Insights on Success Traits of Google Leaders from Former Engineer

Arvind Jain, a co-founder of the data management firm Rubrik and the AI startup Glean, recently shared insights on the traits that he believes contribute to the success of notable Google leaders, including Sundar Pichai, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin. Jain's journey began when he was hired at Google, feeling out of place among colleagues from prestigious institutions like MIT and Stanford. Despite his initial feelings of being an 'imposter', he made it a priority to learn from his highly accomplished peers, especially Pichai, who joined Google as a product manager around the same time as Jain. 'At Google, we had people who were brilliant... but some grew and shone, while others did not,' Jain stated. Pichai ultimately emulated those shining qualities and ascended to the position of Google CEO in August 2015, merely a decade after his arrival. Jain noted that observing Pichai revealed consistent attributes among successful individuals at the company. 'The same attributes kept coming up—intensity, hard work, but also the ability to think big and have confidence,' Jain explained. He emphasised a valuable lesson learned from Pichai, particularly when he staunchly advocated for the development of Google Chrome—an initiative many considered implausible. At that time, the browser market was dominated by Microsoft, and competitors like Netscape had already faltered. Recognised initially as a 'bad idea', Google Chrome has since grown to become the most widely used browser globally, eclipsing Microsoft's Internet Explorer by 2012. Jain reflected on this experience, stating, 'You have to say: we’re going to do this thing which everybody thinks is stupid.' From this, he learned that sometimes, it is the audacious ideas that lead to breakthroughs. Jain also asserted that the three prominent figures at Google share a disregard for conventional limits on possibilities. 'They had no sort of constraints in their minds on what’s possible,' he remarked. Jain's tenure at Google allowed him to absorb these lessons, which he later applied in launching Rubrik, a cloud data management company that went public in 2024, with a valuation of approximately $5.6 billion. He is also behind Glean, valued at $7.2 billion, which aids employees in navigating company information efficiently. Additionally, Jain continues to learn from the newer generation in his workforce, stating, 'I feel like I learn the most from the youngest people.' As he moves forward in his career, Jain acknowledges that fresh perspectives from younger hires significantly enrich his understanding.