New York: Two Indian-origin executives featured among the highest-paid CEOs in the S&P 500, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Shankh Mitra, Chief Executive Officer of Welltower, ranked second on the list with a total compensation package of $821 million, trailing only Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Mitra’s pay package came as Welltower delivered a 50% one-year return, significantly outperforming its industry peers.
Nikesh Arora, Chief Executive Officer of Palo Alto Networks, also secured a place among the top 10 highest-paid CEOs. Arora ranked eighth with total compensation of $100 million. Under his leadership, Palo Alto Networks generated a 7% one-year return compared with its industry benchmark, according to the report.
Born and educated in India, Mitra earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Instrumentation and Electronics Engineering from Jadavpur University. He later moved to the United States and completed an MBA in Applied Value Investing from Columbia Business School.
Before joining Welltower, Mitra worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers for more than five years before moving into investment management. He subsequently held roles at Fidelity Investments, Citadel Investment Group and Millennium Partners, focusing on real estate securities and portfolio management.
Mitra joined Welltower in 2016 as Senior Vice President of Finance and Investments. Over the following years, he held several leadership positions, including Head of Investments, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Investment Officer. In October 2020, he was appointed CEO, becoming one of the few Indian-origin executives to lead a major US-listed REIT.
Born in India, Arora earned a B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University. He later moved to the United States, where he completed an M.S. in Business Administration from Northeastern University and an M.S. in Finance from Boston College. Before joining Palo Alto Networks, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of SoftBank Group between 2014 and 2016.
Arora also spent a decade at Google, where he rose through the ranks to become Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer, overseeing the company’s global business operations. Earlier in his career, he worked at Deutsche Telekom, Putnam Investments and Fidelity Investments. In addition to leading Palo Alto Networks, Arora serves as a non-executive director at Uber Technologies and advises several technology startups.
