Aneesh Raman

Aneesh Raman
Education Harvard College
Occupation Entrepreneur
Spouse(s) Dr. Haley Naik

Aneesh Raman is Head of Economic and Social Impact Policy at Facebook.[1][2] Raman was previously a speechwriter to the President of the United States, Barack Obama, making him the country's first Indian-American Presidential Speechwriter.[3][4] He details his experience as President Obama's speechwriter in a chapter in West Wingers: Stories from the Dream Chasers, Change Makers, and Hope Creators Inside the Obama White House.[5]

Raman began his career as a television reporter, earning a local Emmy Award while in college for anchoring Kids Talk Sports, a weekly sports talk show that aired on New England Cable News. He later becoming an award-winning CNN war correspondent and the network's first correspondent based in the Middle East responsible for region-wide coverage.

A graduate of Harvard College and a former Fulbright scholar, Raman is a member of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library's New Frontier Award Committee[6] and was a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations.[7]

Tech career

Prior to joining Facebook, Raman headed up growth at RaiseMe, a social impact startup expanding access to higher education.[8] Raman joined RaiseMe in January 2016, saying they are part of a growing number of companies in Silicon Valley whose "definition of success is not just individual return, or even shareholder return. It includes broad social impact."[9]

His first job in the tech space was at OZY Media.[10] Raman started out as a Senior Editor but soon had his role expanded to include all of marketing and communications. He told MediaBistro, "part of what a new hire does [at a start-up] is figure out where they can help most in order to keep the company growing. I found that was actually in our marketing space."[11] In an interview with StumbleUpon, he described the company's long-term business strategy and the ambition to build a movement.[12]

Government career

After joining the presidential campaign of Barack Obama as part of the communications team set up for vice presidential nominee Joe Biden, Raman became speechwriter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner during the historic 2008 financial crisis and ensuing recession.[13]

Raman subsequently worked on strategic communications at The Pentagon before joining the White House staff as a Presidential Speechwriter.[14] Raman spoke about presidential communication with MSNBC's Melissa Harris Perry in 2014.[15]

Media career

As CNN's Middle East correspondent, Raman was based in Egypt but was largely responsible for coverage out of Iran. Over the course of a dozen trips, Raman reported extensively on Iran's nuclear ambitions and the growing frustration of the people towards their government.

From 2005 to 2006, Raman was CNN's Baghdad Correspondent, living in Iraq during an exceptionally volatile period in the Iraq War. In addition to embedding with US forces across the country, he provided some of the most comprehensive reporting on Iraq's National Assembly and the efforts to ratify a new constitution. Raman also provided in-depth coverage of the Saddam Hussein trial and was notably the first American television journalist to announce Saddam Hussein's execution.[16][17] In 2014, Raman appeared on television a number of times to discuss the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's offensive in Iraq.[18][19]

Raman's initial international posting was in Bangkok, Thailand, where he was the first Western reporter to go live from Phuket, Thailand after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Raman spent weeks covering the aftermath of the resulting tsunami and was part of the CNN team that won a 2005 Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award.

While at CNN, Raman reported from a number of countries including Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, England, Spain, Nicaragua, India, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia. In July 2007, he gave a speech at the Clinton School of Public Service about his experiences as a foreign correspondent and the changes taking place in cable news.[20] Raman first appeared on CNN in 2004, when he profiled the younger generation and their involvement in the American 2004 presidential election. In June 2008, Raman left CNN and later joined the U.S. presidential campaign of Democrat Barack Obama.[21]

Personal life

Raman graduated from Harvard College magna cum laude and was a Fulbright Scholar. He grew up in Wellesley, Massachusetts and went to Wellesley High School.[22]

Raman married Dr. Haley Naik in 2012 after they were introduced to one another by a mutual friend.[23]

References

  1. ↑ "Facebook opens registration for Community Boost digital training in Houston".
  2. ↑ "St. Louis tapped as first city in Facebook tour".
  3. ↑ "Aneesh Raman".
  4. ↑ "Snowday Playbook".
  5. ↑ West Wingers | PenguinRandomHouse.com.
  6. ↑ "New Frontier Award Committee".
  7. ↑ "CFR Membership Roster".
  8. ↑ "Can Silicon Valley Save The American Dream?".
  9. ↑ "Can Silicon Valley Save The American Dream?".
  10. ↑ "Carlos Watson launches OZY Media".
  11. ↑ "So What Do You Do, Aneesh Raman".
  12. ↑ "Stumble Upon Innovators".
  13. ↑ "Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner reviews remarks with Speechwriter Aneesh Raman".
  14. ↑ "Aneesh Raman: Making A Difference".
  15. ↑ "Can President Obama learn from candidate Obama".
  16. ↑ "CNN First With Execution".
  17. ↑ "Saddam: Ramans reporting is praised".
  18. ↑ "Is there a solution in Iraq?".
  19. ↑ "Aneesh Raman on CNN World News".
  20. ↑ "Without A Home: The Life Of A Traveling Correspondent".
  21. ↑ "Ramans an Obama guy".
  22. ↑ "CNN correspondent follows dream in often-perilous world".
  23. ↑ "Haley Naik, Aneesh Raman". The New York Times. 2 September 2012.
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