The Business Council is an organization of business leaders headquartered in

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The Business Council, Official website, Background
Dow Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris Elected Chairman, The Business Council
, dow.com, October 19, 2012Press Release: The Dow Chemical Company

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Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Manage ...

'', October 19, 2012Dow Chief To Head National Business Organization
, '' WSGW'' It holds meetings several times a year for high-level policy discussions.

Mission

The Business Council allows global CEOs to gather and network in private. Membership is by invitation-only. The organization is guided by the belief that the business community's contributions to public discourse and governance are in the interest of the common good of the American people. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, The Business Council helped global companies navigate the public health crisis.

Leadership

Marlene Colucci serves as CEO of The Business Council. Appointed in 2013, Colucci has held leadership positions in public policy at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

U.S. Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the United States federal executive departments, executive departments of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of fede ...

, and American Hotel and Lodging Association. She describes the organization as "an important voice for the business community with a high level of personal engagement by its members.” Prior to Colucci, Philip Cassidy served as executive director of The Business Council for more than two decades.

History

The Business Council was founded by Secretary of Commerce

Daniel C. Roper Daniel Calhoun Roper (April 1, 1867April 11, 1943) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 7th United States Secretary of Commerce under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and was the 5th United States Ambassador to Canada from Ma ...

and investment banker

Sidney Weinberg Sidney James Weinberg (October 12, 1891 – July 23, 1969) was a long-time leader of the Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs, nicknamed “Mr. Wall Street” by ''The New York Times''Whitman, Alden"Sidney J. Weinberg, Known as 'Mr. Wall Street,' Is ...

as the Business Advisory Council for the

United States Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bus ...

in 1933, under President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

Remarks by the President to The Business Council

The White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 180 ...

: Office of the Press Secretary, February 13, 2009 It formed the Industrial Advisory Board for the National Recovery Administration during the Great Depression. It also established committees to discuss the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the

Banking Act of 1935 The ''Banking Act of 1935'' passed on August 19, 1935 and was signed into law by the president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, on August 23. The Act changed the structure and power distribution in the Federal Reserve System that began with the '' Banking ...

and the Social Security Act. According to the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'', the organization was designed “for corporate titans to offer counsel and advise to the federal government.” It was renamed The Business Council as an organization independent from the Department of Commerce in 1961, under President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

. The group is now “more about camaraderie and exchanging of ideas for time-pressed CEOs.” Membership is limited to 200 active members, all of whom are CEOs of leading multinational businesses personally selected by fellow members of The Business Council. The organization is strictly nonpartisan. It is headquartered in

Current executive committee

The executive committee is composed of the following people:

Chairman

* Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

Members

Corie Barry Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...

, CEO, Best Buy *

Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ''né'' Jorgensen; born January 12, 1964) is an American entrepreneur, media proprietor, investor, and commercial astronaut. He is the founder, executive chairman, and former preside ...

, Founder & former CEO, Amazon.com * Ana Botín, Executive Chairman, Santander Group * Gail K. Boudreaux, President & CEO, Elevance Health, Inc. * Mary Dillon, Former Executive Chair and CEO, Ulta Beauty * Jamie Dimon, Chairman & CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co. *

John Donahoe John Joseph Donahoe II (born April 30, 1960) is an American businessman who is the CEO of Nike. Early in his career he worked for Bain & Company, becoming the firm's president and CEO in 1999. He is on the board of directors at Nike, The Bridgesp ...

, President and CEO, Nike * Arnold Donald, President and CEO, Carnival Corporation *

Roger Ferguson Roger W. Ferguson Jr. (born October 28, 1951 in Washington, D.C.) is an American economist, attorney and corporate executive who served as the 17th vice chairmam of the Federal Reserve from 1999 to 2006. Prior to his term as Vice Chairman, Ferg ...

