Indian American Gautam Raghavan has been appointed head of the White House office of presidential personnel by the Joe Biden administration. The promotion follows the possible departure of his boss, Cathy Russell, the current occupant of the post, to be the next executive director of UNICEF. Russell’s new appointment was announced by United Nations secretary general António Guterres.
US President Joe Biden issued a statement, saying, “I am pleased that Gautam Raghavan, who has worked in tandem with Cathy, will become PPO’s new director — a seamless transition that will enable us to continue building a federal workforce that is efficient, effective, dependable and diverse.”
Who is Gautam Raghavan?
Raghavan, a first-generation immigrant, was raised in Seattle and graduated from Stanford University. He served as former US president Barack Obama’s liaison to the LGBTQ community as well as the Asian American and Pacific Islander community from 2011-2014, and has also done stints with the Department of Defense, the 2008 Obama Campaign, and the Democratic National Committee.
He was the first employee hired by the Biden-Harris Transition Team where he served as deputy head of presidential appointments. He lives with his husband and their daughter in Washington DC.
