President Obama Provides Progress Report on National Export Initiative, Announces Members of the President’s Export Council

Goal of doubling exports over five years to support millions of American jobs is on track

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama will provide a progress report on the National Export Initiative (NEI), which shows that the President’s goal of doubling exports and supporting several million new jobs over five years is on track, and that exports in the first four months of 2010 grew almost 17 percent from the same period last year.

Since the President called for the NEI in his State of the Union Address, significant progress has been made on each of its five main objectives:

o Improved advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. exporters: The Department of Commerce has coordinated 18 trade missions with over 160 companies participating in 24 countries.

o Increased access to export financing: Ex-Im has more than doubled its loans to support American exporters from the same period last year, helping to support nearly 110,000 jobs.

o Reinforced efforts to remove barriers to trade: In March, the United States reached an agreement with China to reopen the Chinese market to U.S. pork and pork products. In June, the United States agreed with Russia to reopen the Russian market to U.S. poultry exports. These steps are worth more than $1 billion.

o Enforcement of trade rules:  Last week the WTO ruled that European governments subsidized Airbus’s large civil aircraft.   This ruling is expected to sustain and even restore jobs to American aerospace workers by leveling the playing field for the U.S. aerospace industry. 

o International promotion of policies leading to strong, sustainable and balanced economic growth: These last 18 months have been the most effective period of international economic cooperation in generations with global growth replacing economic contraction.

The full Progress Report on the National Export Initiative is attached; you can also view it HERE.

The President will also announce that he has appointed members of the President’s Export Council, which includes a group of business and labor leaders who will offer advice on how to promote U.S. exports, jobs, and growth.  In March, the President announced W. James McNerney Jr. as Chair of the President’s Export Council and Ursula Burns as Vice Chair.  Members of the President’s Export Council announced today, who will join appointees from Congress and the Administration, are listed below. 

President Obama said, “Boosting America’s exports strengthens our economic growth and supports millions of good, high-paying American jobs. That’s why I set a goal during my State of the Union address to double our exports over the next five years. Since then, my Administration has worked to improve advocacy for our exporters, remove trade barriers, and enforce trade rules in an effort to ensure that the benefits of global trade are  broadly shared. And to build on the progress we’ve made so far, I’ve appointed these accomplished men and women to serve in these important roles. I am confident that their depth of experience in the private sector will be valuable as we continue working to open new markets for American goods, boost our exports and level the playing field for American workers.”

Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Jim McNerney, Chair of the President’s Export Council, said, "President Obama has assembled an outstanding team to help reach the goal he has set for our nation to double U.S. exports over the next five years. It is an ambitious goal. However, with this team in place, I am confident we can develop a solid plan for the public policy decisions that will expand free and fair trade and strengthen the United States economically. I congratulate and welcome the new members named today and look forward to working with them in the months ahead.”

"By taking a collaborative, public-private approach to achieving the President's goal, we can make significant progress in strengthening our country's economy," said Ursula Burns, Chairman and CEO, Xerox Corporation and Vice Chair of the President’s Export Council.  "It starts with more progressive free and fair trade initiatives with an end result that protects and adds more American jobs." 

President Obama has appointed the following individuals to the President’s Export Council:

Mary Andringa, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
Mary Vermeer Andringa is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of Vermeer Corporation, an international organization that manufactures agricultural, construction, environmental, and industrial equipment. She previously served as President and Chief Operating Officer, and began her career with the company as a market researcher in 1982.  Early in her career Ms. Andringa taught in Iowa City public schools and later became director of the Mustard Seed Preschool in Omaha, Nebraska.  Presently, she serves as director for Herman Miller Company; vice chair of the National Association of Manufacturing; is a member of the Board of Councilors for the China-US Center for Sustainable Development; and a trustee for the Fuller Theological Seminary. She also serves on the Central College Board as trustee emeritus.
 
Stephanie A. Burns, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
Stephanie A. Burns is Chairman, President and CEO of Dow Corning Corporation.  Her 27-year career at Dow Corning has spanned scientific research, issues management, science and technology leadership and business management. Ms. Burns has been a member of Dow Corning’s Board of Directors since 2001, and was elected President in 2003, Chief Executive Officer in 2004, and Chairman in 2006.   Dr. Burns joined Dow Corning in Midland, Michigan in 1983 as a researcher where she quickly moved into product development leading advances in electronic materials. In 1994 she became the company’s first director of Women’s Health. She relocated to Brussels, Belgium in 1997, initially as director of Science and Technology for Europe and then subsequently as the director for two of Dow Corning’s industries, electronics and life sciences. In December 2000, she returned to the United States to become Executive Vice President, responsible for global operations.  Dr. Burns serves on the boards of the American Chemistry Council, the Society for Women’s Health Research, and GlaxoSmithKline plc.  She is also the honorary president of the Society of Chemical Industry.
 
