Frank Mermoud accepted an appointment with the Bush Administration as Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs at the U.S. Department of State beginning June 3, 2002. Mr. Mermoud is responsible for managing commercial and business affairs programs, developing strategic advocacy assistance for U.S. businesses, and integrating business perspectives into our nation’s foreign policy. As Special Representative Mr. Mermoud coordinated and led the 2003 Private Sector Reconstruction for Iraq conference in Madrid, and has served in leading positions for numerous Presidential initiatives including Iraq/Afghanistan reconstruction, Tsunami reconstruction, economic/commercial dialogues with EU accession countries, China, India, and Turkey, as well as the Broader Middle East North Africa and Middle East Free Trade Agreement.

Mr. Mermoud brings to the Department of State significant private sector and government experience. From 1999 until June 2002, he served as Co-Founder of SageMetrics Corporation, a leading technology provider of business intelligence for major multinational firms. At SageMetrics he held the positions of Executive Vice President and President of International. Previously he was Executive Vice President of International and Corporate Affairs and a member of the Board of Directors for Aegis Communications, a public telecommunications company providing information systems to Fortune 500 companies.

During the Reagan and Bush Administrations, Mr. Mermoud held several senior policy positions in international economic and commercial affairs including Director of Legislative Affairs at the Department of State, Congressional Liaison Officer for the United States Information Agency, Associate Director for the EXPORT NOW Presidential Initiative at the Department of Commerce, and Director of Federal Business Procurement and Export Development with the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service. Mr. Mermoud received a B.S. degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, is fluent in French, and has worked extensively throughout his career in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

Mr. Mermoud has served in leadership roles on numerous local, state and national Republican political campaigns. During the 2000 Presidential campaign, he served as a member of the Bush-Cheney Technology National Steering Committee and a member of the campaign’s National Finance Committee.