Amid H-1B visa row, two American companies appoint Indian-origin CEOs
Srinivas Gopalan will take charge as CEO of T-Mobile, while Rahul Goyal becomes president of Molson Coors in major US corporate appointments
At a time when the Donald Trump-led US administration is tightening H-1B visa rules, two major American companies on Monday (22 September) bucked the trend by elevating India-born executives to top leadership roles.
Two Indian-origin leaders, Srinivas Gopalan and Rahul Goyal, have been promoted to top leadership roles, defying Make America Great Again (MAGA) hardliners and reshaping the US corporate landscape.
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T-Mobile CEO appointment
US telecom giant T-Mobile announced that Srinivas “Srini” Gopalan, 55, will take over as chief executive officer from November 1.
An alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, Gopalan is currently the company’s chief operating officer and will succeed Mike Sievert, who will be elevated to the newly created position of vice-chairman after leading T-Mobile since 2020.
“I’m deeply honoured to take on the role of T-Mobile’s next chief executive officer. I’ve long admired this company for fearlessly reinventing wireless to serve customers in ways no one thought possible,” Gopalan said in a LinkedIn post.
Gopalan began his career as a management trainee at Hindustan Unilever before taking on senior positions at Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Capital One, and Deutsche Telekom, where he drove record growth, expanded fibre networks to millions of homes, and secured market leadership in Germany.
At T-Mobile, he has overseen its technology, consumer and business divisions, leading key initiatives in 5G, AI and digital transformation. Sievert praised him as “highly skilled, passionate and incredibly knowledgeable,” adding that he had full confidence in Gopalan to “take our employee and customer experience to the next level”.
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Molson Coors leadership change
Meanwhile, Chicago-based beverage giant Molson Coors has named Rahul Goyal, 49, as its next president and CEO, effective October 1. Goyal succeeds Gavin Hattersley, who will remain in an advisory role until the end of the year.
A native of India, Goyal studied engineering in Mysuru before moving to the US for business studies in Denver. Over his 24 years with the company, he has held senior roles across Coors and Molson brands in the US, the UK and India.
“After an extensive succession process, it was clear Rahul brought the right experience and vision to drive our next phase of growth,” said David Coors, chairman of the board.
Goyal said he was ready to embrace challenges while carrying forward the company’s legacy.