President Biden chooses Indian-American to fill key position

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President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate three individuals to key positions July 21, 2022, one of them an Indian-American.

Shailen P. Bhatt is the President’s choice for Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Bhatt will have to be approved for the position by the U.S. Senate.

Bhatt is Senior Vice President of Global Transportation Innovation and Alternative Delivery at AECOM, a multinational infrastructure consulting firm, which described him as “a visionary transportation leader and policymaker,” on his appointment. AECOM is considered a leading infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services across the project lifecycle – from planning, design and engineering to consulting and construction management.

Since September 2021, Bhatt has been heading the Innovation and Alternative Delivery group within the company’s global Transportation business, which has been consistently ranked No. 1 by Engineering News-Record. His team has been responsible for driving next-generation transportation strategies and alternative delivery approaches, developing innovative solutions and initiating new collaborations and partnerships to support the delivery of safe, sustainable and cost-effective transportation systems, the Center for Automotive Research (cargroup.org) said on its website.

He previously served as the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Transportation, Cabinet Secretary of the Delaware Department of Transportation, and as a presidential appointee at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

In these roles, Bhatt spearheaded innovative solutions, collaborations, and partnerships to support the delivery of safe, sustainable, and cost-effective transportation systems for the 21^st century, the White House said in a press release.

He previously worked as the CEO of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE), Chair of the Executive Committee of the I-95 Corridor Coalition, and was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Automotive and Personal Transport.

A graduate summa cum laude from Western Kentucky University with a degree in Economics, Bhatt chairs an external advisory board for the United States Department of Energy, is a member of the Aurora Safety Advisory Board for autonomous driving, and is the Chair of the ITS World Congress Board of Directors.