Gautam Raghavan, previously the Indian-American political advisor, will now head the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, he was elevated to this new position by United States President Joe Biden.
The Presidential Personnel Office (PPO) looks after the vetting of new appointees to the White House; this department is responsible for assessing and verifying candidates appointed to work for the White House.
Raghavan was recommended to the vital post of Deputy Director in the Presidential Personnel Office (PPO) after Cathy Russell was his predecessor and had to leave. She was appointed the Executive Director of UNICEF by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced nominating her.
Russell is currently the head of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, and she was responsible for breaking records of both diversity of hiring, ensuring speedy recruitment.
She worked relentlessly to ensure that the government reflects the American quality and delivers the promises done to & for the American people, as stated by US President Joe Biden.
President Biden further stated that he was pleased to elevate Gautam Raghvan’s position to PPO’s new Director as Raghavan had worked in tandem with Cathy Russell from day one.
President Biden also added he believed that this transition would continue the efficient, effective, and diversely recruited federal workforce, which will be highly dependable to the existing workforce of the White House.
Raghvan was born in India; he is a first-generation immigrant to the US; he was raised in Seattle and had graduated from Stanford University. Raghavan is in his early 40s, and being openly gay, he lives with his husband and their daughter in Washington DC.
Gautam Raghvan has edited several books, “West Wingers: Stories from the Dream Chaser”, “Hope Creators Inside the Obama White House”, and “Change Makers.”
His career is highlighted by serving as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the PPO since January 20th, 2020; initially, he was the first employee of the Biden-Harris team where he was a Deputy Head of the Presidential Appointments.
Raghavan was also the Chief of Staff to the US representative Pramila Jayapal who headed the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, who advised all groups on advancing Civil Rights and Social Justice, advising the Biden Foundation and also acting as the VP of Policy in the Gill Foundation.