Chairman and President

Jim Lambright is president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the U.S. government's official export credit agency. In this capacity, Lambright serves as chairman of the board.

President George W. Bush elevated Lambright to chairman and president (acting) in July 2005 from his position as the Bank’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. The United States Senate confirmed his nomination in July 2006. On October 22, 2008 the Treasury Department named Lambright to serve as Chief Investment Officer of the Troubled Asset Relief Program on an interim basis until the position is filled permanently. He retains his position as head of Ex-Im Bank.

Lambright came to Ex-Im Bank in 2001 from Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. in Los Angeles, Calif., where he was vice president, private equity. There, he specialized in the underwriting and negotiation of real estate and venture capital transactions.

A native of St. Louis, Mo., Lambright graduated with honors from Harvard Law School and received a bachelor of arts in linguistics from Stanford University. He is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.

Ex-Im Bank is the official export-credit agency of the United States. The independent, self-sustaining federal agency, now in its 75th year, helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by financing the sale of U.S. exports, primarily to emerging markets throughout the world, by providing loan guarantees, export-credit insurance and direct loans. In fiscal year 2008, Ex-Im Bank authorized $14.4 billion in financing to support an estimated $19.6 billion of U.S. exports worldwide. Eighty-six percent of nearly 2,328 transactions directly benefited small-business exporters.

Last Update: March 18, 2009