Leap Academy with Ilana Golan

Episode 124 – NetApp CEO George Kurian: From Humble Beginnings to Leading a Fortune 500 Giant
Release Date: September 9, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, host Ilana Golan sits down with George Kurian, CEO of NetApp, to explore his remarkable journey from a humble childhood in Kerala, India to the top of a Fortune 500 technology company. The conversation touches on the formative power of family values, the reality and responsibilities of leadership, and deeply practical advice for ambitious professionals seeking to reinvent themselves. With warmth and candor, George discusses early struggles, navigating corporate transitions, leading large-scale transformations, and cultivating humility and resilience at the peak of corporate life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Early Life and Family Values ([02:07]–[04:25])

• Background & Influences: Raised in Kerala, India as one of four sons, George credits his loving but demanding mother for shaping his character.
  • “She had the incredibly hard balance of making you feel entirely loved and trusted, but also to hold you incredibly accountable for your personal actions and have high standards.” [02:22]
• Role Models: Both parents were entrepreneurs in spirit, creating opportunities amidst adversity; early lessons in gratitude and responsibility were foundational.
• Humility & Perspective: “We were taught early on that we were incredibly fortunate... There were kids who were much smarter, much more talented than we were, who grew up in India but did not have the opportunities we did.” [03:52]

2. Limited Early Access to Technology ([04:40]–[05:35])

• George describes a home free from modern technology—no computers or television until his late teens—which led to much time spent on reading, family games, and learning outside the classroom.
  • “If you have the habit of learning, you can learn things, even though you didn’t start your life with them.” [05:07]

3. Immigrating to the United States & The Power of Learning ([05:57]–[09:44])

• Inspired by family, George and his twin brother, Thomas (now at Google Cloud), came to the US at 17, knowing almost nothing about the country.
• Worked multiple jobs through college — including cafeteria, construction, and research work — cultivating empathy and appreciation for all professions.
  • “It gave me an appreciation for people everywhere who are trying to make a living... there’s respect for that.” [07:49]
• Became interested in technology through practical necessity but credits liberal arts classes for a deeper understanding of the world and human nature.
  • “It helps you kind of understand people, it helps you understand the world, it gives you a richness in life.” [09:26]

4. Professional Journey: From Oracle to NetApp ([09:59]–[12:10])

• Progressed without a grand plan, motivated by a desire for financial security for his family.
• Key formative experiences at Oracle and McKinsey:
  • Oracle: Learned product management and customer focus.
  • McKinsey: Gained exposure to global business, identifying root problems, and leading change.

5. Lessons from Early Career Challenges ([12:26]–[13:50])

• Was thrust into unfamiliar projects after managerial shake-ups, facing immigration-related stress and uncertainty.
• Learned to navigate ambiguity: “The learning was not about the success. The learning was how do you deal with challenge, how do you deal with stress, how do you deal with uncertainty along the way?” [12:50]
• International experience at McKinsey taught him cultural respect and adaptability for later global leadership.

6. Joining NetApp & The Art of Business Transformation ([14:29]–[19:40])

• Joined NetApp in 2011, attracted by the challenge of revitalizing a once-great company.
• Did not aspire to be CEO but was focused on meaningful technical innovation and client impact.
• Key early actions at NetApp: Restoring lost organizational pace, making tough people decisions, and implementing lessons from his cafeteria days by placing the best people at the start of processes.
  • “You want the best people at the front of the line…One of the key things we did when we got to NetApp was…bring our best engineers not at the end…but at the front of the line. And it allowed us to speed up development to a much higher pace.” [18:51]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Turning Around a Company:

  • “There’s a beauty in restoring something that was great once but had lost its shine. Here in Silicon Valley, we are always onto the new new, but...there was a bit of that [conservation and restoration] spirit.” [17:18]

• On Building Consensus for Change:

  • “There’s always 30-30-30. 30% of people are bought into the need for change, 30% are naysayers, and then there’s the 30% in the middle. The important thing…is you got to lean into the first 30 and drive the change…and convince the middle as you go along.” [20:35]

