AMCHAM organized an off the record interaction with U.S. Ambassador Kenneth I. Juster, Honorary President of AMCHAM, on June 9th for members with a presence in Karnataka. Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM, gave a warm welcome to Ambassador Juster. In his remarks, the Ambassador gave an overview of the U.S.-India relationship over the last 3 months, from President Trump’s visit to India in late February to the U.S. citizens that have been recently repatriated by the Embassy. With Bengaluru having over 500 U.S. companies operating, the health of U.S. business in the region continues to be important to the U.S.-India commercial relationship.

Mr. Sanjay Koul, Vice Chairman, AMCHAM and Managing Director, Timken India, spoke about the business outlook in Karnataka and the manufacturing sector. Mr. Ravi Krishnan, Vice Chairman – Karnataka Chapter, AMCHAM and Chief Administrative Officer, Goldman Sachs, spoke about the business outlook of the financial services sector, Mr. Amit Sharma, Chief Operating Officer, IBM, shared insights on the ICT sector, Mr. Atul Ujagar, Country Director, India Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Nike, discussed apparel and sourcing and Mr. Parag Wadhwan, Managing Director, India Collins Aerospace, talked about the aerospace and defense sector. There was a moderated Q&A session that touched on infrastructure, land and labor challenges, adapting to tele working, data protection, cyber security and the global supply chain, among other topics. The virtual interaction was well attended with over 50 member companies present.