Nicholas Burns
Under Secretary, Political Affairs, US State Department
A former US Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Burns brought his expertise in arguing Washington's case to the nuclear table. His tenure as spokesman and personal rapport with counterpart Shyam Saran, helped ensure that the nuclear deal did not appear to be a sell-out for Washington.
Ashley J Tellis
Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Mumbai-born Tellis, was a senior advisor to Robert Blackwill, former US Ambassador to India and for the past two months, he has served as senior advisor to Burns. Vociferously advocating India's cause, he has helped strengthen American support of various State Department activities that relate to Indo-US relations.
Philip Zelikow
Counsellor, US State Department
Credited as one of the few who always has his eye on the ‘Big Picture’, Zelikow is often referred to as ‘geo-political guru par excellence’. An academic by nature, he authored America's National Security Stratgey in 2002. Post his induction as counsellor in 2005, he has toiled hard to strategically place India in an advantageous position on the US foreign policy map.