Suresh Kumar Confirmed as Assistant Commerce Secretary and Director General of the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service

The U.S. Senate confirmed Suresh Kumar by unanimous consentlast nightto serve as Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service (CS). As part of the International Trade Administration, the Commercial Service helps American firms and workers navigate the often complicated and unpredictable waters of foreign trade so that U.S. firms’ sales abroad help to support jobs here in the United States.

“Promoting exports of U.S. manufactured goods and services that will lead to the creation of good-paying jobs has never been more important to our economy than it is today,” Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said. “Suresh Kumar has the knowledge and experience to lead the Commercial Service and increase efforts to help U.S. companies looking to sell their products abroad.”

In fiscal year 2009, U.S. firms reported 12,335 export successes that were assisted by the Commercial Service; 832 of these successes were from companies that had never exported before, and 2,876 were from firms that exported to a new market. Nearly 85 percent of these successes were reported by small and medium-sized enterprises.

“Ninety-five percent of the world’s consumers live outside the United States. We must encourage and support U.S. companies, especially small businesses, to export goods and services,” Kumar said. “International trade is a proven path to global prosperity. The current economic climate makes it even more compelling to prioritize and pursue this course.”

Kumar most recently was president and managing partner of KaiZen Innovation, a management advisory firm dedicated to improving local communities and global markets. He served as special advisor to the Clinton Foundation where he worked with governments in Sub-Saharan Africa and corporate CEOs to establish private-public partnerships to stimulate economic development in the region. Kumar led Johnson and Johnson’s Worldwide Consumer Pharmaceuticals business and served on the corporation’s Group Operating Committee, and was vice president of consumer products for Latin America & Asia at Warner Lambert/Pfizer.

Educated and experienced globally, Kumar has published on global management. Kumar’s business leadership and contributions to management education and consulting were recognized by Thunderbird School of Global Management which named him Distinguished Executive in Residence. Kumar has served as adjunct faculty member at the Schulich School of Business at Toronto’s York University, Bombay University, India, and has been appointed Professor of International Business at Rutgers University EMBA program. Between 1970 and 1985, Kumar was an anchor on national television in India.