WASHINGTON: Indian-American Appointed As Chief Operating Officer Of US Trade Agency

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden appointed
Indian-American former diplomat Vinai Thummalapally as the Deputy Director and
Chief Operating Officer of the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), the
federal agency dealing with trade and related issues.

Prior to
this appointment, Mr Thummalapally, 66, served as the Executive Director of
SelectUSA, a US Department of Commerce initiative that facilitates job-creating
business investment into the United States, from 2013 to 2017.

“President
Biden has appointed Vinai Thummalapally as USTDA’s Deputy Director and Chief
Operating Officer. Thummalapally assumes the role of Acting Director of USTDA
until a Director is confirmed by the Senate,” USTDA said.

He also
served as US Ambassador to Belize from 2009 to 2013, when he became the first
Indian American ambassador in United States history.

“The
US Trade and Development Agency has a global reputation for excellence,
results, and setting the standard for American economic engagement
overseas,” said Mr Thummalapally.

“It
is an honour to lead this Agency and its exceptional team of professionals. I
share their commitment to USTDA’s mission of creating US jobs through exports,
supporting the economic growth of the United States, and facilitating the
development of sustainable infrastructure overseas using the best of what US
industry has to offer,” he said in a statement.

USTDA, in
a statement said, Thummalapally has more than 30 years of experience in the
private sector, including most recently as the Executive Chairman of Red Fort Strategies,
a Washington, D.C.-based public affairs and government relations firm, and as
the President of MAM-A Inc., a US manufacturer and distributor of archival
recordable optical discs.

 “His civic leadership
experience includes service as a board member of the Indian American Impact
Project, a non-profit promoting Indian Americans to run for public office, and
as an advisor to the Asian American and Pacific Islanders Victory Fund. He has
also served as a board member for Cyient, a global digital engineering and
technology company,” USTDA said.