Indian-Americans Manu Asthana and Madhu Beriwal have been named to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council by US President Joe Biden.
The President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) provides advice to the White House on how to lower physical and cyber hazards, enhance security, and strengthen resilience of the country’s key infrastructure sectors.
The 26 people who were introduced to the NIAC on Wednesday are top senior executives with extensive backgrounds in a variety of industries, including banking and finance, transportation, energy, water, dams, defence, communications, and information technology, as well as healthcare services, food and agriculture, public utilities, emergency services, and higher education.
As the CEO and president of PJM, Asthana is responsible for managing the biggest power grid in North America and one of the biggest electrical markets in the world.
“Under Beriwal’s leadership, IEM has led some of the largest mitigation and resilience efforts across the United States, building back stronger following disasters including disaster recovery programs, delivering federal funds to survivors and communities faster than any other program of the same type and magnitude,” the White House said.
“For over 37 years, Beriwal has been dedicated to the use of technology to enhance preparedness and response, and build resilience in communities and their critical infrastructure. She was inducted into the International Women in Homeland Security and Emergency Management Hall of Fame in 2012,” it said.
In 1985, Madhu Beriwal formed Innovative Emergency Management, Inc. (IEM), and she still holds those positions today. The largest emergency management and homeland security company in the US is called IEM.
Asthana has a wealth of leadership expertise in the energy sector, namely in the areas of risk management, competitive retail electricity, electricity and natural gas trading, and power production operations, optimization, and dispatch. The White House further stated that he sits on the board of trustees for Texas Children’s Hospital and is a member of the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council.
