Verma, 53, is currently the general counsel and head of Global Public Policy for Mastercard. He oversees the company’s law and policy functions in the US and around the world.
US President Joe Biden has announced his intent to appoint Indian-American lawyer diplomat Richard Verma, also a former US ambassador to India, as a member of his Intelligence Advisory Board, a report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says.
The President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) is an independent element within his Executive Office. A White House statement said
Verma, 53, is currently the general counsel and head of Global Public Policy for Mastercard. He oversees the company’s law and policy functions in the US and around the world.
“He previously served as the US Ambassador to India, where he led one of the largest US diplomatic missions and championed historic progress in bilateral ties,” the White House said.
A former assistant secretary of state and the former national security advisor to the Senate Majority Leader, Verma is a veteran of the US Air Force, and the recipient of numerous military awards and civilian decorations, including the Meritorious Service Medal and the State Department’s Distinguished Service Award, it said.
He was a member of the WMD and Terrorism Commission and currently serves on a number of boards including those of Ford Foundation, Lehigh University and National Endowment for Democracy.
Verma is a Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, and he holds multiple academic degrees, including a doctorate (PhD) from Georgetown University and a law degree (J.D.) from American University.
The PIAB exists exclusively to assist the President by providing the President with an independent source of advice on the effectiveness with which the Intelligence Community is meeting the nation’s intelligence needs and the vigour and insight with which the community plans for the future. The President can appoint up to 16 members of the Board, the White House said.
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