Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross Appoints New Members of the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa

“The United States is making real progress in Africa, and we remain a strong, long-term, and stable partner in the continent’s economic development especially through the Prosper Africa initiative,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “We are working to find solutions to transition aid-based economies to trade-based economies and to creating new pathways for mutually beneficial partnerships.”

The PAC-DBIA was established in 2014 to provide analysis and recommendations to the President, through the Secretary of Commerce, on strengthening commercial engagement between the United States and Africa. In its third term, 2019-2021, the PAC-DBIA will continue to play a critical role informing U.S. government policies and activities across the continent, particularly in advancing the economic pillar of the Trump Administration’s Africa Strategy through Prosper Africa, which is a whole-of-government, economic initiative to substantially increase two-way trade and investment as well as support increased jobs in the United States and Africa. Prosper Africa demonstrates this Administration’s commitment to the growth of African countries and modernizes the way the government supports private sector opportunities.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Karen Dunn Kelley publicly announced the new PAC-DBIA appointments in a keynote address at the Corporate Council on Africa’s U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Maputo, Mozambique, where business and government leaders from the United States and Africa are exploring business opportunities as well as discussing trade and investment policies.

“We are excited to work with the Council on developing private sector recommendations that help guide the expansion of U.S. companies, allowing countless African communities to flourish,” said Deputy Secretary Kelley. “Over the next two years, the PAC-DBIA will continue to serve as an important forum for dialogue between the United States and Africa, with a special focus on advancing the goals of the Prosper Africa initiative”

The appointed members for the 2019-2021 term of the PAC-DBIA are:

• Andrew Inglis, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kosmos Energy, Dallas, Texas
• Andrew Patterson, Global Manager for Strategy and Market and Business Development, Infrastructure, Bechtel Corporation, Reston, Virginia
• Andrew Torre, Regional President for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Visa Inc., Foster City, California
• Arjan Toor, Chief Executive Officer, Cigna Africa, Bloomfield, Connecticut
• Bill Killeen, President and Chief Executive Officer, Acrow Bridge, Parsippany, New Jersey
• Brittany Underwood, Founder and Executive Chairman, Akola, Dallas, Texas
• Bruce Hanson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Credence ID, Emeryville, California
• Chris Toth, President, Oncology Systems, Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, California
• Craig Arnold, President, Dow Sub-Saharan Africa, Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan
• Damian Halloran, Vice President, Infectious Disease, Emerging Markets, Rapid Diagnostics, Abbott, Chicago, Illinois
• Denise Johnson, President, Resource Industries Group, Caterpillar Inc., Deerfield, Illinois
• Farid Fezoua, President and Chief Executive Officer, GE Africa, Washington, D.C.
• Frank Mosier, Chief Executive Officer, Rendeavour, Inc., New York, New York
• Fred Sisson, Chief Executive Officer, Synnove Energy, Reduit, Republic of Mauritius
• Jake Cusack, Founding and Managing Partner, CrossBoundary Group, Washington, D.C.
• Jason Andringa, President and Chief Executive Officer, Vermeer, Pella, Iowa
• Jason P.H. Brantley, Director for Sales and Marketing, Agriculture and Turf Division, Africa and Asia, John Deere, Moline, Illinois
• John Nevergole, Chief Executive Officer, ABD Group, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Laura Lane, President, Global Public Affairs, UPS, Atlanta, Georgia
• Olivier Puech, Executive Vice President and President, Latin American and EMEA, American Tower Corporation, Miami, Florida
• Paul Marcroft, Chief Commercial Officer, APR Energy, Jacksonville, Florida
• Peter Sullivan, Managing Director, Africa Public Sector Group, Citi, New York, New York
• Raghu Malhotra, President, Middle East & Africa, Mastercard, Purchase, New York
• Rahamatu Wright, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Shea Yeleen, Washington, D.C.
• Susan Silbermann, Global President for Emerging Markets, Pfizer, New York, New York
• Takreem El-Tohamy, General Manager, Middle East and Africa, IBM, Armonk, New York

For more information on the PAC-DBIA, please visit https://www.trade.gov/pac-dbia/.

[To view the original article, click here]