Ron Somers

Ron Somers is President of the US-India Business Council (USIBC), established in 1975, and comprising more than 180 of the top US companies investing in India. The USIBC serves as the primary link between US and Indian companies, promoting open access, free trade, and the strengthening of commercial relations between the two countries.

Mr Somers serves as the Council's CEO, leading advocacy initiatives on Capitol Hill as well as in New Delhi. He also heads the Manhattan India Investment Roundtable in New York, comprising the top 20 Fortune 500 financial service institutions, banks and insurance companies investing in India.

Mr Somers recently served as Unocal Corporation's chief executive in India, developing commercial opportunities in India's emerging energy market. Previously, he served as Managing Director for India on behalf of Cogentrix Energy, tasked with setting up a 1000 MW electric power project in the Indian state of Karnataka.

A seasoned “India-hand”, he has spent 11 years living in India and has served on the Board of Directors of the Hindustan Oil Exploration Company, India's first private sector oil exploration company, as well as on the Board of the United States Educational Foundation in India, which oversees the country's Fulbright Scholarship endowment.

Mr Somers holds a Masters of Arts degree, studying at Lincoln College, Oxford University, and an Honours degree from Middlebury College, Vermont.