Indian-American defence expert honoured with lifetime achievement award by President Biden

Lall has completed his PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Wichita State University in Kansas. Before joining General Atomics, Dr Lall worked at Lockheed Martin, and held key positions with Boeing and Reliance. He had been the CEO and President of Reliance New Ventures Reliance Industries Limited.

The citation was given to Lall by the AmeriCorps and the Office of the President. It was also personally signed by the President of the United States, as per the official statement. AmeriCorps is a part of the US Government which aims to foster activities that bring Americans closer together to “serve communities.”

Lall, who has worked for Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and now General Atomics, has played a key role in advancing defence trade.

Lall, a son of an Indian diplomat, was one of the handfuls of individuals with Indian origins to have been invited to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the past year during his Washington visit.

Lall has also been affiliated with the United Nations in New York to advise on Broadband and Cyber Security issues for challenges within the global community and provide services that will help address them.

Lall is currently the chief executive of General Atomics, a company that specializes in fields of nuclear technology and has developed state-of-the-art Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) like the Predator, Reaper and Guardian drones.

Notably, before his leadership position in General Atomics, Dr Lall worked at other leading organisations like NASA, Raytheon, Boeing and Lockheed Martin; his experience and accolades have been considered unparalleled by many in the scientific community and by long-term industry watchers alike.

He is serving as a US Technical Team Member to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Science and Technology (STO) with the Pentagon.

He was appointed in a critical advisory role to the US Cabinet Secretary heading the Department of Transportation, encompassing entities like the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in 2018. Lall was also appointed as Distinguished Fellow at India’s think tank Observer Research Foundation. He has Chairman of the Defense Committee of The Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

Dr Lall had been appointed as Chairman of the Indo-US Strategic Dialogue by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce in August 2011.