Gopal Khanna, chief financial officer with the Peace Corps, joined
the White House as the (CFO) chief financial officer of the executive
office of the President.
Congratulating Khanna, Peace Corps director Gaddi Vasquez said,
"During his nearly three years of service, first as the chief
information officer, then as the chief financial officer of the
Peace Corps, Gopal distinguished himself as a visionary leader,
with a well-planned strategy to build the global support infrastructure
for the Peace Corps of 21st century."
This is the first high-level appointment of an NRI, Indian American
in President Bush's second term in office. "I am proud to
be an (NRI) Indian-American and [proud of] my Hindu upbringing,"
Khanna said. "But first and foremost, I am an American."
Khanna said, "I feel privileged to have had the opportunity
to serve this great agency and its noble mission of peace and
friendship. I shall forever remain appreciative of the Peace Corps
staff for their commitment and dedication to support the work
of our volunteers."
He said he was "honored to join the White House staff and
I am looking forward to serving the President."
Khanna, a staunch Republican Party activist for many years, who
had been an elected delegate and alternate delegate on two occasions
from Minnesota to the Republican National Conventions, was first
appointed by President George W Bush as the CIO of the Peace Corps
in June 2002.
In this position Khanna was responsible for the successful implementation
of the standardised computing platform for the agency's 72 posts
worldwide.
It was Khanna who designed and implemented the Enterprise Architecture
Program, which serves as the framework for the agency's systems
modernisation strategy and the transformation of mission critical
systems.
As the CFO of the Peace Corps, Khanna led the modernisation and
transformation of the agency's accounting and financial management
systems, which allowed the Peace Corps to produce auditable financial
statements in 2004 -- a first in the agency's 43-year history.
Prior to joining the Peace Corps, Khanna held several senior
executive positions in finance, information technology, operations
and management consulting, and has a long history of civic and
charitable involvement.
He is also an long-time Indian American community activist and
was one of the founding members of the Indian American Forum for
Political Education, that was founded by Dr Joy Cherian, the first
Indian American to hold a sub-cabinet level appointment.
Khanna is a popular speaker on the information technology, global
markets and international development circuit, as well as regular
Indian American community events.
Khanna has a BA in economics, mathematics and political science
from Christ Church College in Kanpur, and an MBA from the University
of Maine.
