Susan Rasinski McCaw (born 1962) is an American businesswoman, former diplomat and philanthropist. She was a major fundraiser for the George W. Bush 2004 presidential campaign, and was appointed by the Bush administration as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

(2005–2007). She is currently President of SRM Capital Investments, a private investment firm. Previously, she worked at Robertson Stephens & Co., as President of COM Investments and as its Principal.

Early life and education

McCaw was born in 1962 in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

, where she was also raised. She earned a BA in Economics from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, and an MBA from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

Political career

McCaw was a major fundraiser in 2004 for the Bush administration, as well as other Republican Party campaigns. She was Finance Co-Chair for Bush-Cheney '04 in Washington State and was a member of the national steering committee for W Stands for Women. She was on the Women's Coalition Advisory Board of the Republican National Committee. In 2008, McCaw served as Honorary Washington State Chair for the McCain-Palin Campaign. McCaw was sworn in as Ambassador to Austria on November 30, 2005.

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...

presided over the ceremony. McCaw officially assumed her post as Ambassador after presenting her diplomatic credentials to

Austrian President The president of Austria (german: Bundespräsident der Republik Österreich) is the head of state of the Republic of Austria. Though theoretically entrusted with great power by the Constitution, in practice the president is largely a ceremonial ...

Heinz Fischer on January 9, 2006. She announced her resignation on July 3, 2007 and left Austria on November 25, 2007.

Business career

McCaw serves on several boards including Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: LGF.B), Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL), Teach For America, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. She is also an Overseer at the

Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace; abbreviated as Hoover) is an American public policy think tank and research institution that promotes personal and economic liberty, free enterprise, and ...

where she is vice chair of the executive committee. In addition, McCaw is a founding board member and board chair of the Malala Fund, a nonprofit founded by Malala Yousafzai that fights for

girls' education Female education is a catch-all term of a complex set of issues and debates surrounding education (primary education, secondary education, tertiary education, and health education in particular) for girls and women. It is frequently called girls ...

. McCaw also serves on the

Khan Academy Khan Academy is an American non-profit educational organization created in 2008 by Sal Khan. Its goal is creating a set of online tools that help educate students. The organization produces short lessons in the form of videos. Its website also in ...

Global Advisory Board, the Knight-Hennessy Scholars Global Advisory Board and

’s Board of Dean’s Advisors. McCaw is a member of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

and the

Council of American Ambassadors The Council of American Ambassadors (CAA) is an association of non-career United States ambassadors. A nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, the CAA comprises over 200 members whose ambassadorial service collectively extends over five decades ...

. She is Trustee Emerita of

where she chaired the Development and Globalization committees.

Personal life

McCaw was married to

Craig McCaw Craig McCaw (born August 11, 1949) is an American businessman and entrepreneur, a pioneer in the cellular phone industry. He is the founder of McCaw Cellular (now part of AT&T Mobility) and Clearwire Corporation (now part of T-Mobile via the Sprin ...

from 1998 to 2019. She has three children and resides in North Palm Beach, Florida.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCaw, Susan 1962 births Living people People from Orange County, California Ambassadors of the United States to Austria American women ambassadors American women in business Harvard Business School alumni Stanford University alumni Stanford University trustees California Republicans 21st-century philanthropists 21st-century American women