Thummalapally, Vinai K., 1954-

Vinai K. Thummalapally (born 1954) is a diplomat and business executive. He notably served as the U.S. Ambassador to Belize (2009-2013), the first Indian American ambassador in U.S. history.

Originally from Hyderabad, India, Ambassador Thummalapally moved to the United States in 1974 to pursue his engineering studies. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from California State University in 1977, completed post graduate Business Administration courses from Cal State University in 1980 and holds a diploma in “Lean Production Systems” from the University of Tennessee in 1995.

Prior to joining the foreign service, Ambassador Thummalapally served as President of MAM-A Inc., formerly Mitsui Advanced Media. MAM-A Inc. was the nation’s leading manufacturer and distributor of archival recordable optical discs. During his fourteen year tenure the company became the benchmark of the optical disc manufacturing industry. Ambassador Thummalapally also served as the plant manager of WEA Manufacturing Inc., a division of Time Warner Inc.; the Managing Director for Clines Printing and Office Products; and Manufacturing Manager of Disc Manufacturing, Inc. In addition to holding two U.S. patents for design of optical disc manufacturing, he has received several Outstanding Service awards for his professional accomplishments.

President Obama appointed Thummalapally Ambassador to Belize in 2009, where he served until 2013. In his role as Chief of Mission, he helped strengthen the bilateral relationship between the United States and Belize in the areas of citizen security, economic development, education, and health care. In addition, he found innovative ways to engage regional and international organizations and other embassies to promote the same.

Following his ambassadorship, Thummalapally served as Executive Director of SelectUSA (2013-2017), part of the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. As Executive Director, Ambassador Thummalapally managed the strategy and implementation of SelectUSA to help create jobs, spur economic growth, and promote American competitiveness. He also co-chaired, with the Director of the White House National Economic Council, the SelectUSA Interagency Investment Working Group, to coordinate resources across the federal government to promote business investment and address federal regulatory barriers. As of 2020, Thummalapally leads Red Fort Strategies in its mission to provide the highest value government affairs services to its clients.

Thumalapally and his wife, Barbara, have two children. In addition to English, he is fluent in Telugu, Hindi and Urdu. Thummalapally serves on the board of directors of Cyient, a publicly traded Indian engineering services company. He also serves on the board of The Indian American Impact Project, a non-profit promoting Indian Americans to run for public office.