Biden appoints 2 Indian American leaders to his Export Council

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has announced his intent to appoint two prominent Indian-Americans corporate leaders, Punit Renjen and Rajesh Subramaniam, to his powerful Export Council which is the principal national advisory committee on international trade.

The president on Tuesday announced a list of members he intends to appoint to the the council, according to a White House press release.

Renjen, the former CEO of Deloitte Consulting and Subramaniam, CEO and president of FedEx, have their names on the list of members the president intends to appoint as members of the influential President’s Export Council.

The council will be headed by Mark Edin, chairman of Kastle Systems.

More than two dozen leaders from the corporate sector, labour, real estate, national security and law, have been tapped into the President’s Export Council.

Prominent among them are Karen S Lynch, president and CEO of CVS Health; John Lawler, the chief financial officer of Ford; Gareth Joyce, CEO at Proterra; Brett Hart, president of United Airlines; Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land O'Lakes; and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano R Amon.

“The Council advises the President on government policies and programmes that affect US trade performance; promotes export expansion; and provides a forum for discussing and resolving trade-related problems among the business, industrial, agricultural, labour, and government sectors,” the White House said.

On December 31 last, 62-year-old Renjen retired as Deloitte Global CEO after having served in the role since June 2015.

He now serves as Deloitte Global CEO Emeritus. Under his leadership, Deloitte launched WorldClass — a global effort to prepare 100 million underprivileged people for a world of opportunity — based on the belief that business thrives when society thrives, the White House said.

Recently, Deloitte made a commitment to be net zero by 2030 under its WorldClimate initiative and joined the First Movers Coalition.

Renjen is deeply committed to advancing diversity and inclusion at Deloitte through measurable actions toward gender balance.

Over his career, Renjen has been recognised by numerous organisations for his leadership, business acumen and commitment to societal impact.

In 2022, Renjen was recognised by the Economic Times as “Global Indian of the Year” and the Carnegie Corporation of America as one of 34 “Great Immigrants. Great Americans.” In 2021, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum recognised Renjen with its Global Achievement Award. In 2020, Renjen was awarded the Oregon History Makers Medal.

Renjen is being considered to be the next chairman of SAP SE, a Germany-based European multinational software company.

Subramaniam, as President and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx Corporation, is responsible for providing strategic direction for all FedEx operating companies.

Subramaniam, 55, is chair of the five-person Executive Committee, which plans and executes the corporation’s strategic business activities.

He is also chair of the FedEx Strategic Management Committee, a select group of the company’s top leadership, which sets the strategic direction for the enterprise. Before being named President and CEO-elect in March 2022, he was President and Chief Operating Officer of FedEx Corporation. Previously, Subramaniam held various leadership roles in operations and marketing across the FedEx portfolio of operating companies.

Subramaniam serves on the board of directors of FedEx Corporation, the Procter & Gamble Company, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s China Center Advisory Board, FIRST, US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, and the US-China Business Council, and a member of the US-India CEO Forum.

Subramaniam is also a proud 2023 recipient of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, the highest civilian award presented by the President of India to the Indian diaspora in recognition of outstanding achievements in India and abroad, the White House said.