A significant takeaway from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent state visit to the US was the prominent role that Indian Americans are increasingly being seen in. From US Congress and the White House to CEOs of top MNCs, prominent lawyers, doctors and academicians; the PM’s visit turned the spotlight on many of them and highlighted their success stories.
“The Indian diaspora has been the consistent glue over decades for the relationship between our two countries, and today, Indian-Americans are creating tremendous positive impact in American society, as was noted by President Biden and Prime Minister Modi. The Indian community’s voice is growing louder and clearer every day in the highest echelons of power,” feels Sanjeev Joshipura, Washington DC based executive director of Indiaspora, a non-profit organisation of global Indian origin leaders.
He adds that now more than ever before, the Indian diaspora in the United States is getting acknowledged for positive contributions to American life and US-India relations in areas of business, medicine, entrepreneurship, technology, academics, law, politics, philanthropy, media, cuisine, arts and culture, and other myriad realms of activity.
Several members of Indiaspora participated in various events during Prime Minister Modi’s historic visit to the US. On behalf of Indiaspora, its founder MR Rangaswami and his wife, Krisanthy Desby, attended the White House state dinner and the state department lunch. Many other members of the organisation, too, enjoyed visibility during PM Modi’s visit.
The official events attended by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, Indian American CEOs, prominent personalities from the world of fashion, entertainment and media; US representatives from Washington DC, key members of the Biden-Harris administration and other well-known figures from medicine, academia, law and social impact showcased the strengthening of the status of Indian Americans.
Shekar Narasimhan, chairman, AAPI Victory Fund, a political action committee that mobilises the Asian American community, who attended the state dinner hosted for PM Modi by US President Joe Biden at the White House and the state department luncheon; found several moments during the high-profile events which celebrated Indian Americans. The most significant moment for him was secretary of state Antony Blinken giving a shout-out to Rich Verma, first Indian origin US Ambassador to India and now the highest-ranking Indian American in the state department’s history, as the son of a teacher from Jalandhar.
Dr Sampat Shivangi, a physician and an influential Indian American community leader, who was at the state department luncheon feels that Indian Americans showed unprecedented support to the US-India relationship with their presence in thousands at the White House lawns despite inclement weather. “This show of strength and support by the diaspora highlights the phenomenal transformation in the relationship between the two greatest democracies of our times,” he said.
Prime Minister Modi who wrapped up his US visit with an event with the diaspora, is very popular with the community with hundreds turning up to hear him speak in Washington DC and over 300 working as volunteers at the event. “Members of the Indian community form 1.5% of the US population but have now become influential financial contributors to the campaigns of Congress members and Senators. It’s not just in Chicago, New York or California areas; the community is perceived as being highly educated and making a positive impact socially across America,” says Dr Bharat Barai, an oncologist and a community leader from Chicago, who was at the White House dinner and the community event. He adds that members of the Indian American community are usually the biggest advocates for India and issues that are important for the Indo-US relationship in the US.
Prominent Indian Americans who met Prime Minister Modi during his recent state visit to the US.
CEOs and business leaders
Revathi Advaithi, CEO, Flex
Jeevan Mulgund, founder, The Abe Collective LLC
Bela Bajaria, chief content officer of Netflix
Manesh Chandwani, CEO, Superior Biologics
Jay Chaudhry, CEO, ZScaler
Frank Islam, entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist
Sanjay Govil, owner of the Washington Freedom, part of Major League Cricket in the US
Palash Gupta, Chairman of Delaware Asian American Business Association
Vimal Kapur, CEO, Honeywell
Rajesh Subramaniam, CEO, FedEx
Punit Renjen, Deputy Chairperson of the Supervisory Board, SAP
Deepak Raj, investor and philanthropist
Sanjay Ramabhadran, founding principal, Versa Infrastructure
Sunil Wadhwani, entrepreneur and investor
Smita N. Shah, entrepreneur
Hemant Taneja, managing director at General Catalyst, a prominent venture capital firm
Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO, Micron Technology
Shantanu Narayen, CEO, Adobe
Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo
Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft
Deven Parekh, venture capitalist
Milan Patel, CEO and co-Founder at PathogenDx
Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google
Madhu Shrivastava, chairman, Carolina Convenience Corporation
Anurag Jain: Entrepreneur and venture capitalist
Elected representatives and government officials
Seema Shrivastava-Patel, chairman, South Carolina department of health and environmental control
Kiran Ahuja, director of the US office of personnel management
Tarun Chhabra, special assistant to the President and senior director for technology and national security, national security council
Rohit Chopra, director of the US consumer financial protection bureau
Geeta Rao Gupta, ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues, US department of state
Rahul Gupta, director of the office of national drug control policy
