India, Feb. 3 -- Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has sparked an online discussion after offering his take on why Indian-origin professionals often rise to leadership positions at global technology companies. He was responding to a remark by entrepreneur Jasveer Singh, who had suggested that Indians are not "naturally smart" but are shaped by intense competition and a "perform or perish" culture in a densely populated country. According to him, this environment prepares many to excel once they move to highly developed economies.

Rejecting Singh's thesis, Vembu argued that organisational loyalty, rather than extreme academic pressure, plays a central role in their success. "Indian employees are some of the most loyal to their organizations and ...