On Friday (March 11), US President Joe Biden selected two Indian Americans to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. Revathi Advaithi, CEO of Flex, and Manish Bapna, CEO of Natural Resources Defense Council, have been nominated to prominent positions in the Biden administration, joining a growing list of people of Indian descent.
On Friday, Biden revealed his intention to name 14 persons to the Advisory Committee, which gives broad policy guidance to the US Trade Representative on topics of US trade policy development, implementation, and administration.
Among these are negotiating objectives and bargaining positions prior to entering into trade agreements, the impact of trade agreement implementation, issues concerning the operation of any trade agreement once entered into, and other issues arising in connection with the development, implementation, and administration of the United States trade policy, according to the White House.
Revathi Advaithi is CEO of Flex a global manufacturing partner of choice
Revathi Advaithi is CEO of Flex, “the global manufacturing partner of choice that helps a diverse customer base design and build products to improve the world”.
According to the White House, Advaithi has been in charge of architecting the company’s strategic direction and driving Flex through a transformation that is establishing a new era in manufacturing since taking the position in 2019.
Prior to joining Flex, Advaithi was president and Chief Operational Officer of Eaton, a firm with over USD20 billion in revenues and 102,000 people.
She has also worked at Eaton’s electrical sector, Americas, and Honeywell, and she currently serves on the boards of Uber and Catalyst.Org.
Advaithi serves as Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Advanced Manufacturing CEO Community and is a member of the WEF Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders.
She was selected one of Business Today’s Most Influential Women in India and was named one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business for four years in a row. She graduated with honors from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and from the Thunderbird School of Global Management with an MBA.
Manish Bapna is the president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
According to the White House, Manish Bapna is the president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which has been behind many of the most significant environmental milestones of the last half-century, including the creation of bedrock environmental laws, landmark legal victories, and foundational research.
Throughout his 25-year career, Bapna’s leadership responsibilities have focused on addressing the core causes of poverty and climate change through equitable, long-term, and scalable initiatives. For more than 14 years, he was Executive Vice President and Managing Director of the World Resources Institute, a research institution focusing on the nexus of the environment and human development.
