Four Indian-Americans, including Google CEO Sunder Pichai and McKinsey's Chairman of the Americas Vikram Malhotra, are among 42 eminent professionals honoured with a prestigious immigrants' award for their role in strengthening the country and its democratic society.
National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author Bharati Mukherjee, PBS NewsHour Anchor and Senior Correspondent Hari Sreenivasan, Vikram Malhotra and Sundar Pichai have been bestowed with the Carnegie Corporation's 'Great Immigrants: The Pride of America' honour.
Mr Malhotra said he was "truly humbled" to receive the honour and to be in the company of the fellow honorees who he described as an "incredible group".
"America is a country of great opportunity, with a vibrant democracy and strong values. America has always embraced immigration and celebrated diversity as sources of strength. I wholeheartedly believe that my ability to immigrate was a cornerstone of building the life and career that I have," he said.
Mr Malhotra leads McKinsey's practices in both North America and Latin America and had joined the global consulting firm in 1986. He also serves as a Trustee of The Conference Board, the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania) as well as a Trustee Emeritus of the Asia Society. The Tamil Nadu-born Sundar Pichai was named CEO of Google in August last year.
Ms Mukherjee is professor emerita in the department of English at the University of California, Berkeley and won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1988 for her work 'The Middleman and Other Stories'.
The honours were announced ahead of the American Independence Day celebrations on July 4 as a tribute to the "role immigrants play in strengthening our country and our democratic society".
For 2016, the corporation named 42 honorees, who represent about 30 different countries of origin, a wide range of personal immigration stories, and inspiring professional accomplishments. The honorees will be saluted in public service announcements appearing in print and via an online initiative, it said.
Since 2006, each year the philanthropic foundation has recognized the contributions of naturalized citizens with this initiative.
