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FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014
diaspora
DIASPORA
MIDWEST EDITION
Shah confirmed Illinois judge Manish Shah is the first South Asian federal judge in President Barack Obama’s home state
ARUN KUMAR, WASHINGTON
I
ndian-American Manish Shah has been confirmed by the United States Senate as a federal judge in Illinois, making him the first South Asian federal judge in President Barack Obama’s home state. Son of immigrants from India, New York-born Shah, 40, was confirmed by the Senate by 95-0 votes to be a federal judge in the Chicagobased Northern District of Illinois, the fifth most populous state of America. As chief of the criminal division, Shah is currently responsible for supervising the prosecutions in the district handled by about 130 assistant U.S. attorneys. “Manish Shah’s stellar record in
Manish Shah
working with former U.S. attorney ator Mark Kirk said in a statement. Patrick Fitzgerald makes him an “His experience as a prosecutor and outstanding candidate to be the next in various leadership positions at federal district court judge for Chicago’s U.S. Attorney’s office will Northern Illinois,” Republican Sen- ensure Shah is a knowledgeable
PayPal sacks Agrawal after Twitter row IANS, WASHINGTON
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akesh “Rocky” Agrawal, PayPal’s Indian-American strategy executive claims he had resigned from the payments giant before he unleashed a latenight Twitter rant against a couple of co-workers on May 2. “P.S. the tweet from paypal is factually correct but utterly misleading. I resigned before the events of Friday night,” Agrawal tweeted on May 4 after PayPal announced his departure in a tweet, suggesting he was fired. “I can confirm that I resigned early (May 2) evening. I then went out with friends who I haven’t seen in two years,” Agrawal wrote in an email on May 4 morning to technology site Re/code. “I have huge respect for David Marcus, Stan Chudnovsky and Hill Ferguson. I also think that Anuj Nayar is one of the best PR people I’ve worked with. I wish the team the best of luck in reinvent-
Rakesh Agrawal
ing commerce,” Agrawal was quoted as saying. Asked if he wanted to apologize to the targets of his rant, PayPal communications boss Christina Smedley and PayPal retail chief
‘I can confirm that I resigned on May 2 evening. I then went out with friends’
Don Kingsborough, Agrawal declined, Re/code said. Agrawal had mentioned a “Don Christmas” in his earlier series of tweets, but that mention was believed to be directed at Kingsborough, the website said. Agrawal also hinted on Twitter Sunday morning that he may pursue creating his own startup. “I will be prioritizing meetings with accredited investors who want to build a different kind of company,” he tweeted. Agrawal had gone on a Twitter rant about colleagues from New Orleans Jazz Fest on May 2 calling PayPal communications vice-president Christina Smedley a “useless middle manager” and a “piece of s**t”, according to New York Daily News. Later, the posts were removed and he blamed his new phone. He also later apologized to the pay service’s president, David Marcus, and vice president of growth and global strategy, Stan Chudnovsky, the Daily News said.
jurist who will provide a fair forum for the resolution of civil disputes and the prosecution of alleged crimes,” he said. “Manish Shah has served with distinction as an assistant U.S. attorney, and he will bring a wealth of knowledge and legal acumen to the federal bench in Northern Illinois,” said Illinois’s Democratic Senator Dick Durban. “He has the experience, qualifications and integrity to serve with distinction on the federal bench. Shah’s nomination is also a historic one,” he said. “Upon confirmation, he will be the first Article III judge of South Asian descent to serve in the state of Illinois,” Durbin said ahead of the vote. According to Shah’s bio released by Kirk and Durbin’s offices, his
Ranadive leads charge against racist basketball team owner WASHINGTON: Vivek Ranadive, the only IndianAmerican owner of a United States National Basketball Association (NBA) team, is leading the charge against fellow team owner Donald Sterling accused of making racist comments. Sacramento Kings owner Ranadive expects his fellow NBA owners will vote unanimously to force Sterling, who has been banned by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for life and fined `150 mn, to sell the Los Angeles Clippers, ESPN reported. Ranadive, who emphatically supported Silver’s ruling on April 29, reiterated his stance next day on ESPN Radio’s ‘Mike & Mike’. “I would be surprised if this was not a unanimous vote,” Ranadive said. He said he was shocked by Sterling’s comments, which were revealed over the weekend as part of an audio recording. Vivek Randive
Harish Manwani elected to Qualcomm board IANS, WASHINGTON
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umbai-educated Harish Manwani has been elected to the Board of Directors of Qualcomm Incorporated, the San Diego, California-based global leader in wireless telecommunications products and services. Manwani, who currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Unilever PLC brings more than 35 years of consumer product and
global management experience, a company announcement said. An honors graduate, Manwani also holds a Master’s degree in Management Studies, both from Mumbai University. He also attended the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School. Manwani joined Unilever in India in 1976 as a management trainee and has been with the company ever since in various senior
parents emigrated from India and raised their two sons in West Hartford, Connecticut. Shah attended Stanford University and graduated with honors and distinction. He attended the University of Chicago Law School and graduated with honors. Shah and his wife Joanna Grisinger, who teaches at Northwestern University, currently live in Chicago. After law school, Shah was a litigation associate at Heller Ehrman in San Francisco and clerked for James B. Zagel of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Shah joined the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s office in September 2001 and prosecuted violent crime, international drug trafficking, complex fraud and public corruption.
Harish Manwani
roles across the world. “We are pleased to welcome Harish as a member of Qualcomm’s Board of Directors,” said Paul Jacobs, chairman of the board of Qualcomm. “His experience managing Unilever’s global businesses, and particularly his expertise in emerging regions and consumer products, brings insights to Qualcomm’s board as advances in wireless technologies enable new industries and geographies.” In his current role, he has global responsibility for all eight Unilever market clusters and is focused on driving future growth and tapping opportunities in emerging regions.