Laura D'Andrea Tyson (born June 28, 1947) is an American economist and university administrator who is currently a Distinguished Professor of the Graduate School at the

Haas School of Business The Walter A. Haas School of Business, also known as Berkeley Haas, is the business school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It was the first business school at a public universit ...

of the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

and a senior fellow at the

Berggruen Institute The Berggruen Institute is a Los Angeles-based think tank founded by Nicolas Berggruen. History In 2010, Nicolas Berggruen and Nathan Gardels sat down with a group of academics, business leaders, and political veterans in California to discu ...

. She served as the 16th Chair of the White House

Council of Economic Advisers The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is a United States agency within the Executive Office of the President established in 1946, which advises the President of the United States on economic policy. The CEA provides much of the empirical rese ...

from 1993 to 1995 and 2nd Director of the National Economic Council from 1995 to 1996 under President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

. Tyson was the first woman to hold each of those posts. She remains the only person to have served in both posts.

Early life and education

Tyson was born Laura D'Andrea in New Jersey. Her father was

Italian American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

and her mother was of Swedish and Dutch descent. Tyson graduated ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' with a B.A. in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

from

Smith College Smith College is a private liberal arts women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith and opened in 1875. It is the largest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite women's coll ...

in 1969 and earned her Ph.D. in

from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...

in 1974. Her doctoral advisor was

Evsey Domar Evsey David Domar (russian: Евсей Давидович Домашевицкий, ''Domashevitsky''; April 16, 1914 – April 1, 1997) was a Russian American economist, famous as developer of the Harrod–Domar model. Life Evsey Domar was bor ...

. She joined the faculty of the economics department at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 1974 and remained in the position until 1977 when she became a professor of economics at the

. She was appointed a professor of

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

in 1990.

Career

On December 12, 1992, President-elect Bill Clinton announced his intention to nominate Tyson as Chairman of the President's

. She was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

in 1993 and served until appointment as Director of the National Economic Council from 1995 to 1996. She was the first woman in both roles. During her time with the

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over ...

, Tyson was a spokesperson in favour of

GATT The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its prea ...

, arguing with Sir

James Goldsmith Sir James Michael Goldsmith (26 February 1933 – 18 July 1997) was a French-British financier, tycoon''Billionaire: The Life and Times of Sir James Goldsmith'' by Ivan Fallon and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family. His cont ...

Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American former television journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show '' Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg LP. Rose also co- ...

that American jobs will be increased by the trade agreement. After leaving politics, Tyson returned to UC Berkeley, becoming Dean of the

from 1998 to 2001. She later served as Dean of

London Business School London Business School (LBS) is a business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London. LBS was founded in 1964 and awards post-graduate degrees (Master's degrees in management and finance, MBA and PhD). Its motto is " ...

from 2002 to 2006. She was the first woman to lead both institutions. Tyson has been a member of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York Ci ...

since 1987, a board director of

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

since 1997, a board director of AT&T Inc. since 1999, a board director of

Eastman Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

and is a member of the

Committee on Capital Markets Regulation The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research organization financed by contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations. Background Thirty-six leaders from the financial sector, incl ...

. In December, 2009 it was announced that Tyson will join

CB Richard Ellis CBRE Group, Inc. is an American commercial real estate services and investment firm. The abbreviation CBRE stands for Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis. It is the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2021 reven ...

Board of Directors on March 4, 2010. Tyson also sits on the QFINANCE Strategic Advisory Board. Tyson has published a number of books and articles on industrial competitiveness,

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exc ...

, and also on the economies of

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

and their transitions to market systems. An Economic Viewpoint columnist for

BusinessWeek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

magazine, Tyson writes regularly about domestic and international economic policy matters in

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

and other nationally and internationally syndicated newspapers and magazines. In addition to her professorship at UC Berkeley, Tyson is also a member of the Board of Trustees at UC Berkeley's Blum Center for Developing Economies. The Center is focused on finding solutions to address the crisis of

extreme poverty Extreme poverty, deep poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, includi ...

and disease in the developing world. Tyson joined

Berkeley Research Group, LLC Berkeley Research Group, LLC (BRG) is a global consulting firm that helps organizations with assistance in disputes and investigations, corporate finance, as well as strategy and operations. BRG is headquartered in Emeryville, California, with ...

, an expert services advisory firm co-founded by David Teece, as a special advisor in 2010. Tyson had consulted for LECG, another expert advisory firm founded by Teece, from 1997 to 2001. Since 2012, Tyson has written monthly columns for international media organization

Project Syndicate Project Syndicate is an international media organization that publishes and syndicates commentary and analysis on a variety of global topics. All opinion pieces are published on the ''Project Syndicate'' website, but are also distributed to a wi ...

. In November 2013, Tyson founded the Institute for Business and Social Impact at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business.

References

External links

Haas School of Business Bio.

Berggruen Institute Bio.

Tyson testimony on H.R. 2652 (1997)

Debate with Sir James Goldsmith over GATT in 1994

YouTube link to Debate with Sir James Goldsmith over GATT in 1994

Tyson's profile at LittleSis
*

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyson, Laura 1947 births Academics of London Business School 20th-century American economists 21st-century American economists American politicians of Italian descent American people of Dutch descent American people of Swedish descent American women economists Center for American Progress people Directors of Morgan Stanley Haas School of Business faculty Living people MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences alumni Princeton University faculty Smith College alumni Clinton administration cabinet members Women members of the Cabinet of the United States 21st-century American women Chairs of the United States Council of Economic Advisers