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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline JANUARY 19, 2024 | The Indian Eye 28

Inc. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He RAVI KUMAR PARASHAR
is leading the engineering team re-
sponsible for developing a commer- Ludhiana man named Prez of
cial robotic lunar lander designed
to transport payloads to the moon’s Canada Sports Federation
surface.. Prior to joining Astrobotic,
he worked for 25 years at Lockheed
Martin. A graduate in mechanical avi Kumar Parashar of Ludhi-
engineering from the University of ana has been appointed presi-
Texas at Austin, Dr Bhaskaran’s par- Rdent of the Canada Bodybuild-
ents are originally from Kochi. ing and Physique Sports Federation
In April 2019, the first private lu- (CBPF). Datuk Paul Chua, interna-
nar mission was launched by Israel’s tional president of the World Body-
Space IL. This second private lunar building and Physique Sports Federa-
mission has some firsts — it will be tion (WBPF) appointed Parashar. He
the first US lunar landing since the is the first India-born bodybuilding
final mission of Nasa’s Apollo pro- and physique fitness trainer to hold
gramme — Apollo 17, more than 50 years ago. It will be first to launch under this esteemed position in Canada.
Nasa’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services Initiative, and the Peregrine land- Meanwhile, Ravi’s appointment
er will be carried by United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket, was celebrated at Libra Health Club,
which will be its first flight. where Ravi used to impart fitness
training to the athletes Officials at
NEENA SINGH the club wished Ravi success in his
First Indian-American woman new role. NIKESH ARORA

sworn as mayor of Montgomery Executive becomes rare non-

founder billionaire

ormer Google and Softbank
executive Nikesh Arora is
Fnow worth $1.5 billion as he
earns the rare distinction of being
non-founder billionaire. The bulk of
Arora’s wealth comes from being the
CEO of Palo Alto Networks, which
has seen its stock rise substantially
over the last few years.
Arora, with a BTech in Electrical
and Electronics engineering from
IIT BHU, moved to the US. Here
he completed an MBA from North-
western University and and MS in Fi-
nance from Boston College. His first
eena Singh, who has lived in Montgomery for 24 years, was unanimous- major role had been at mobile provider T-Mobile, where he ended up being
ly selected to serve as Mayor by her fellow Township Committee mem- the Chief Marketing Officer after a 6-year stint. He joined Google in 2004,
Nbers. Singh was administered the oath of office by Congresswoman Bon- and rose up to become its Chief Business Officer in 2012 — at that point, he
nie Watson Coleman at the Montgomery Township Reorganisation Meeting. was the highest-paid executive at Google. At Google, Arora was receiving a
“It’s an enormous privilege to be sworn in by trailblazer Congresswoman $51 million package, and had also earned himself stock awards worth at least
Bonnie Watson Coleman as the first elected Sikh woman Mayor in New Jer- $200 million.
sey and the first Indian-American woman Mayor, ” said Mayor Neena Singh. Arora joined Softbank in 2014. The role had made him the world’s best-
“What energizes and motivates me is the spirit of service. I strongly be- paid executive, where he earned a $135 million compensation package in his
lieve we all have a responsibility to give back, and I am blessed to do so in a first year. After leaving Softbank, he joined Palo Alto Networks. On June 1,
town that reflects America’s diversity, ” said Singh, whose priorities for 2024 2018, Arora took on the role of CEO and chairman at Palo Alto Networks.
are public safety and health. Palo Alto Networks is a cybersecurity company that specializes in firewalls
Having previously served as Deputy Mayor and Township Commit- and cloud-based security offerings. When was hired, Arora had a compensa-
teewoman, Singh was nominated to the position by outgoing Mayor Devra tion package of $125 million that included basic pay and stock grants. But a se-
Keenan and committee-woman Patricia Taylor Todd. As an executive officer ries of global cybersecurity incidents have raised the demand for cybersecurity
at STAND Central NJ, a grassroots non-profit, she worked not only on engag- software, making Palo Alto Networks share price to soar.. As his company’s
ing and educating voters but also on empowering them to participate in the stock has quadrupled, Nikesh Arora’s Palo Alto Networks earnings are now a
democratic process. whopping $830 billion.
“Neena Singh embodies commitment to public service. She has made her
life’s work fighting for social justice, economic opportunity, and human rights To read more about Indian diaspora and Global Indians,
for all. I’m confident she’ll bring her experience and passion for the township log on to and follow our website www.TheIndianEYE.com
to her term as Mayor, ” Watson Coleman said in a statement.

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