The list of the highest paid CEOs in the US in 2023 was released by the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. The Indian-origin CEO of Palo Alto Network, Nikesh Arora, came second on the list with an impressive compensation of $151.43 million. Notably, Nikesh Arora's compensation was much higher than many high-profile tech executives such as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's $24.40 million and Google CEO Sundar Pichai's $8.8 million.
But who exactly is Nikesh Arora? Here's a look at everything you need to know about the Palo Alto Network CEO.
Who is Nikesh Arora?
Nikesh Arora completed his primary education at the Air Force Public School in Delhi before going on to earn a Bachelor of Technology (B Tech) degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT-BHU. Even before his stint at Palo Alto Network, Arora had made a name for himself in the tech world through his work with major companies such as Google and Softbank.
Notably, Arora became the highest paid executive at Google in 2012 when the company hired him with a $51 million package. By the end of his time with the Silicon Valley-based company, Nikesh Arora had collected stock awards worth at least $200 million.
During his time at Softbank Group, Arora also set a new record in Japan with a mammoth first-year compensation package of $135 million. People at the company saw him as the successor to legendary investor Masayoshi Son, according to a Bloomberg report earlier this year.
Palo Alto Network has previously justified its CEO's hefty pay package by pointing to the tech executive's strong performance. In a statement on Arora's compensation package, Palo Alto Network said last year: “Because of this significant vested ownership and the amount that Mr. Arora was projected to vest in over the next several years, the Board determined that a meaningful equity award would be necessary to ensure that such award retains and engages Mr. Arora,"
