Over 24 Indian American nominees appointed under the Obama administration.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: President Barack Obama has announced his intention to nominate Sunil Sabharwal, a private sector investor, to become the next US Alternate Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Sabharwal’s nomination came as part of a new group of 10 key nominations Obama announced on Thursday, and adds Sabharwal to the growing list of Obama nominees that are of Indian origin. The list now stands at more than 24 Indian American nominees appointed under the Obama Administration, a new record.
“I am grateful these accomplished men and women have agreed to join this Administration, and I’m confident they will serve ably in these important roles,” Obama said in announcing the most recent set of federal appointees. “I look forward to working with them in the coming months and years.”
According to the official White House press release, Sabharwal earned his B.S. degree from Ohio State University, and his M.S. from the London Business School. His earliest known job was at European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, where he worked from 1992-1996, eventually becoming its Principal Banker before leaving. In 1997, Sabharwal joined GE Capital, leaving in 2003 while he was the company’s Managing Director. From 2003-2006, he was Senior Vice-President of Strategic Investments at First Data Corporation / Western Union.
Sabharwal is currently an independent investor in the payments sector, where he has been since 2006. From that year until 2009, he was a board adviser to Warburg Pincus, where he helped acquire German network services firm EasyCash. Two years later, in 2011, he became the chairman of the board at Ogone, a European e-commerce payment services company, where he stayed until last year.
The other men and women Obama nominated on Thursday are: Steven Cohen – Member, Board of Trustees of the Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation; Thomas P. Kelly III – Ambassador to the Republic of Djibouti, Department of State; Jane Nishida – Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency; Gordon O. Tanner – General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force, Department of Defense; Karen L. Braitmayer – Member, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Access Board; and Janice Lehrer-Stein, Benro T. Ogunyipe, Katherine D. Seelman, and Royal P. Walker, Jr. as members of the National Council on Disability.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com