Washington: Indian-American corporate executive Ramesh Punwani has been appointed as the new Chief Financial Officer of US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Punwani, whose appointment was announced by Federal Aviation Administrator Marion Blakey, succeeds John Hennigan, who held the position of acting CFO for 13 months.

As CFO of the aviation authority, Punwani will administer the FAA's $ 14 billion budget and the agency-wide application of cost accounting and financial management systems.

Most recently, Punwani was the Senior Vice-President for global strategy at Cendant Corporation. Before that, he was the executive Vice-President and CFO of Travelocity.

Punwani's earlier corporate jobs include CFO and Vice-President positions for Pan American World Airways, Tower Air and Trans World Airlines. He has also been Vice-President of tour and cruise relations and director of business development for American Express, and Senior Vice-President and CFO for Empire HealthChoice Assurance Inc.'s Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Punwani received a Master of Business Administration degree from New York University in 1978 and a Master of Engineering in management science from Cornell University in 1966. He also holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in industrial engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai.