For Immediate Release

ASQ Names First Fellow in India

ASQ, FICCI Promote Quality in India

Milwaukee, Wis., May 11, 2009 — ASQ (American Society for Quality) has named Shri S. Anilkumar, a Fellow, the first and only current Fellow of ASQ in India. In being awarded Fellow, Anilkumar is recognized as having achieved professional distinction and pre-eminence in the technology, theory, education, application, or management of quality control.

Anilkumar was awarded Fellow status for his outstanding skills in integrating quality initiatives for effectively weaving total quality management, Six Sigma, and balanced scorecard methodologies; and for being a role model assessor, facilitator, and trainer with converging skills for quality planning, control, and improvement.

ASQ Fellows are a community of performance excellence experts with business experience and stature in all industries. According to ASQ’s bylaws, Fellow membership status may be awarded to those individuals who have been ASQ members in good standing and meet the following criteria:

• Have at least 15 years of quality-related experience
• Meet minimum score requirements across six professional categories
• Are sponsored by peers and endorsed by their ASQ section and/or division

“Shri has earned the distinction of Fellow for his many achievements. Not only is he ASQ’s first Fellow in India, but he was also the first in India to receive ASQ’s Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence and Six Sigma Black Belt certifications,” said Roberto Saco, ASQ president. “He sets a precedent for all quality professionals in India.”

Last November, ASQ and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) entered into a joint venture to promote business excellence and quality to executives and quality professionals of industries and businesses across India. The venture expands ASQ’s presence in India, where the Society established an office in 2007.

The joint venture, “ASQ-FICCI Foundation for Innovation and Excellence,” broadens the relationship between ASQ and FICCI and increases the use and impact of quality in response to the diverse needs of India. The plan allows ASQ’s participation in the Indian local quality movement and aims to disseminate ASQ’s body of knowledge in this fast-growing economy.

For information about ASQ’s activities in India, visit www.asq.org/global/countries/india.html. For information on becoming an ASQ member, please visit www.asq.org/membership/why-become-a-member/overview.html.

About ASQ
ASQ (American Society for Quality), www.asq.org, has been the world’s leading authority on quality for more than 60 years. With more than 90,000 individual and organizational members, the professional association advances learning, quality improvement and knowledge exchange to improve business results and to create better workplaces and communities worldwide. As champion of the quality movement, ASQ offers technologies, concepts, tools and training to quality professionals, quality practitioners and everyday consumers, encouraging all to Make Good Great®. ASQ has been the sole administrator of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award since 1991. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., ASQ is a founding partner of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a prominent quarterly economic indicator, and also produces the Quarterly Quality Report.

About FICCI
FICCI is the rallying point for free enterprises in India. It has empowered Indian businesses, in the changing times, to shore up their competitiveness and enhance their global reach. With a nationwide membership of more than 1,500 corporations and more than 500 chambers of commerce and business associations, FICCI espouses the shared vision of Indian businesses and speaks directly and indirectly for more than 250,000 business units. It has an expanding direct membership of enterprises drawn from large, medium, small and tiny segments of manufacturing, distributive trade and services. FICCI maintains the lead as the proactive business solution provider through research, interactions at the highest political level and global networking.