Pramila Jayapal, US House representative
Vanita Gupta, associate attorney general, US department of justice
Shri Thanedar, US House representative
Ami Bera, US House representative
Sri Srinivasan, chief judge, US court of appeals
Gautam Raghavan, assistant to the President and director of presidential personnel
Arati Prabhakar, director of the office of science and technology policy
Maju Varghese, attorney and political advisor
Richard Verma, deputy secretary for management and resources, US department of state
Neera Tanden, assistant to the President and domestic policy advisor
Raja Krishnamoorthi, US House representative
Aruna K. Miller, Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
Sethuraman Panchanathan, director, US National Science Foundation
Ro Khanna, US House representative
Aftab Pureval, Mayor of Cincinnati
Vinay Reddy, assistant to the President and director of speechwriting
Leaders from academia
Chandrika Tandon, chair of the board, NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Dr Anurag Mairal, adjunct professor of medicine and director of global outreach, Byers Center for Biodesign at Stanford University
Rattan Lal, professor of soil science and director, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Rattan Lal Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration at Ohio State University
Dr Neeli Bendapudi, president of Pennsylvania State University
Dr Pradeep Khosla, chancellor, University of California, San Diego
Dr Satish Tripathi, president of the University at Buffalo
Jagmohan Raju, professor of marketing at Wharton School of Business and executive director, Wharton co-sponsorship of Indian School of Business
Dr Madhav Rajan, dean, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago
Dr. Suresh Khator & Dr. Renu Khator; Renu is the fifth chancellor of the University of Houston System and the thirteenth president of the University of Houston. Suresh is associate dean at the University of Houston
Raj Gupta: Co-Chair of Board of Advisors, Johns Hopkins Gupta-Klinsky India Institute
Community leaders and prominent Indian Americans from different sectors
Seema Sadanandan, lawyer
Ronak Desai, lawyer, leads the congressional investigations practice at Paul Hastings
Darshan Dhaliwal, community leader and businessman
Dr. Bharat Barai, doctor and community leader
Anand Giridharadas, journalist and author
Chitra Wadhwani, editorial director, The Washington Post
M.R. Rangaswami, founder and chairman, Indiaspora
Abraham Verghese, physician and author
Mini Timmaraju, president of advocacy organisation fighting for reproductive freedom and abortion access
Dr. Sudhir Sekhsaria, doctor specialising in immunology
Maya Rao, chief partnerships & philanthropy officer,Civic Nation
Reshma Saujani, lawyer and the founder of the nonprofit organisation Girls Who Code
Neeraj Khemlani, president, co-Head CBS News & Stations
Jay Shetty, podcast host
M. Night Shyamalan, filmmaker
Shamina Singh, founder & president, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth
Simi Singh Juneja, author
Shekar Narasimhan, Chairman, AAPI Victory Fund
Maulik Pancholy, actor and author
Tarini Parti, White House reporter at The Wall Street Journal
Sameer Patel, music conductor
“The Indian diaspora has been the consistent glue over decades for the relationship between our two countries, and today, Indian-Americans are creating tremendous positive impact in American society, as was noted by President Biden and Prime Minister Modi. The Indian community’s voice is growing louder and clearer every day in the highest echelons of power,” feels Sanjeev Joshipura, Washington DC based executive director of Indiaspora, a non-profit organisation of global Indian origin leaders.
He adds that now more than ever before, the Indian diaspora in the United States is getting acknowledged for positive contributions to American life and US-India relations in areas of business, medicine, entrepreneurship, technology, academics, law, politics, philanthropy, media, cuisine, arts and culture, and other myriad realms of activity.
Several members of Indiaspora participated in various events during Prime Minister Modi’s historic visit to the US. On behalf of Indiaspora, its founder MR Rangaswami and his wife, Krisanthy Desby, attended the White House state dinner and the state department lunch. Many other members of the organisation, too, enjoyed visibility during PM Modi’s visit.
The official events attended by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, Indian American CEOs, prominent personalities from the world of fashion, entertainment and media; US representatives from Washington DC, key members of the Biden-Harris administration and other well-known figures from medicine, academia, law and social impact showcased the strengthening of the status of Indian Americans.
Shekar Narasimhan, chairman, AAPI Victory Fund, a political action committee that mobilises the Asian American community, who attended the state dinner hosted for PM Modi by US President Joe Biden at the White House and the state department luncheon; found several moments during the high-profile events which celebrated Indian Americans. The most significant moment for him was secretary of state Antony Blinken giving a shout-out to Rich Verma, first Indian origin US Ambassador to India and now the highest-ranking Indian American in the state department’s history, as the son of a teacher from Jalandhar.
Dr Sampat Shivangi, a physician and an influential Indian American community leader, who was at the state department luncheon feels that Indian Americans showed unprecedented support to the US-India relationship with their presence in thousands at the White House lawns despite inclement weather. “This show of strength and support by the diaspora highlights the phenomenal transformation in the relationship between the two greatest democracies of our times,” he said.
