The character arc of Arvind Krishna
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 23 November 1962 in West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, to Major General Vinod Krishna, an army officer, and Aarathi Krishna, who worked for the welfare of army widows. Between then and now sit schools in Coonoor and Dehradun, an electrical engineering degree from IIT Kanpur in 1985, a doctorate from the University of Illinois in 1991, a job at a research centre in 1990 and eighteen years inside it, fifteen patents, editorships of technical journals, a first general manager role in 2009, a senior vice presidency in 2015, the largest acquisition in the company's history closed in July 2019, and the chief executive's office from 6 April 2020. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Arvind Krishna?
Eighteen years in the lab. Then the top job, in a pandemic.
His father was a major general in the army and his mother worked for the welfare of army widows, which is a household with a particular idea of duty in it. He went to school in Coonoor and then Dehradun, took an electrical engineering degree at IIT Kanpur in 1985, and went to the University of Illinois for a doctorate, finishing in 1991.
He joined a research centre in 1990 and stayed there for eighteen years. That is the part of the line people skip. Not a graduate programme, not a rotation, not a fast track: eighteen years as a researcher, co-authoring fifteen patents, editing technical journals and publishing. He did not hold a general manager role until 2009, when he was forty seven.
Then it moved. A general manager role in information management software and in the systems and technology group. A promotion to senior vice president in 2015, running the research division, and later the cloud and cognitive software division. He led the building and expansion of new markets in artificial intelligence, cloud, quantum computing and blockchain.
He was the principal architect of a thirty four billion dollar acquisition, the largest in the company's history, which closed in July 2019. That is the piece of work that put him in the frame for what came next.
He was appointed chief executive in January 2020, taking office on 6 April, six days into a period when almost every company on earth sent its staff home. He became chairman the following January. A trade publication named him the most influential executive of 2021. He is one of a small group of Indian-born chief executives running major American technology companies.
The moments
Arvind Krishna's timeline.
The 1960s
Born in Andhra Pradesh
Everyday. An army officer and a woman who looked after soldiers' widows.
The 1970s
School in the hills
Everyday. Two boarding schools, at opposite ends of the country.
The 1980s
Engineering at IIT Kanpur
Milestone, and it changed his direction. One of the hardest entrance exams anywhere, passed.
The 1990s
Into the research centre
Milestone, and it changed everything. A research job, and he stayed in it for eighteen years.
A doctorate in Illinois
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A doctorate finished the year after he started the job.
Fifteen patents
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Fifteen patents, filed by somebody nobody outside the lab knew.
The 2000s
Stay in research, or take a management job
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: take the management job, taken, or stay in the lab. He was promoted to senior vice president in 2015, architected the largest acquisition in the company's history in 2019, and became chief executive in April 2020.
His first management job
Milestone, and it changed everything. Forty seven years old, and managing people for the first time.
The 2010s
Senior vice president
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Running the laboratory he had spent eighteen years inside.
Four new markets
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Four bets, made before any of them were obvious.
The biggest acquisition ever
Milestone, and it changed everything. Thirty four billion dollars, and he drew the plan.
The 2020s
Chief executive, in a pandemic
Milestone, and it changed everything. Six days into everybody working from home, he took the job.
Chairman as well
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Both jobs, nine months after taking the first one.
A man who spent nearly two decades as a working researcher ended up running the company he had been researching for. What he set moving is the least fashionable career shape there is, and the proof that depth in one place for a very long time is still a way to get somewhere.
Your turn
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His has eighteen years in one room before anything visible happens. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Arvind Krishna: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
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Where does this timeline of Arvind Krishna's life come from?
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Sources
- Arvind Krishna, English Wikipedia biography.
- Company records for the eighteen years at the research centre, the senior vice presidency in 2015, the Red Hat acquisition closing in July 2019 and the appointment effective 6 April 2020.
- The record carries no collapse or crisis of his own, and none is invented here.