Biden elevates Indian American Gautam Raghavan as head of White House personnel
13 Dec 2021
US President Joe Biden on Friday elevated Indian American Gautam Raghavan to a new position, making him head of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.
Raghavan's elevation to the new position follows the current head of WH PPO, Cathey Russell, moving out to serve as executive director of UNICEF, after UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres announced his intent.
President Bidden said Russell has broken records in both speed and diversity of hiring, working relentlessly to ensure that our federal government reflects America and delivers for the American people.
I am also pleased that Gautam Raghavan, who has worked in tandem with Cathy from Day One, 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, Biden said in a statement.
A first-generation immigrant, Raghavan was born in India, raised in Seattle and graduated from Stanford University. He is the editor of "West Wingers: Stories from the Dream Chasers, Change Makers, and Hope Creators Inside the Obama White House." He lives with his wife and their daughter in Washington, DC.
Gautam Raghavan has served as deputy assistant to the President and deputy director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel since 20 January 2020. Previously, he was the first employee hired by the Biden-Harris Transition Team where he served as deputy head of Presidential Appointments. Raghavan served as chief of staff to US Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and advised organisations focused on advancing civil rights and social justice, serving as an advisor to the Biden Foundation and as vice president of Policy for the Gill Foundation, the White House said.
During the Obama-Biden Administration, Raghavan served in the White House Office of Public Engagement as liaison to the LGBTQ community as well as the Asian American & Pacific Islander community, as acting White House liaison for the US Department of Defence, and as Outreach Lead for the Pentagon's Don't Ask, Don't Tell Working Group, it said.