Scott Davis, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
Scott Davis serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of UPS.  Prior to his current position, Mr. Davis served as Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer.  He joined UPS in 1986 when the company acquired the Oregon technology company, II Morrow. He had served as the chief financial officer and then CEO. Beginning in 1991, Mr. Davis held positions of increasing responsibility as the treasury manager, financial reports and plans manager, accounting manager, and vice president of finance.  He joined the UPS Management Committee in 2001, when he assumed the position of Chief Financial Officer. A certified public accountant, Mr. Davis recently completed a term as the chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and is on the board of Honeywell International, Inc. and is also a member of The Business Council.
 
Richard L. Friedman, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
Dick Friedman is President and Chief Executive Officer of Carpenter & Company, Inc. Mr. Friedman is on the board of directors of the Steppingstone Foundation, GateHouse Media, Mount Auburn Foundation, The Bridge Fund, and formerly served as a director of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board.  Mr. Friedman served as an officer in the US Army and was the Harvard College ski coach. He also served on the real estate investment committee of Dartmouth College. In 2000, Mr. Friedman was appointed by former President Clinton as Chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission, the major Federal government urban planning agency.
 
Gene Hale, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
Gene Hale is the President and Founder of G&C Equipment Corporation. The company was founded in 1981 and is engaged in the sale, lease, and procurement of construction equipment, material and supplies. Mr. Hale is also President of Gence Corporation, a construction material supply company, as well as President of G&C Service and Supply Corporation.  President George W. Bush appointed Mr. Hale to the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He also was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to the California Small Business Board. Mr. Hale is currently Chairman of the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce as well as the Gardena Police Foundation.
 
C. Robert Henrikson, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
C. Robert Henrikson is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of MetLife, Inc.  He previously served as MetLife’s President and Chief Operating Officer, President of MetLife’s U.S. Insurance and Financial Services businesses and President of its Institutional Business.  During his more than 36-year career with MetLife, Mr. Henrikson also has held a number of senior positions in the company's Individual, Group and Pension businesses.  Mr. Henrikson is Chairman of the Board of the American Council of Life Insurers, former Chairman of the Financial Services Forum, a Director Emeritus of the American Benefits Council, Chairman of the Board of the Wharton School's S.S. Huebner Foundation for Insurance Education and a Trustee of the American Museum of Natural History.  He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Emory University and the Boards of Directors of the Partnership for New York City, the New York Philharmonic and The New York Botanical Garden.
 
William Hite, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
William Hite is General President of United Association, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day affairs of the association, supervising the overall interests of the UA and for rendering decisions and adjusting disputes concerning matters affecting the organization. He is also President of the Mechanical Allied Crafts, which consists of the UA, the IBEW, the Sheet Metal Workers, the Ironworkers, the Insulators, and the Elevator Constructors. He is an elected member of the AFL-CIO Executive Committee and the AFL-CIO Executive Council. Mr. Hite is a member of the Governing Board of Presidents of the Building Trades Department, AFL-CIO and a member of the Executive Council of the Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO. He is also the labor lead for the United States Manufacturing Competitiveness Initiative Council. In addition, Mr. Hite serves on the Board of Directors for the Theodore Roosevelt Foundation and the Union Sportsman Alliance.
 
Robert A. Iger, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
Robert A. Iger is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. From 2000 until 2005, Mr. Iger served as President and Chief Operating Officer of The Walt Disney Company, helping to oversee all aspects of the company's worldwide operations including its filmed entertainment, theme parks and resorts, media networks and consumer products businesses. Mr. Iger also became a member of Disney's board of directors at this time. Mr. Iger began his career at ABC in 1974. Throughout his tenure at the company, Mr. Iger held a series of increasingly responsible senior management positions, including serving as President and Chief Operating Officer of Capital Cities/ABC, where he guided the complex merger of ABC with The Walt Disney Company. He officially joined the Disney senior management team in 1996 as Chairman of the Disney-owned ABC Group and in 1999, was given the additional responsibility of President of Walt Disney International.   Mr. Iger is a member of the board of directors for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and serves on the Executive Advisory Board of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
 
Charles Kaye, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
Charles R. Kaye, Co-President of Warburg Pincus, has been with the firm since 1986 and was instrumental in the launch and development of Warburg Pincus' Asian operations. Mr. Kaye is a member of the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations; former Chairman of the U.S.-India Business Council and interim chairman of the Asia Society. He also sits on the International Advisory Board of the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) at the University of Pennsylvania and serves on the Board of Directors for the Partnership for New York City.
 