7. Becoming CEO: Surprises and Sacrifices ([24:03]–[27:13])

• Did not expect to be named CEO; initially intended to leave to support leadership transition.
  • Recalls the moment: “I looked at [the CHRO] and I’m like, oh, I’m certain I’m getting terminated…And then they told me that they were thinking of making a change…we’re going to want to name you interim CEO.” [25:13]
• Consulted his family before accepting; made a commitment to prioritize his role as a parent over the CEO title.
  • “I was going to be dad to my kids and, you know, I was going to prioritize them…That’s a responsibility I work on every day.” [26:42]

8. The Loneliness, Focus, and Resilience of Leadership ([27:41]–[31:21])

• CEO role described as “four report cards a year,” a lonely but humbling responsibility.
• Emphasizes resilience and sisu (Finnish for grit) as essential.
  • “When the chips are down, the whole world says you’re an idiot and you got to stay resilient.” [28:02]
• Focus is critical: Challenge is to “say no far more often than to say yes.” Must sharpen the organizational agenda relentlessly.
  • “The way that you sharpen the focus…is by saying no to 97% of the stuff.” [29:05]
• Transformation is best executed as a series of sprints (6–9 months each) to maintain morale and momentum.

9. Strategic Decisions and Learning from Mistakes ([31:54]–[34:03])

• Decisions are rooted in “intersection of relevance and competence.”
• Listen to clients – their direction often signals the next opportunity, even if it’s disruptive.
• Honest reflection on failure: Trying to do too much led to poor results; focus required significant business exits and sharper alignment.

10. Business Model Shifts and Partnership with Cloud ([34:21]–[35:56])

• Cloud adoption was a major disruptive force; many competitors resisted, but NetApp chose to partner with cloud providers, embedding their software in new data centers.
  • “If they’re gonna build all these data centers around the world, we’re gonna put our software in them…It’s better to share a bigger pie than control a smaller one.” [35:36]

11. Leading Through Technological Shifts: AI & The Future of Work ([36:06]–[39:47])

• NetApp’s focus in AI is on unlocking business value from data.
• Predicts a lag in enterprise adoption of AI compared to consumer tech; expects large-scale implementations to ramp up over 2025-26.
• Advocates for trust and cultural encouragement of experimentation over restrictive policy, especially when integrating disruptive technology.
  • “Our view is that when there is something disruptive, you want to create an atmosphere where your employees love the company and can try out new things without fear of reprisal.” [39:20]

Practical Career Advice ([40:09]–[41:17])

1. Choose Your Own Path: Don’t copy others’ careers—not even his twin brother’s.
2. Work for Demanding People: Growth and resilience are built in tough situations.
3. Seek Hard Problems: Confidence comes from tackling what others avoid.
4. Maintain a Learning Habit: Build learning time into your actual calendar.
   • “Take on the hard problem...Commit to always learning. I build it into my calendar.” [41:11]

Parenting, Humility, and Life Lessons ([41:53]–[43:53])

• On Giving Kids the Right Balance:
  • Provide love and time, not just material abundance.
  • Teach gratitude and perspective by exposing them to the world as it really is (“janata class” – people’s class).
• Words to His Younger Self:
  • “Be gentle with yourself... There will be some moments where you feel that you should have a lot of regrets…You learn from them and keep moving on.” [43:21]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:17] — Childhood and family influences
• [05:57] — Emigrating, Princeton application, early jobs
• [09:59] — Start at Oracle, McKinsey, different roles
• [14:29] — Decision to join NetApp and initial challenges
• [17:14] — Restoring and transforming NetApp
• [20:12] — Handling internal resistance, 30-30-30 rule
• [24:03] — Becoming CEO, surprise appointment
• [27:41] — Coping with CEO pressures, sisu, focus
• [34:21] — Cloud disruptions, strategic pivots
• [36:06] — Outlook on AI and enterprise readiness
• [40:09] — Career advice for mid-career professionals
• [41:53] — Parenting, humility, teaching gratitude
• [43:21] — Advice to his younger self

Episode Tone

The conversation is open, warm, and reflective. George Kurian is humble, insightful, and honest about both his struggles and triumphs. Ilana Golan maintains an encouraging, curious, and empathetic tone, often connecting George’s stories to broader lessons for ambitious professionals.

This episode provides a candid and actionable roadmap for anyone wishing to leap into leadership, navigate transformation, or balance ambition with grounded values.