, Former President and CEO, TIAA * Alex Gorsky, Chairman & CEO, Johnson & Johnson * Henry R. Kravis, Executive Co-Chairman, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts * Dave MacLennan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Cargill * Shantanu Narayen, Chairman, President, and CEO, Adobe Systems *

David M. Solomon David Michael Solomon (born c. 1962) is an American investment banker and the chief executive officer (CEO) of Goldman Sachs, a position he has held since October 2018. He has also been chairman of the bank since January 2019. Before assuming h ...

, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs * Carol Tomé, CEO, UPS * Lisa Wardell, Executive Chairman, Adtalem Global Education *

Kathy Warden Kathy J. Warden is an American business executive who serves as chief executive officer and president of Northrop Grumman, as of 2019. Education Warden graduated from Smithsburg High School. She then earned a bachelor's degree at James Madison U ...

, Chairman, CEO, and President, Northrop Grumman *

Emma Walmsley Dame Emma Natasha Walmsley (born June 1969) is the chief executive officer (CEO) of GlaxoSmithKline. She succeeded Sir Andrew Witty, who retired in March 2017. Before GSK, she worked for L'Oréal for 17 years, and was a non-executive director ...

, CEO, GlaxoSmithKline *

Mike Wirth Michael Wirth (born 1960) is an American businessman who ihas been the chairman and CEO of Chevron Corporation since 2018. Previously, he was the vice chairman of the company. Early life After graduating from high school, Wirth attended the ...

, Chairman & CEO, Chevron Corporation

Former chairs

*1933:

Gerard Swope Gerard Swope (December 1, 1872 – November 20, 1957) was an American electronics businessman. He served as the president of General Electric Company between 1922 and 1940, and again from 1942 until 1945. During this time Swope expanded GE's produ ...

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...

*1934: S. Clay Williams, RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company *1934–35:

Henry P. Kendall Henry Plimpton Kendall (January 15, 1878 – November 3, 1959) was a New England entrepreneur, industrialist, and philanthropist from Walpole, Massachusetts. He is considered one of the pioneers of scientific management. Biography Early life ...

, Kendall Company *1936: George H. Mead,

Mead Corporation Mead () is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining charact ...

*1937–39: W. Averell Harriman, Brown Brothers & Co. *1940–41:

William L. Batt William Loren Batt (July 31, 1885 – 1965) was an American mechanical engineer, and president SKF Industries, Inc., awarded the Order of Vasa in 1923, the Henry Laurence Gantt Medal in 1940,''Electrical Engineering,'' Vol. 60, 1941. p. 308 and th ...

War Production Board The War Production Board (WPB) was an agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it in January 1942, with Executive Order 9024. The WPB replaced the Su ...

*1942–43:

R. R. Deupree R. or r. may refer to: * ''Reign'', the period of time during which an Emperor, king, queen, etc., is ruler. * '' Rex'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning King * ''Regina'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning Queen * or , abbreviat ...

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

*1944–45: Thomas B. McCabe, Scott Paper Company *1946: George M. Humphrey,

National Steel Corporation The National Steel Corporation (1929–2003) was a major American steel producer. It was founded in 1929 through a merger arranged by Weirton Steel with some properties of the Great Lakes Steel Corporation and M.A. Hanna Company with headquar ...

*1947–48: John L. Collyer,

Goodrich Corporation The Goodrich Corporation, formerly the B.F. Goodrich Company, was an American manufacturing company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in Akron, Ohio in 1870 as Goodrich, Tew & Co. by Benjamin Goodrich, the company name was cha ...

*1949–50: James S. Knowlson, Stewart-Warner *1951–52: Robert T. Stevens, JP Stevens & Company *1953: John D. Biggers,

Libbey-Owens-Ford The Libbey-Owens-Ford Company (LOF) was a producer of flat glass for the automotive and building products industries both for original equipment manufacturers and for replacement use. The company's headquarters and main factories were located in T ...

