Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City addressed CEOs of leading Indian companies from diverse sectors such as banking, finance, pharmaceuticals, retail, diamond and IT at a CEO roundtable organized by the Consulate General of India in New York in partnership with the NYC Mayors Office for International Affairs on April 18th, 2023 at the New York Indian Consulate in New York.
CEOs participating in the roundtable included Suresh Muthuswamy, Chairman, North America, Tata Consultancy Services, Michael McCabe, Tata Sons Country Head – North America, Bhavani Parameshwara, Executive Director and President, Indievat Inc. (an ITC-owned company). Amneal Pharmaceuticals Co-CEO New York Branch Chintu Patel, Strides Pharma Chief Business Officer Shivprasad Naikoti, State Bank of India (SBI) New York Branch CEO Prashant Tripathi, Canara Bank CEO Jaya Rajappan, Empire State Titans Founder and Owner Hiren Kumar, Kushal Choksey, co-founder of Tattva Truffles, Gaurav Varma of USISFP, Anjan Lahiri of Naikenz, Chief Regional Manager Amit Malik from Bharat Electronics, Akshay Chaturvedi Country Head-USA for ICICI Bank Ltd, Tejas Shah CEO of Kiran Jewels, Sandeep Shah of Sandeep Diamond and Co-Founder of Recognize Franscisco D’Souza.
Mayor Eric Adams said, “It is very important that we understand the role of the Indian community in the city’s prosperity in three areas. One, I want to encourage them to participate in the political scene, which should be part of their business plan.” Also, the Mayor suggested “making a bridge between school, high school kids and youth. With the company who has required skills our kids will need for the future. And lastly, it’s important that we give them the tools to help our kids intern and volunteer. We want to continue to expand and let them know that we are a partner in growing their business together,” Adams said.
Randhir Jaiswal, Consul General of India in New York, said the mayor’s discussion and roundtable with CEOs of major Indian companies provide an opportunity to see “how we can strengthen our business engagement with New York City and India.” On India-US relationship, he said, it helps, especially in economic ties in the startup, tech, finance, and energy sectors. Jaiswal highlighted that India is the world’s fastest growing major economy and the country is expanding digital public infrastructure at the fastest pace globally and the roundtable amplified this message.
Dilip Chauhan, Deputy Commissioner for New York City Mayor Office for International Affairs, highlighted the priority and importance the Mayor’s Office places on attracting international businesses and companies to base as well as expand in the city. Chauhan said the office is focused on increasing economic engagement with the international business community and outlined the incentives being offered to companies looking to expand their footprint in the city’s five boroughs – Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island. Chauhan stressed that the mayor’s message is “GET STUFF DONE” New York City is a City of YES. Chauhan manages the portfolio of trade, investment and innovation for the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
Officials accompanying the mayor included Mira Joshi, Deputy Mayor for Operations, Andrew Kimball, President and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and Edward Mermelstein, New York City Commissioner for International Affairs.
Deputy Commissioner for Policy and Strategic Initiatives and Chief of Staff in the NYC Mayor’s Office for International Affairs Aisata Camara, Deputy Chief Counsel in the Office of the Mayor and Chief Counsel for City Hall Rahul Agarwal, Deputy Commissioner for Public Private Partnerships and Economic Development NYC Mayor In the Office of International Affairs Kristen Edgren Kaufman and senior official Rana Abbasova.
