Two Indian Americans on Biden’s infrastructure body
US President Joe Biden has nominated Indian Americans Manu Asthana and Madhu Beriwal to his National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC).
The NIAC advises the White House on how to reduce physical and cyber risks, and improve security and resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure sectors.
Asthana is the chief executive officer of PJM International, an organisation that coordinates the movement of electricity in 13 US states. Beriwal is the founder of Innovative Emergency Management (IEM), a company that assists government agencies with disaster preparedness, homeland security, public health and cybersecurity.
As the head of PJM, Asthana oversees the biggest power grid in North America. He has 21 years of experience in the fields of power generation operations, competitive retail electricity, electricity and natural gas trading, optimisation and dispatch and risk management.
According to the White House, he is a member of the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council and serves on the Board of Trustees of Texas Children’s Hospital.
He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia. Asthana earned a Bachelor of Science in economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Benjamin Franklin Scholar and a Joseph Wharton Scholar.
Beriwal founded the Innovative Emergency Management, Inc. (IEM) in 1985 and serves as its CEO and president. IEM is the largest woman-led homeland security and emergency management firm in the US.
Beriwal has expertise in information technology, homeland security, national defence and disaster and emergency management.
The IEM founder was the architect of Hurricane Pam exercise, a federally-funded exercise to prepare for a catastrophic hurricane in Louisiana.
Beriwal holds a master’s degree in urban planning and a bachelor’s degree in geography and economics.