Indian behind US downgrade

US President Barack Obama repeated call to US citizens about India and China taking away jobs and using education in Us to further their economy seems to be on the right. Indian born Deven Sharma heads Credit rating firm Standard & Poor’s, which dowgraded the triple AAA rating ,

In an interview with Wall Street Journal published on Sunday, Mr. Sharma said the rating cut was in the best interest of investors. “Our ratings are forward-looking. And part of making ratings forward-looking is for the benefit of investors, to give them a view about how we see the future risks of the credit unfolding,” he said.

Mr. Sharma was born in India 55 years ago. In 1977,  he completed a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology in Ranchi, Jharkhand. He later moved to the U.S. where he obtained a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and a doctoral degree in Business Management from Ohio State University.

Mr. Sharma’s tenure as S&P’s president has been a busy one. Under his watch, the company, along with other top U.S. credit rating agencies, came under fire for its role in the 2008 sub-prime and market crisis. Some low-quality mortgage bonds were rated very high by these agencies in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, S&P and other ratings firms agreed to change their fee structures and other practices in a settlement with the New York Attorney General notes The Wall Street Journal.

Sharma is also a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance  Corporation’s Systemic Resolution Advisory Committee and the  Council on Foreign Relations.He also serves on the International Advisory Board of the British-American Business  Council and the Asia Society Business Council.