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Gopi Kallayil, who is originally from Kerala, is now based in San Francisco, where he is Google’s “chief evangelist” for brand marketing. Here, he shares his views on Indians living and working in the United States.
Why did you decide to move to the US and how did you did you get to your current role at Google?
After the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, I worked in India briefly before moving to Hong Kong as I was interested in an international career. I then moved to the US and after working for a few years I went to Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania [to complete an MBA]. After graduating I joined McKinsey in their Silicon Valley office. I then left to work on two venture funded start-ups here after which I took some time off to travel around the world before returning to the US and joining Google eight years ago.
Does America do more to bring out Indians’ entrepreneurship?
America in general, and a place like Silicon Valley in particular, does provide an excellent ecosystem that allows entrepreneurship to thrive. There are environmental factors in a place like Silicon Valley such as venture capital, talent and other technology players who support it.
Do you think that you would have had the same opportunities to thrive in India had you remained in the country?
If I would have continued in India I would have also had a rich set of opportunities but a different set of opportunities. Indians have an equal chance to succeed in India and America.