Dr Shekhar Mitra awarded Ellis Island Medal Of Honor
8th May 2010, New York, NY

Dr. Shekhar Mitra, Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Procter & Gamble Beauty & Grooming, was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO) on Saturday, May 8, 2010 at The Ritz Carlton Battery Park, New York. Past Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipients include six Presidents of the United States, Nobel Prize winners, athletes, leaders of industry, artists and others whose work has made a lasting impact on humanity and it ranks among the nation’s most prestigious awards - each year the recipients are listed in the Congressional Record.

Dr. Mitra is recognized inside and outside Proctor & Gamble as a connector of ideas, people and opportunities and as an enabling leader who cares deeply about both people and business results. He has maintained and supported his ethnic identity and passionately advocated for diverse communities through personal and professional development, most recently demonstrated by his role in the founding of the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE)

Dr. Mitra received a Master of Science in Chemistry degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), and earned his Masters of Science and Ph.D. in Life Sciences from Columbia University. Upon completing a Jane Coffin Medical Research Fellowship at Yale University, he joined P&G in 1984 in the Company’s Oral Care business, working on the industry leading Crest brand.

Throughout his career, Dr. Mitra has focused on improving consumers’ lives through game-changing branded innovation, both here in the US and in developed and developing markets around the globe. This includes his work on key brand innovation programs including Crest Whitestrips®, Aleve®, Prilosec, OLAY®, SK-II, and Secret and establishing the Company’s Beijing Technical Center in 1997. He has been awarded over 50 patents spanning multiple categories in health and beauty.

About the Ellis Island Media of Honor

Each year since 1986, NECO – whose mission is to honor our diverse Past, to advocate for positive change in the Present, and to build strong leaders for the Future – has honored our nation's diverse past by sponsoring the Ellis Island Medals of Honor. The Ellis Island Medals of Honor annually pays tribute to the ancestry groups that comprise America’s unique cultural mosaic. The Medals are presented on Ellis Island, in a dramatic ceremony, to American citizens of diverse origins for their outstanding contributions to their communities, their nation and the world.

For further information about NECO and the Ellis Island Medals of Honor visit: www.neco.org.