Indian-American Gautam Raghavan Promoted to Key White House Post

A first-generation immigrant, Raghavan was born in India, and lives with his husband and their child in Washington.

Indian American Gautam Raghavan was appointed as the director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel by United States President Joe Biden on Friday, 10 December.

(Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia/WhiteHouse)

Indian-American Gautam Raghavan was appointed as the director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel by United States President Joe Biden on Friday, 10 December.

Raghavan will succeed Cathy Russell, who is set to become the executive director of UNICEF.

"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," said President Biden in an announcement on Friday.

A first-generation immigrant, Raghavan was born in India, raised in Seattle, and graduated from Stanford University. He lives with his husband and their daughter in Washington, DC.

Raghavan has served as deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel since January 2021. Previously, he was the first employee hired by the Biden-Harris Transition Team where he served as deputy head of presidential appointments.

"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 Defense, and as Outreach Lead for the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Working Group", a White House statement reads.