Deven Sharma to head major ratings agency

New York, Sep 6 (UNI) Indian-American Deven Sharma has become the head of global ratings agency Standard and Poor's (S&P).

Kathleen Corbet resigned as President of the ratings agency, whose parent McGraw-Hill Companies had come under severe criticism for the high ratings S&P issued to some sub-prime mortgage firms.

Sharma, 51, who has been Executive Vice President for investment services and global sales at S&P since November 2006, will replace Corbet, according to a statement issued by McGraw-Hill.

The Indian-American was hailed by the head of the parent company.

''The continual expansion of the world's capital markets presents enormous growth opportunities for Standard and Poor's, and Deven's strategic thinking and deep understanding of global financial markets will help us continue to Identify and benefit from these opportunities,'' Harold McGraw, Chairman and CEO of the parent company, said.

Sharma joined S&P in 2002 and has held several leadership positions. He was instrumental in identifying and making key acquisitions such as CRISIL, Capital IQ and J D Power and Associates.

McGraw added, ''Deven has made significant contributions to our growth and success since joining the corporation as head of Global Strategy, and his appointment to lead S and P further strengthens our global growth management efforts and enhances the deep, talented and respected management team that exists across S and P's global network.'' Before joining McGraw-Hill, Sharma was a partner with Booz Allen Hamilton, a global management consulting company for 14 years. He headed the company's US marketing board and customer management initiatives group.

Sharma graduated from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (Rajasthan). He earned a master's degree from the University of Wisconsin and also has a doctorate from Ohio State University in business management.

The Indian-American has written several papers on competitive strategies, customer solutions, sales and marketing.

S&P, which is based in New York, has 8,500 employees in 21 countries.

UNI