Indian-American CEO’s witty reply to X user who called him ‘untrained engineer’

Indian-American business executive Nikesh Arora has a witty comeback for a user who claimed he wasn’t a “trained engineer” in a post on X.
It all started when a user, Sandeep Lakhina, reacted to a comment about Arora’s impressive leadership as the CEO at Palo Alto Networks
— a California-based cybersecurity company.
The original post praised Arora’s performance since taking over as CEO and highlighted the company’s stock soaring five times under his watch.
Take a look at the post here:
Reacting to the post, Lakhina said, “Nikesh has enough experience and expertise and a solid network in the tech ecosystem even if he’s not a trained engineer. Hence success.”
That’s when Arora himself swooped in with a sharp reply: “Lol and he actually happens to be a trained engineer from IT-BHU (IIT-Varanasi).”
Arora’s reaction was praised by several social media users, who appreciated his ability to shut down the misconception with humour.
Several users even highlighted that his journey from engineering to business leadership is a testament to the broad skill set he brings to the table.
“A mic drop moment,” a user said, while another added, “Nikesh, I hope they won’t ask for your degree now.”
“This sense of humour could be added as a skill to his resume,” one of the users said.
The exchange of words also triggered a discussion about how business acumen and a solid grasp of technology don’t necessarily require formal training. Comments poured in from all corners of the internet.
See the comments:
Arora’s leadership at Palo Alto Networks has been praised for keeping the company at the forefront of innovation, despite stiff competition.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering and has held senior positions at Google and SoftBank. It is obvious that his multi-faceted expertise continues to add to Palo Alto Networks’ success.
The internet certainly took note, and Nikesh Arora’s wit? Well, it stole the show.