Rajan Anandan

I learned the importance of gratitude and resilience very early on in life. I grew up in Sri Lanka during a 30-year period of civil unrest and ethnic conflict between Sinhalese and Tamil ethnic groups. My background is a mix of these two groups; I’m half Sinhalese and half Tamil.

When I was 15, my brother and I narrowly escaped death. We were on our way home from school on a day that thousands of Sri Lankans died. Ahead of us and behind us, people were pulled out of their cars and killed right in front of us. The only reason we were spared that day is that we were able to converse in both languages and so we could speak the language they were looking for. After that day, I’ve simply felt grateful to be alive.

A situation like that can also make you very hateful, but I chose not to be. I chose to be grateful instead. I wake up each morning happy to be alive and well, and I try to live my life to the fullest.

My father passed away when I was a teenager and I wanted to really make sure my family was taken care of. I wanted to work for Ford motor company manufacturing cars, but Ford didn’t hire international students at the time. I ended up at McKinsey instead. And, many years later I found myself leading Google in Southeast Asia and India. If I’d gotten that job at Ford, who knows what a completely different path I’d be on right now.