A Government shutdown may be on, but President Barack Obama is continuing with his appointments to key positions in his administration. On Friday, he nominated Indian-American executive Arun M Kumar to head the trade promotion arm of the US Department of Commerce and help US companies succeed in markets across the world.
Kumar, as and when confirmed by the Senate, will take over as Assistant Secretary and Director General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service at the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration — succeeding another Indian-American, Suresh Kumar, who left the administration earlier this year.
Arun M Kumar was a partner and member of the Board of Directors at KPMG. From 2005 until his retirement in September 2013, he led the firm’s West Coast Finance Management Consulting practice. Kumar also led the company’s US-India practice from 2007 to 2013.
Nominating Kumar along with four other individuals to key posts, Obama said: “The extraordinary dedication these men and women bring to their new roles will greatly serve the American people. I am grateful they have agreed to serve in this administration and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”
Prior to joining KPMG as Finance Management leader in 1995, Kumar was the founder and CEO of Planning & logic, Inc, a software company.
Before that, he was co-founder and CFO of Netlabs, Inc from 1991 to 1993.