Indian techie for key Virginia post

Vivek Kundra, who has been president of IT consultancy firm Creostar, will be Virginia's assistant secretary for trade and commerce, writes S Rajagopalan.

Indian American IT professionals are going places in the new Virginia administration. Tim Kaine, the state's new governor, has now appointed a second Indian techie, Vivek Kundra, for a key post.

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Kundra, who has been president of IT consultancy firm Creostar, will be Virginia's assistant secretary for trade and commerce. He holds a Masters degree in management information systems from the University of Maryland.

Kaine, who took over as governor a fortnight ago, has already appointed Aneesh Chopra as the state's secretary of technology. He has been entrusted with the task of expanding the use of information technology to serve citizens and promote Virginia to technology companies.

Another Indian IT specialist Sanjay Puri was recently named by Virginia's Attorney-General Bob McDonnell as the co-chair of a policy committee dealing with Internet fraud and identity theft. Puri has also been a member of the governor's transition team recommending individuals to serve in the new administration.

The US India Political Action Committee, a major lobbying group for the Indian community in Washington DC, says Indian Americans are becoming more politically active -- a trend that is reflected in the growing number of political appointments for members of the community.

"My appointment is yet another example of USINPAC's success in representing the Indian American community before Federal and State governments and I look forward to get more Indian Americans involved in the process," said Kundra.