Vinai Thummalapally
Director
Former U.S. Ambassador to Belize and former Executive Director of SelectUSA
Vinai Thummalapally recently completed his term as Executive Director of SelectUSA, part of the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce established as a government-wide initiative to attract and retain business investment.
From 2009 to 2013, Vinai served as U.S. Ambassador to Belize. As Chief of Mission, he helped strengthen the relationship between Belize and the United States in the areas of citizen security, economic development, education, and healthcare. Before joining the Foreign Service, Vinai served as President of MAM-A Inc., formerly Mitsui Advanced Media. MAM-A Inc. was the leading manufacturer and distributor of archival recordable optical discs in the US. During his 14-year tenure, the company became the benchmark of the optical disc manufacturing industry. He has two patents in optical disc manufacturing design and has also won several professional awards. Vinai has a B.S. degree from the California State University (CSU) and took graduate classes in business administration from both CSU and the University of Tennessee.