The CEOs of AMCHAM’s Karnataka Chapter met with the new Consul General Robert Burgess of the U.S. Consulate, Chennai, on September 19^th at a breakfast meeting. Mr. Iqbal Sait, Chairman – Karnataka Chapter, AMCHAM and Head of Asia Operations, Saggezza India Pvt. Ltd. welcomed Consul General Burgess and spoke about the long association the Karnataka Chapter of AMCHAM has with the consulate. Those  present included: Mr. Paresh Shah, Vice Chairman – Karnataka Chapter, AMCHAM and General Manager, Syniverse Technologies, Mr. Amit Sharma, COO – India/Asia Pac, IBM, Mr. Naresh Shah, President, Hewlett Packard India Software Operation Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Atul Ujagar, Country Director – India, Sri-Lanka, Pak, Nike Sourcing India Pvt Ltd, Mr. Indraneel Roy Choudhury, Executive Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Limited, Dr. Pradip K. Dutta, Corporate Vice President & Managing Director, Synopsys (India) Private Limited, Mr. Munesh Makhija, CEO – GE China and GE India Technology Centers, Mr. Bunty Bohra, CEO, Goldman Sachs, Mr. Sanjay Thirumalai, Managing Director, Grant Thornton Shared Services and Mr. James Brandt, Managing Director, Lowes India.

The interaction centered around the current issues concerning visas. There was also a request from AMCHAM that the consulate engage with the Karnataka government to help U.S. business interests in the state, especially regarding the infrastructural issues and the ease of doing business. Consul General Burgess said that this was a good time in Indo-U.S. relations. He was glad to have had a frank discussion with AMCHAM members on the challenges faced in the state. He promised to work with the chamber to help resolve some of the issues.