niraj Shah, CEO and co-founder of WayfairWayfair CEO Niraj Shah caught the entrepreneurship bug in his mid-20s, when he and his longtime co-founder Steve Conine sold their first company just a ...

8 Heinä 202454min

#197 CEO, Chairman & Founder Zscaler, Jay Chaudhry: No Attachment

#197 CEO, Chairman & Founder Zscaler, Jay Chaudhry: No Attachment

Guest: Jay Chaudhry, CEO, chairman, and founder of ZscalerMuch of the media coverage of Zscaler CEO Jay Chaudhry is quick to identify him as the wealthiest Indian-American person, with a net worth of ...

1 Heinä 202443min

#196 CEO & Co-Founder Braze, Bill Magnuson: Principles of Change

#196 CEO & Co-Founder Braze, Bill Magnuson: Principles of Change

Guest: Bill Magnuson, CEO and co-founder of BrazeThe deployment of smartphones around the world was more impactful than any other technology to date, says Braze CEO Bill Magnuson — and that has big im...

24 Kesä 202457min

#195 CEO Salesforce AI, Clara Shih: Above the Clouds

#195 CEO Salesforce AI, Clara Shih: Above the Clouds

Guest: Clara Shih, CEO of Salesforce AIIn 2020, Clara Shih quit Hearsay, the company she founded and ran for 11 years; in hindsight, she says “I probably should have quit a little bit sooner.” But at ...

17 Kesä 202445min

#194 CEO & Founder Sunshine, Marissa Mayer: Innovative Instincts

#194 CEO & Founder Sunshine, Marissa Mayer: Innovative Instincts

Guest: Marissa Mayer, CEO and Founder of Sunshine and former CEO of YahooWhen Marissa Mayer was first hired as the CEO of Yahoo, the company had lost nearly a quarter of its workforce in the preceding...

10 Kesä 20241h 25min

#193 Former CEO Nextdoor, Sarah Friar: Four Circles

#193 Former CEO Nextdoor, Sarah Friar: Four Circles

Guest: Sarah Friar, former CEO of NextdoorSarah Friar has worked with some of the top leaders in Silicon Valley, including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, Block CEO Jack Dorsey...

3 Kesä 20241h 17min

#192 CTO & Co-Founder Discord, Stanislav Vishnevskiy: Ship It

#192 CTO & Co-Founder Discord, Stanislav Vishnevskiy: Ship It

Guest: Stanislav Vishnevskiy, CTO and co-founder of DiscordFor many years, the conventional wisdom was the gaming was not social because it was something you usually did at home. “But people who play ...

27 Touko 20241h 3min

#191 CEO & Co-Founder Intercom, Eoghan McCabe: Second Beginning

#191 CEO & Co-Founder Intercom, Eoghan McCabe: Second Beginning

Guest: Eoghan McCabe, CEO, Chairman, and Co-Founder of Intercom“We are not ready for the degree to which our world is going to change,” says Intercom CEO Eoghan McCabe, “in insane and incredible ways....

20 Touko 202459min

Suosittua kategoriassa Liike-elämä ja talous

sijotuskasti
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-rahapodi
mimmit-sijoittaa
rss-lahtijat
rahapuhetta
rss-draivi
rss-neuvottelija-sami-miettinen
rss-rahamania
rss-porssipuhetta
rss-bisnesta-bebeja
rss-paasipodi
rss-porssipodi
syo-nuku-saasta
pomojen-suusta
sijoituspodi
juristipodi
rss-paatos-podcast-suomen-kovimmat-paatoksentekijat-2
rss-seuraava-potilas
rss-40-ajatusta-aanesta