Prime Minister Modi who wrapped up his US visit with an event with the diaspora, is very popular with the community with hundreds turning up to hear him speak in Washington DC and over 300 working as volunteers at the event. “Members of the Indian community form 1.5% of the US population but have now become influential financial contributors to the campaigns of Congress members and Senators. It’s not just in Chicago, New York or California areas; the community is perceived as being highly educated and making a positive impact socially across America,” says Dr Bharat Barai, an oncologist and a community leader from Chicago, who was at the White House dinner and the community event. He adds that members of the Indian American community are usually the biggest advocates for India and issues that are important for the Indo-US relationship in the US.
Prominent Indian Americans who met Prime Minister Modi during his recent state visit to the US.
CEOs and business leaders
Revathi Advaithi, CEO, Flex
Jeevan Mulgund, founder, The Abe Collective LLC
Bela Bajaria, chief content officer of Netflix
Manesh Chandwani, CEO, Superior Biologics
Jay Chaudhry, CEO, ZScaler
Frank Islam, entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist
Sanjay Govil, owner of the Washington Freedom, part of Major League Cricket in the US
Palash Gupta, Chairman of Delaware Asian American Business Association
Vimal Kapur, CEO, Honeywell
Rajesh Subramaniam, CEO, FedEx
Punit Renjen, Deputy Chairperson of the Supervisory Board, SAP
Deepak Raj, investor and philanthropist
Sanjay Ramabhadran, founding principal, Versa Infrastructure
Sunil Wadhwani, entrepreneur and investor
Smita N. Shah, entrepreneur
Hemant Taneja, managing director at General Catalyst, a prominent venture capital firm
Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO, Micron Technology
Shantanu Narayen, CEO, Adobe
Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo
Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft
Deven Parekh, venture capitalist
Milan Patel, CEO and co-Founder at PathogenDx
Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google
Madhu Shrivastava, chairman, Carolina Convenience Corporation
Anurag Jain: Entrepreneur and venture capitalist
Elected representatives and government officials
Seema Shrivastava-Patel, chairman, South Carolina department of health and environmental control
Kiran Ahuja, director of the US office of personnel management
Tarun Chhabra, special assistant to the President and senior director for technology and national security, national security council
Rohit Chopra, director of the US consumer financial protection bureau
Geeta Rao Gupta, ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues, US department of state
Rahul Gupta, director of the office of national drug control policy
Pramila Jayapal, US House representative
Vanita Gupta, associate attorney general, US department of justice
Shri Thanedar, US House representative
Ami Bera, US House representative
Sri Srinivasan, chief judge, US court of appeals
Gautam Raghavan, assistant to the President and director of presidential personnel
Arati Prabhakar, director of the office of science and technology policy
Maju Varghese, attorney and political advisor
Richard Verma, deputy secretary for management and resources, US department of state
Neera Tanden, assistant to the President and domestic policy advisor
Raja Krishnamoorthi, US House representative
Aruna K. Miller, Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
Sethuraman Panchanathan, director, US National Science Foundation
Ro Khanna, US House representative
Aftab Pureval, Mayor of Cincinnati
Vinay Reddy, assistant to the President and director of speechwriting
Leaders from academia
Chandrika Tandon, chair of the board, NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Dr Anurag Mairal, adjunct professor of medicine and director of global outreach, Byers Center for Biodesign at Stanford University
Rattan Lal, professor of soil science and director, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Rattan Lal Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration at Ohio State University
Dr Neeli Bendapudi, president of Pennsylvania State University
Dr Pradeep Khosla, chancellor, University of California, San Diego
Dr Satish Tripathi, president of the University at Buffalo
Jagmohan Raju, professor of marketing at Wharton School of Business and executive director, Wharton co-sponsorship of Indian School of Business
Dr Madhav Rajan, dean, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago
Dr. Suresh Khator & Dr. Renu Khator; Renu is the fifth chancellor of the University of Houston System and the thirteenth president of the University of Houston. Suresh is associate dean at the University of Houston
Raj Gupta: Co-Chair of Board of Advisors, Johns Hopkins Gupta-Klinsky India Institute
Community leaders and prominent Indian Americans from different sectors
Seema Sadanandan, lawyer
Ronak Desai, lawyer, leads the congressional investigations practice at Paul Hastings
Darshan Dhaliwal, community leader and businessman
Dr. Bharat Barai, doctor and community leader
Anand Giridharadas, journalist and author
Chitra Wadhwani, editorial director, The Washington Post
M.R. Rangaswami, founder and chairman, Indiaspora
Abraham Verghese, physician and author
Mini Timmaraju, president of advocacy organisation fighting for reproductive freedom and abortion access
Dr. Sudhir Sekhsaria, doctor specialising in immunology
Maya Rao, chief partnerships & philanthropy officer,Civic Nation
Reshma Saujani, lawyer and the founder of the nonprofit organisation Girls Who Code
Neeraj Khemlani, president, co-Head CBS News & Stations
Jay Shetty, podcast host
M. Night Shyamalan, filmmaker
Shamina Singh, founder & president, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth
Simi Singh Juneja, author
Shekar Narasimhan, Chairman, AAPI Victory Fund
Maulik Pancholy, actor and author
Tarini Parti, White House reporter at The Wall Street Journal
Sameer Patel, music conductor