South Asian Americans in Politics, Entertainment and Business Among 100 Impactful Asian and Pacific Islanders

Several South Asian Americans were recently named among this year’s most impactful Asian and Pacific Islanders by Gold House in its annual A100 List. The national nonprofit that describes itself as the “leading Asian and Pacific Islander changemaker community, fighting together for socioeconomic equity, releases the list every May to mark Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. The annual compilation honors 100 members of the community who had the most impact on culture and society over the past year.

Included in the list are actress, comedian, writer, producer, and director Mindy Kaling; Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval; ClassPass founder Payal Kadakia, Pakistani American comedian, actor, and screenwriter Kumail Nanjiani; Federal Trade Commission chair Lina M. Khan; Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal; British Pakistani actor, rapper, and activist Riz Ahmed, Clubhouse co-founder and CTO Rohan Seth. 

Joining them are prominent business leaders like the London-based Leena Nair, CEO of the global, luxury fashion brand Chanel; Amrapali (Ami) Gan is the CEO at OnlyFans, the subscription social platform revolutionizing creator and fan connections; Nikil Viswanathan, co-founder and CEO of Alchemy, the world’s leading blockchain developer platform; investor, founder, and author Hemant Taneja, managing partner of the venture capital firm General Catalyst; and author, podcast host, entrepreneur, and former monk Jay Shetty.

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Those making a mark in entertainment are also included in the list. Among them are poet, artist, and performer Rupi Kaur; Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Versha Sharma; Pitchfork editor-in-chief Puja Patel; breakout stars of the second season of “Bridgerton,” Charithra Chandran and Simone Ashley; and stars of “Never Have I Ever” – Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Richa Moorjani, and Poorna Jagannathan.