*1954–55: Harold Boeschenstein, Owens Corning *1956–57: Eugene Holman, Standard Oil of New Jersey (today ExxonMobil) *1958–59:

Stephen Bechtel, Jr. Stephen Davison Bechtel Jr. (May 10, 1925 – March 15, 2021) was an American billionaire, businessman, civil engineer, and co-owner of the Bechtel Corporation. He was the son of Stephen Davison Bechtel Sr. and grandson of Warren A. Bechtel, w ...

, Bechtel *1960–61: Ralph J. Cordiner,

*1961–62:

Roger Blough Roger M. Blough (January 19, 1904 October 8, 1985) was the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the United States Steel Corporation for 13½ years, from May 1955 through January 1969. In this position, he is best known for servi ...

US Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in several countries ...

*1963–64: F. R. Kappel,

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...

*1965–66: W.B. Murphy, Campbell Soup Company *1967–68: Albert L. Nickerson, Mobil (today ExxonMobil) *1969–70: Fred J. Borch,

*1971–72: William M. Batten,

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

*1973–74:

David Packard David Packard ( ; September 7, 1912 – March 26, 1996) was an American electrical engineer and co-founder, with Bill Hewlett, of Hewlett-Packard (1939), serving as president (1947–64), CEO (1964–68), and chairman of the board (1964–68 ...

, Hewlett-Packard *1975–76: Edmund W. Littlefield, General Electric *1977–78:

John D. deButts John D. deButts (1915–1986) was an American businessman. He served as the chairman and chief executive officer of AT&T from 1972 to 1979.Eric N. BergJohn D. deButts, Ex-Chairman of A.T.&T., Is Dead ''The New York Times'', December 18, 1986

, AT&T *1979–80:

Reginald H. Jones Reginald H. Jones (11 July 1917 – 30 December 2003) was the chairman and CEO of General Electric from 1972 to 1981. Biography Jones was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, United Kingdom. After graduating from the Wharton School of the Universit ...

, General Electric *1981–82:

Walter B. Wriston Walter Bigelow Wriston (August 3, 1919 – January 19, 2005) was a banker and former chairman and CEO of Citicorp. As chief executive of Citibank / Citicorp (later Citigroup) from 1967 to 1984, Wriston was widely regarded as the single most influe ...

Citicorp Citigroup Inc. or Citi (stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomer ...

*1983–84: Clifton C. Garvin, Jr., Exxon (today ExxonMobil) *1985–86: Ruben F. Mettler, TRW *1987–88:

, Bechtel *1989–90: Roger B. Smith, General Motors *1991–92: John F. Welch, Jr., General Electric *1993–94: Robert E. Allen, AT&T *1995–96:

Edgar S. Woolard, Jr. Edgar Smith Woolard Jr. (born April 15, 1934) is an American businessman. He was chairman and chief executive officer of DuPont from 1989 to 1995. Early life Edgar Woolard was born on April 15, 1934, in Washington, North Carolina. He received a Ba ...

, DuPont *1997–98: Larry Bossidy, AlliedSignal *1999-00: Ralph S. Larsen, Johnson & Johnson *2001–02: William T. Esrey,

Sprint Corporation Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before it merged with T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 54.3 million customers as of June 30, 2019. The ...

*2003–04: Charles O. Holliday, Jr.,

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...

*2005–06: Jeffrey R. Immelt, General Electric *2007–08: W. James McNerney, Jr.,

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

*2009–10:

James W. Owens James W. Owens is an American economist and manufacturing executive. He is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines ...

, Caterpillar. *2011–12: Jamie Dimon,

JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...

*2013–14: Andrew Liveris, Dow Chemical Company *2015–16:

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

*2017-18: Henry R. Kravis,

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strate ...

*2019-20:

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

References

External links

The Business Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Business Council Organizations established in 1933 Lobbying organizations based in Washington, D.C. 1933 establishments in Washington, D.C.