GE India President and CEO John L Flannery receiving the IACC-Sanmar Award on behalf of GE USA. (From l to r): Usha Srinivasan, Chairperson, IACC Tamil Nadu Branch, Andrew T Simkin, US Consul General in Chennai, Adil Zainulbhai, Managing Director, McKinsey & Co. India, N Sankar, Chairman, The Sanmar Group, John L Flannery, GE India President and CEO, Syed Baderuddin, National President IACC and Vasanth Kini, Regional Vice President IACC.
“India provides a huge opportunity for
us. We need to make more investment
in local suppliers and manufacturing
system to have long-term benefi t and
in high quality job creation. Currently,
we don’t have a large manufacturing
footprint in India. We really need to
do that to be more competitive here
in the long-term”. - John L Flannery,
GE India President and CEO
The Indo American Chamber of Commerce-Sanmar Indo-US Business Cooperation Award was presented on 24 February 2010 to the Multinational C onglomerate General Electric Company, USA, in recognition of its contributions to the enhancement of Indo-US relations, particularly in the area of bilateral trade and commerce over the years. T he Sanmar Group Chairman N Sankar and IACC National President Syed Baderuddin presented the award to GE India President and CEO John L Flannery in the presence of US Consul General in Chennai Andrew T Simkin and McKinsey and Company, India, Managing Director Adil Zainulbhai.
After receiving the award on behalf of General Electric, GE India President and CEO John L Flannery said, “India with its huge talent pool is a giant source for technology and technical knowhow. We have the John F Welch technology centre in Bangalore and technical centre in Hyderabad.” GE employs nearly 15,000 people in India and has revenue of around $2.8 billion. The US Consul General in Chennai Andrew T Simkin said that it was proposed to double the bilateral trade between India and the US in the next fi ve years.
N Sankar spoke of the Sanmar joint venture experience of over 35 years. Indo-US relations, which achieved a new high during the second Bush presidency, were transiting reasonably well into the Obama regime.
There was increased cooperation between the two nations at the macro level, especially on the geo-political front and Indo-US cooperation was healthy and growing. Managing Director McKinsey & Co. India, Adil Zainulbhai sought closer cooperation between SMEs – small and medium enterprises of both nations for mutual benefit.
N Sankar sharing a lighter moment with Andrew T Simkin and Adil Zainulbhai.
A view of the audience present at the function.