Indian-American business leader appointed to Biden's Export Council

US PRESIDENT Joe Biden has announced his intent to appoint Shamina Singh, a prominent Indian-American business leader, to the President's Export Council.

Singh, who is the founder and president of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, has said she is "honoured to join the group of esteemed leaders” on council which serves as the principal national advisory committee on international trade.

“From the earliest days of my career, I've gravitated toward work that helps create long-lasting and inclusive prosperity for people and economies in the US and around the world," she said in a statement on Mastercard's website.

Singh also serves as the executive vice president of sustainability at Mastercard and is a member of the company's management committee.

She has drawn on over 20 years of global experience to develop a social impact model that leverages public and private sector assets.

In 2018, Mastercard created the Mastercard Impact Fund with an initial $500 million investment and Singh was named its president.

“Through that work, and particularly at Mastercard, I've learned how the dialogue between the public and private sector can open bigger doors more widely than many other approaches. I've seen firsthand the catalytic impact that can result from effective cross-sector partnerships. I look forward to bringing this perspective to the Council, serving the administration and having an opportunity to advance America's economic interests across the globe,” she said.

Singh has held senior positions in the White House and the US House of Representatives. She was the executive director of the first President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. In 2015, she was appointed by president Barack Obama to a six-year term on the board of AmeriCorps. She served as its chair for two years.

Singh co-chairs the Ad Council of America's Advisory Committee on Public Issues and serves on the advisory boards of the Aspen Institute Civil Society Fellowship and the New York Department of Financial Services Innovation.

Singh has studied at Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and the Indian School of Business.

She earned a bachelor of science from Old Dominion University and a master of public affairs from the Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin.

Singh becomes the latest addition from the Indian-American community to serve in the key positions in the Biden administration.

(PTI)