AN INDIAN WHO SHOOK THE WORLD!

On August 5, Standard & Poor's, led by Jharkhand-born Deven Sharma, struck off the 'AAA' rating of the US, considered the Gold standard in the world of finance, for the first time since 1914.

Born in 1955, Sharma was educated in Jamshedpur and Ranchi, and then moved to the US for his masters degree at Wisconsin and his doctoral degree in management from Ohio in 1987. During his initial years, he was in the manufacturing sector, working with Dresser Industries and Anderson Strathclyde. In 1988, he joined Booz, Allen & Hamilton, a global management consulting firm, where he spent 14 years. In 2002, he joined The McGraw-Hill Cos, the parent of S&P.

Sharma took over as the president of S&P in August 2007, just when the sub-prime crisis in the US housing sector was getting out of hand, and credit rating agencies were picked as one of the perpetrators of the meltdown for their flawed ratings models of housing loans.

While the world criticized S&P for their historic decision, some even questioning the data the analysts used but back home there are some who think Sharma and his men have done a great job. The controversial head of a top brokerage house with strong presence in the US told TOI, that the ratings downgrade had to happen as it was due for years.

EDUCATION 
Born in 1955, Deven Sharma did his schooling from Jamshedpur and graduation from BIT, Ranchi; masters degree from University of Wisconsin and doctoral degree in management from Ohio State University in 1987.

CAREER 
1988-present: After working with Dresser Industries and Anderson Strathclyde, he joined Booz, Allen & Hamilton, in 1988; moved to The McGraw-Hill Cos in 2002, the parent of S&P ; was executive VP at S&P from 2006-07 and became president in 2007; is also Crisil chairman.

MERA BHARAT MAHAN