Indian Americans Punit Renjen and Rajesh Subramaniam Appointed to President’s Export Council
- Along with other members of the principal national advisory committee on international trade, they will advise Joe Biden on government policies and programs.
Two Indian Americans have been appointed to the President’s Export Council, the principal national advisory committee on international trade, the White House announced this week. Former Deloitte Global CEO Punit Renjen and FedEx Corporation President and CEO Rajesh Subramaniam, along with other members will “advise the president on government policies and programs that affect U.S. trade performance; promotes export expansion; and provides a forum for discussing and resolving trade-related problems among the business, industrial, agricultural, labor, and government sectors.”
Last month, the supervisory board of SAP proposed Renjen as the designated supervisory board chairman of the Germany-based software company SAP. The board nominated the 61-year-old Indian American to stand for election as a new member of SAP’s supervisory board at its annual general meeting on May 11. If approved, he would be the first non-German and also the first Indian to chair the company.
Renjen served as Deloitte Global CEO from 2015 until his retirement on December 31, 2022. In that role, he developed and executed a strategy that resulted in Deloitte revenues growing from $35 billion to more than $59 billion in just seven years. He now serves as Deloitte Global CEO Emeritus. “Under Renjen’s leadership Deloitte launched WorldClass—a global effort to prepare 100 million underprivileged people for a world of opportunity—based on the belief that when society thrives, business thrives,” the White House said. Previously, he served as chairman of United Way Worldwide. He is a member of the Leadership Council of the World Economic Forum (WEF), and the International Business Council. In 2022, he was recognized by the Economic Times as the “Global Indian of the Year” and by the Carnegie Corporation of America as a “Great Immigrant. Great American”. In 2021, he was awarded the Oregon History Medal.
As president and CEO of FedEx Corporation, Subramaniam, 57, is responsible for providing strategic direction for all FedEx operating companies. He 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 to his current role last year, he was president and Chief Operating Officer of FedEx Corporation. Previously, he held various leadership roles in operations and marketing across the FedEx portfolio of operating companies. He 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, the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum, and the U.S.-China Business Council, and a member of the U.S.-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. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Syracuse University, and a master’s degree in business administration from The University of Texas at Austin.