Washington D.C., New Delhi, January 3, 2023 — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced a new leadership team to oversee its operations in New Delhi. Mr. Alexander Slater will serve as the Managing Director of the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) and Ms. Shreerupa Mitra will serve as the Deputy Managing Director, effective yesterday, January 2, 2023. Ambika Sharma, USIBC’s current Managing Director, is moving to a new role as Principal Advisor to USIBC President Ambassador Atul Keshap.
A globally recognized expert in law, economics, and business, Alexander Slater served as USIBC’s Deputy Managing Director in New Delhi since December 2019, managing the day-to-day operations of its India-based team, and leading its financial services, tax, and real estate vertical to new heights. During his tenure, Mr. Slater helped facilitate significant gains in USIBC membership, especially in venture capital and private equity, areas central to fueling India’s startup ecosystem and cross-sector growth.
A deeply respected veteran of policy and government, Shreerupa Mitra served as USIBC’s Senior Advisor in New Delhi since September 2022. With deep expertise in the Government of India and strong connections to business leaders in the energy, defense, and advisory sectors, Ms. Mitra will lead USIBC’s activities around India’s G20 presidency in 2023 and support the U.S. Chamber’s leadership in the B20.
“The U.S.-India Business Council is a trusted and powerful driver of ever closer commercial and strategic cooperation between the world’s two largest democracies,” said Ambassador Atul Keshap, USIBC President. “We’re ecstatic to have two policy innovators – Alexander Slater and Shreerupa Mitra – serve USIBC’s new India leadership team. Their deep expertise and substantial global networks across the public and private sectors in the United States and India will power our organization to even greater heights and serve our over two-hundred member companies well. I’m also looking forward to continuing to receive wise counsel and strategic advice from Ambika Sharma, who has been a pillar of our organization during her distinguished tenure as Managing Director during a time of significant growth.”
“As the next Managing Director of USIBC, I’m very grateful for the opportunity to continue the organization’s 48-year mission of strengthening trade and investment ties between India and the United States,” said Mr. Slater. “During this volatile period for geopolitics and geoeconomics, I am focused on making sure we provide our members and both governments the best advice on how to capitalize on these conditions to enhance the commercial activity that underpins the bilateral relationship,” he added. “Having lived in India the last three years, it holds a most special place in my heart. When I first came here 20 years ago, I never imagined that I would marry into an Indian family, and that our son would be born here. I am truly honored to have the opportunity to help our member companies expand and advance the burgeoning strategic partnership between two countries I love so much.”
“U.S.- India bilateral cooperation, including trade, is broad-based and multi-sectoral. Although current geopolitical challenges will significantly impact global growth prospects, this can be a particularly fertile circumstance for India and the U.S. to enhance trade relations and iron-out roadblocks. I feel particularly grateful to lead a team that the Government of India considers a critical stakeholder in this space,” said Ms. Mitra.
“I’m thrilled to be assuming a new position at USIBC advising my friend Atul on matters critical to the organization’s work in India,” said Ms. Sharma. “It’s been wonderful to help lead USIBC the past four years and to work closely with Alexander and Shreerupa in multiple capacities. They are both seasoned, creative leaders who bring complementary skills to their new roles. They will be powerful partners to our members and central and state government officials.”
“Ambika, Alexander, and Shreerupa have been colleagues and friends of mine for years,” said Nisha Biswal, Senior Vice President for International Strategy and Global Initiatives at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “Both at USIBC and beyond, I’ve relied heavily on their wisdom, creativity, and hard work to tackle tough challenges. They have been tireless advocates for the U.S.-India relationship and made significant contributions to its continuing strength and vitality. With this transition, USIBC goes from strength-to-strength in support of our members.”
Mr. Slater has previously served as an advisor and speechwriter to World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and U.S. Senator and current Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, as well as having worked as a Senior Financial Officer at the World Bank Treasury. He is an attorney who practiced law in Washington, D.C., and New York City, representing Fortune 500 companies in white collar and foreign investment matters, and served as a law clerk for Judge Barrington Parker on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. As an attorney, he had a robust pro bono practice helping military veterans and Holocaust survivors access public benefits and voters and persons with disabilities obtain legal advice. Mr. Slater holds degrees in history, law, and international relations from Yale, Harvard, and Oxford, where he was a Commonwealth Scholar.
Ms. Mitra previously served as a subject matter specialist on international cooperation for six years first in the office of India’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, and then the office of its Minister of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, both in New Delhi. She has significant U.S.-focused and international experience, having worked as an executive at the U.S. Agency for International Development and the United Nations Development Program in Odisha, India, and as a journalist for the Press Trust of India in Geneva, Switzerland. Shreerupa holds a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and economics from Miranda House at the University of Delhi, a Master of Arts in sociology from the Delhi School of Economics, and a Master of Arts in social sciences from the University of Chicago.
About the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business organization representing companies of all sizes across every sector of the economy. Our members range from the small businesses and local chambers of commerce that line the Main Streets of America to leading industry associations and large corporations. They all share one thing: They count on the U.S. Chamber to be their voice in Washington, across the country, and around the world. For more than 100 years, we have advocated for pro-business policies that help businesses create jobs and grow our economy.
About the U.S.-India Business Council
Formed at the behest of the U.S. and Indian governments in 1975, the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) has represented top global companies operating across the United States, India, and the Indo-Pacific for the past 48 years. Amid dynamic growth within the U.S.-India commercial partnership, we serve as the premier voice of industry and create connections between businesses and governments across both countries. Through our flagship Washington, D.C. and New Delhi offices and presences across both countries, we work with members to identify and advance key policy priorities. Recognizing that U.S.-India trade is increasingly driven by new business hubs, USIBC is also focused on strengthening connections between cities and states across the world’s largest and oldest democracies, for the happiness and prosperity of all of our 1.7 billion citizens.
For further information, please contact Mr. Arjit Roshan at aroshan@uschamber.com.
