The Cohen Group: Expertise: Regional Expertise: India


	Practice Groups
	Regional Expertise
		Africa
		China
		Europe, Russia, Central Asia
		India
		Latin America
		Middle East
	Successes

India

India is one of the world's great emerging markets. The nation's commitment to democracy, economic development, and poverty reduction offers opportunities for international firms to succeed in business in India and for Indian firms to increase their commitments in the United States, and around the globe.
The Cohen Group's India practice has the experience and expertise to achieve success in the Indian market. TCG is working to assist our clients in achieving their commercial objectives in India through strategies tailored to government, business and media. TCG is also consulting for leading Indian companies to help them achieve their targeted business goals in India, the United States and elsewhere, as well as supporting the partnership objectives of U.S. and Indian firms.

U.S. India Business Council meeting

Secretary William S. Cohen has been engaged in U.S-Indian relations since he was elected to Congress in 1972. As Secretary of Defense, he maintained direct dialogue with senior Indian officials in order to build a stronger bilateral strategic and security relationship. Since entering the private sector, Secretary Cohen has continued to support the development of this partnership, seen most recently through his leading role promoting the U.S.-India civilian nuclear initiative. In November 2006, he was elected to the U.S.-India Business Council's Board of Directors.

Secretary Cohen has visited India numerous times and has led several U.S.-India Business Council delegations. On each visit he has met with senior government officials, leaders of Indian industry, and members of India’s vibrant press. Secretary Cohen and the TCG team have organized and participated in numerous meetings worldwide with the highest level of officials in the Indian Government, to include Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, and Defense Minister A.K. Antony; senior Indian military officials; Ambassador Ronen Sen; and key members of the Indian caucus on Capitol Hill.

Secretary Cohen is joined by a dedicated team that has real India experience. The team's principals include Ambassador Marc Grossman, General Joseph Ralston, General Paul Kern, and James Bodner. Ambassador Grossman, as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, was one of the principal architects of the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership between the United States and India. General Ralston was involved in U.S.-Indian relations as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He has made numerous trips to India, co-leading a U.S-India Business Council defense delegation in February 2005 and continues his interest in India today, by working with U.S. and Indian industry and leading private dialogues with Indian military officials. General Kern has worked closely with counterparts in the Indian military and understands the technical and operational aspects of potential American defense sales to India. As Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, James Bodner was active in the U.S-India defense relationship, including the reopening of the bilateral defense dialogue.

Ingrid Henick leads the India team's day-to-day practice with support from Danny Sebright, Brendan Melley and Andrea Yaffe. Ingrid Henick has more than 15 years of experience working on India-related issues and has built a network of contacts across a number of business sectors and with government officials. She was formerly the USIBC’s deputy director and has lived in-country for over five years working for U.S. and Indian industry. Danny Sebright, Brendan Melley and Andrea Yaffe have been integral to TCG efforts to build its India practice, having worked on various India-related client issues and traveling to India on behalf of clients several times.

Examples of recent work in India:

TCG is helping top U.S. aerospace and defense primes with their entry into the Indian market by providing policy and regulatory advice on Indian government requirements and procedures for foreign companies. In addition, TCG has helped these primes identify Indian partners to fulfill their offset obligations as required by India’s Ministry of Defense.

TCG is helping a leading private Indian firm expand globally in the sectors of IT, manufacturing, defense, aerospace, automotive, and energy. In addition, TCG works at the CEO level to assist this firm with messaging, brand awareness, and strategic political outreach.

TCG has provided market entry support to a leading U.S. construction equipment company, which included developing a comparison document between India and China on the company’s product line, identifying competitors, defining the market opportunity, and preparing a strategic document for entry into the Indian market.