Charles R. Kaye

The U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), an organization of 125 top American companies investing in India, announced the election of Charles R. Kaye as the chairman of its board on Feb. 22.

Kaye, who is co-president of Warburg Pincus LLC, a leading global private equity firm with large investments in India, will begin his three-year-term on June 1, a USIBC press release said.

“Kaye’s hands-on knowledge of India, with successful investments on the ground, brings to the USIBC practical experience shaped by an understanding of India’s vast potential,” said Rajat Sharma, the council’s current chairman and senior partner at McKinsey & Co.

“He brings valuable leadership to the USIBC at a time when the Indo-U.S. commercial relationship is on a splendid growth trajectory,” he added.

Warburg Pincus, which has identified India as a key destination, has invested close to $1 billion in the country and is the largest private equity investor there. It has invested in Bharti Tele-Ventures, HDFC, Nicholas Piramal, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Max India, Moser Baer and Gujarat Ambuja, among others.

“One of the many elements driving India’s growth trajectory is the phenomenal talent among entrepreneurs and in the Indian business community generally,” Kaye said. He said he has “a deep passion for India.”

The year 2005 marks the 30th anniversary of the council, which was conceived in 1975 by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to promote the private sector economic relationship between the two countries.