Three Indian-American CEOs, Ajay Banga of Master Card, Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo and Satya Nadella of Microsoft, attended President Barack Obama’s lavish state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Mr. Banga, Ms. Nooyi and Mr. Nadella, along with their spouses, were the only Indian-Americans invited by Mr. Obama for Xi’s state dinner in the White House last night.
The 200-plus guest list included top brass from Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Disney, DreamWorks and more.
ADVERTISEMENT
Many of the CEOs who attended the state dinner had either met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York a day earlier or will be meeting over a dinner in Silicon Valley.
Mr. Banga and Ms. Nooyi had also attended a dinner hosted by Fortune for an interaction with Mr. Modi in New York.
Mr. Nadella would be meeting the Prime Minister over a dinner when he travels to San Jose.
ADVERTISEMENT
Inspired by the harvest of the late summer and fall, chef Cris Comerford and Chef Susie Morrison, in collaboration with Chef Anita Lo, created original dishes that highlight American cuisine with nuances of Chinese flavours.
Guests dined on wild mushroom soup, poached Maine lobster, grilled cannon of Colorado lamb and poppyseed bread and butter pudding.