The Senate today confirmed Dilawar Syed as Deputy Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) by a vote of 54-42.
Syed serves as Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs at the State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.
Syed was CEO at Lumiata, a healthcare AI company. Previously, Syed was President at Freshworks where he helped scale the software company’s products to thousands of small and medium businesses. Earlier in his career, Syed was an executive at Yahoo! platforms and data division.
In the Obama Administration, Syed played an active role in promoting the State Department’s Global Entrepreneurship Program and connecting Silicon Valley innovators with emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems. He served as the founding Chair of California Entrepreneurship Task Force with Governor Gavin Newsom’s Office of Business and Economic Development.
Syed also served on President Obama’s White House Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) and chaired the White House Initiative on AAPIs’ Economic Growth Committee. He served as a liaison with the Small Business Administration and the Department of Commerce on federal initiatives such as the President’s Export Council.
Syed holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and earned a B.A. in Economics and Computer Science from The University of Texas at Austin.
