Raju Chinthala
President
Indianapolis Hyderabad Sister City Committee
Carmel, IN
Raju is a successful entrepreneur, civic and a community leader as well as a foreign relations advocate with a passion to promote business, cultural, and diplomatic exchange between disparate communities. Raju is a native of India, citizen of the United States, and a community leader in Indianapolis and Indiana, who has been working tirelessly over the past decade to establish effective community and business outreach programs to improve opportunities for the citizens of Indiana and promote trade and investment between Indiana and India, foster improved international awareness and understanding. He is a key player in State negotiations with major Indian corporations, resulting in new international investments and job growth for the citizens of Indiana, including a 2017 investment decision by Infosys, Ltd. that will create 3000 new, well-paying jobs to Indianapolis by 2023 and to build a U.S. education center as part of a $245 million Infosys campus near Indianapolis International Airport. He is active in the Mayor’s and Indiana Governor's trade missions and initiatives with India. He is also a Speech Language Pathologist specialized in Dysphagia and practiced in Indiana for 23 years.
Raju served on several boards & committees and currently serves as:
• Senior Advisor for India, IEDC
• Founder and President, Indiana India Business Council
• Vice President, US India SMEs Council
• President of Indianapolis Hyderabad Sister City Committee
• Member, Mayor's Advisory Commission on Human Relations; Carmel Midtown Building Corporation Appointed by Mayor James Brainard, City of Carmel
• Chairman - SPC, India Association of Indianapolis
• Founder & President, Asian American Indiana PAC
• Member, Board of Gregory Hancock Dance Academy
Raju is pride of himself as a Friend, Visionary, Architect, Emissary, Connector, Instigator, Listener, Community Leader, Volunteer and Optimist. Raju builds bridges. Raju makes things happen. As a Liaison, he has been the bridge between 2 countries. Mr. Chinthala played a key role in establishing Sister State relationship between Indiana and Karnataka in 2017, Sister City relationship between Indianapolis and Hyderabad in 2010 as well as Sister City relationship between Columbus and Pune in 2018.
Raju is active in politics and the Republican party, from the community to a national level. He is often invited to share his knowledge at speaking events for a wide variety of professional organizations and has been recognized in a number of business journals and community publications as an outstanding leader.
Raju is the recipient of Sagamore of the Wabash Award by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb in 2017 & Governor Mike Pence in 2015. He received this personal tribute for rendering distinguished service to the State and Governor of Indiana—the highest honor bestowed by the Governor of Indiana.
Holding a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and a Masters Degree in Speech and Hearing from All India Institute of Speech & Hearing, Mysore, India, he has garnered several awards including honorary Ph.D.
Raju moved to the US in 1994 and currently resides in Carmel, Indiana with wife Dr. Prasanna Chinthala, son Anoop Chinthala and a dog Snowball. His personal interest includes photography, fitness, reading, networking and being a gadget fanatic or just hanging out at home with Prasanna and their dog Snowball.