Inside the trailblazing journey of Jayshree Ullal: Arista Network’s Indian American CEO in her own words

Jayshree Ullal, one of the few women CEOs in Silicon Valley and the richest Indian American woman, shares her remarkable journey and insights with Aziz Haniffa.

Born in London, raised in Delhi, and now a prominent figure in Silicon Valley, Jayshree Ullal’s journey is one of transcontinental influence and pioneering achievements. With a net worth of $3.9 billion according to Forbes, she holds the distinction of being the richest Indian American woman and the 802nd richest person globally.*

In a recent interview with DesiMax’s Trailblazers series, the president and CEO of Arista Networks shared insights into both her private and public life, offering a rare glimpse into her experiences and perspectives.

Ullal’s storied career began at Fairchild Semiconductor, where she served as a senior strategic development engineer. Her next job was at the semiconductor giant Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), where she designed high-speed memory chips. In 1988, Ullal assumed the position of director at Ungermann-Bass, where she managed its internetworking business unit. Four years later, she joined Crescendo Communications, which was subsequently acquired by Cisco Systems within a year. Ullal remained with Cisco for the next 15 years, holding various leadership positions.

READ: Jayshree Ullal, four other Indian Americans among America’s Richest Self-Made Women (July 5, 2022)

Since assuming leadership of Arista in 2008, she has steered the company to unprecedented heights. During the wide-ranging interview, Ullal reflected on her early days as CEO of Arista. “I don’t even think we mentioned the word ‘cloud networking’ when I joined Arista,” she recalls. “I remember writing the first blog on that topic in October of 2008, but the word ‘cloud’ was barely even used at that point. Many industry luminaries were saying, ‘What’s a cloud? That’s just a marketing term.'”

Watch The Trailblazers episode with Jayshree Ullal

Ullal explained that she took up the CEO job because she wanted to return to her “entrepreneurial roots.” She stated, “I had gained a lot of experience and growth at Cisco, where I had been for 15 years. But you know, I had been through the very first acquisition, and obviously, the company had grown from a billion dollars to over 40 billion by the time I left, so it had become a very large company. One of the huge attractions of Arista was that it was small and entrepreneurial, with only 30 engineers.”

The Indian American executive said that the opportunity to work with some of the individuals associated with Arista was also a significant draw. “Most importantly, it was people I knew. I had a chance to work with Andy Bechtolsheim at AMD when he was my customer at Sun, and in Cisco when we bought his company, Granite [Systems],” she said. The beauty of knowing the people you work with and creating a professional family is probably the biggest attraction.”

READ: Indian Americans Jayshree Ullal, Neerja Sethi in Forbes’ list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women for the second time (May 23, 2017)

In the interview, Ullal also discussed a particularly challenging period in her career when Cisco filed a lawsuit in 2014, casting a shadow over what should have been a time of celebration following a successful IPO.

“We were celebrating and clapping the fact that we went on a very successful IPO,” she said. “And then, [a colleague] came to me in December and said, ‘This press person wants to know about Cisco’s lawsuit.’ Well, I’m like, ‘What lawsuit?’ She said, ‘You don’t know about it?’ No, we found out that Cisco sued us and told the press before they told Arista. So, it was the most humiliating way, if you will, of receiving a lawsuit. Not only was it a lawsuit, but it was intended to be a shock, and it certainly was. But once again, what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”

But Ullal faced the adversity head-on, turning the setback into an opportunity to strengthen the company’s resolve and reaffirm its commitment to success.

READ: Arista Networks CEO Jayshree Ullal named ‘EY Entrepreneur of the Year’ (November 19, 2015)

Ten years later, Arista’s cloud networking products and services have become mission-critical components of major global infrastructures. Ullal emphasizes her ability to adapt to both prosperous and challenging times, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. She states, “While Arista has been a frontrunner and a thought leader in many aspects, leading the market in cloud networking, we must continue to adapt.”

Ullal also addressed the topic of gender and racial diversity within the corporate world, particularly concerning the presence of CEOs like herself.

“I think the awareness is much higher today than even when I started my career three decades ago,” she said, noting that the change is occurring for several reasons. “Women and persons of color in the workforce are getting the right background, the education, the support, and they’re right there along with your talented men, making their contributions,” she said.

READ: Arista Networks, led by Indian American Jayashree Ullal, company riding high on its IPO (June 19, 2014)

However, Ullal lamented that the primary challenge lies in the insufficient representation of these groups in the pipeline. There needs to be greater awareness and emphasis on building a more diverse talent pipeline, she said.

Ullal also shared insights into her family life, highlighting her husband’s unwavering support.

“Vijay, my husband, has been a huge support factor in this,” she said. “He had his own and continues to have his own stellar career. Rising up the ranks, like he did in the semiconductor industry, is even harder than in a new industry like networking. But I think both of us emphasized the importance of family, and we prioritize that right alongside our career.”

Reflecting on her two daughters, she remarked that they recognize both their mother and father as role models. “But they were also very good about saying, ‘Oh, I don’t think we want to do what you’re doing.’ Maybe we turned them off by working too hard. I’m very proud that they’ve all pursued their path of excellence, which is equally important.”

READ: Jayshree Ullal, 6 other Indian American women among Forbes ‘50 Over 50’ (October 7, 2022)

Ullal also spoke about her parents and her early days in India and the United States. Her father, a physicist working for India’s Ministry of Education, played a significant role in her early exposure to the world of academia and innovation. His work on collaborations with universities and institutions globally provided Ullal with a diverse cultural experience early on.

“He was very responsible for starting the very famous IITs in India, so I got to see firsthand as a little child through his lens how education was shaped not only in India but also had a huge impact all over the world with the Indian Institutes of Technology,” she said. “It’s harder to get into an IIT than it often is into an Ivy League school.”

Ullal came to the United States when her father was posted to San Francisco, where she attended the San Francisco State University.

“It was a very struggling time then because I came here as an impressionable teenager. I was 16 years old, and everything [was] new,” she said. “First of all, I went from an old girls’ Catholic school to an old boys’ engineering school [at the San Francisco State]. Nothing can be more dramatic and change than that. I had to adapt to, from an Indian culture as well, and in my class of engineering, there were only two women students.”

Ullal recalled that she ended up studying engineering through “a process of elimination.”
“I was terrible at languages, needlework, my mom always completed my assignments for me, drawing,” she said. “But I was better at the logical subjects like math, science, physics, and chemistry, so that’s what led me into that path or stumbled into that path.”

READ: Meet top three richest Indian American women (July 1, 2021)

When she first set foot in San Francisco over four decades ago, did she ever imagine she would rise to become one of the top executives in Silicon Valley? Reflecting on her journey, she muses, “I initially thought I would pursue my education here and return home. However, over 40 years later, I find myself having built a career in Silicon Valley.”

*(Accessed on March 21, 2024)