Yamini Rangan, the Indian-origin CEO of HubSpot, leads a global software company worth over $34 billion today. But her journey to the top was anything but easy.
Born in a middle-class family in Tamil Nadu, she grew up in a 350-square-foot home with her parents and learnt early lessons in hard work and humility.
At 21, she moved to the US to continue her studies with very little money. To pay rent, she worked as a waitress at a football stadium in Atlanta, an experience that taught her resilience and independence.
Building a career abroad, one step at a time
Yamini studied electronics engineering at Bharathiar University, earned a master’s in computer engineering from Clemson University, and later an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Her first jobs in tech were not easy to come by, she knocked on many doors before landing her first role.
Over time, she worked with big names like SAP, Workday, and Dropbox, gaining experience in sales strategy, customer experience, and leadership. At Workday, she helped the company quadruple its revenue, and at Dropbox, she drove a major customer-focused transformation.
When she joined HubSpot in 2020 as Chief Customer Officer, her focus was clear, put customers first. After the company’s co-founder met with an accident in 2021, Yamini took over daily operations and soon became CEO. As leader, she introduced initiatives like No Internal Meeting Fridays, Global Week of Rest, and stronger remote work policies.
What is Yamini Rangan’s net worth?
Today, she earns around $25–26 million a year, mostly from stock awards, and has an estimated net worth of $31.4 million (₹263 crore). Regardless her success, she continues to visit India regularly with her husband and three sons. Her family supports an orphanage in her hometown, where she encourages her children to understand their privilege and responsibility toward society.
Yamini’s leadership style is known for its authenticity, vulnerability, and empathy. She often shares her own performance reviews with her team and believes in staying grounded through life’s challenges.
Her journey from waitress to CEO has earned her titles like Best CEO for Women (2022) and Most Influential Woman in Business (2019). From a small-town girl in Tamil Nadu to one of the highest-paid female CEOs in the US, Yamini Rangan’s story is an example of hard work, humility, and purpose-driven leadership.