Jeffrey Kindler, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
Jeff Kindler is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer, the world’s largest research-based biopharmaceutical company. Mr. Kindler joined Pfizer in 2002 as Executive Vice President and General Counsel; he was named Vice Chairman in 2005 and appointed CEO in 2006. He previously served as President of Partner Brands, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of McDonald’s Corporation, Vice President of Litigation and Legal Policy at General Electric, and Partner at Williams & Connolly.  Mr. Kindler began his legal career as law clerk to Judge David L. Bazelon of the U.S. Court of Appeals of the D.C. Circuit and later served as law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. He is Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a member of the Business Roundtable and currently serves on the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Tufts University, and Ronald McDonald House Charities, as well as a number of other business-related and charitable boards.
 
Andrew Liveris, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
Andrew N. Liveris is President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Dow Chemical Company, a global diversified specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics company based in Midland, Michigan. Mr. Liveris' 34 year Dow career has spanned manufacturing, engineering, sales, marketing, business and general management.  He has spent the bulk of his career in Asia, where he was general manager for the company's operations in Thailand, and later head of all Asia-Pacific operations.   Mr. Liveris is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of The Institute of Chemical Engineers. He serves on the board of directors of Citigroup and IBM; is a member of the executive committee of the US Business Council and Business Roundtable; and is past chairman and a current member of the board of the US-China Business Council.  Mr. Liveris is also a member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, the Detroit Economic Club, the National Petroleum Council, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the American Australian Association and the U.S.-India CEO Forum.
 
Robert A. Mandell, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
Robert A. Mandell served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Greater Properties from 1998 until 2005.  Currently, Mr. Mandell serves on the Board of Directors of Florida Hospital, The Burnham Institute for Medical Research of LaJolla, California, The Vermont Studio Center, and serves on the Audit and Finance Committee of the Adventist Health System.  Previously, Mr. Mandell served as a member of the Orange County Chairman’s Transportation Commission and the Blue Ribbon Panel on Education for the Orange County Public School System.
 
Alan Mulally, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
Alan Mulally is President and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Company and a member of the company’s Board of Directors. Mr. Mulally joined Ford after nearly 40 years with Boeing where his more senior roles included serving as the executive vice president of The Boeing Company and the president and chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Throughout his career, Mr. Mulally has been recognized for his contributions and industry leadership, including being named one of “The World’s Most Influential People” by TIME magazine in 2009, “Person of the Year” for 2006 by Aviation Week magazine and one of “The Best Leaders of 2005” by BusinessWeek magazine.  He is a member of the United States National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of England’s Royal Academy of Engineering. He also served as a past president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and is a former president of its Foundation.
 
Raul Pedraza, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
Raul Pedraza is the Founder and President of Magno International L.P., a certified veteran and minority owned enterprise that provides global integrated logistics solutions to meet point-to-point distribution needs.   Mr. Pedraza has more than 25 years of experience in the logistics industry.   He is also a former President of the National Bonded Warehouse and Cargo Association and President of the Florida Customs' Brokers and Forwarders Association. After serving in the U.S. Army he founded Eagle Companies in 1982.  Eagle Companies grew into well-established global operations and in 1998 he merged Eagle Companies with Eagle Global Logistics (EGL), and became EGL’S President for Latin America and Advisor to the Chairman until founding Magno International, L.P.
 
Ivan Seidenberg, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
Ivan Seidenberg is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Verizon, a premier global network company based in New York.  Seidenberg was instrumental in forming Verizon through a number of mergers and acquisitions, including Bell Atlantic and NYNEX (1997), GTE (2000) and MCI (2006). He also helped create what is now Verizon Wireless in 1999.  Seidenberg has led Verizon since its inception, and the company now operates an advanced global Internet backbone, a premier national wireless network and a next-generation fiber-optic broadband network.  In June 2009, Seidenberg was elected chairman of the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies. Also in 2009, he became a member of the President's Council of the New York Academy of Sciences.
 
Glenn Tilton, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
Glenn Tilton is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of UAL Corporation and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of United Air Lines, its principal subsidiary. Prior to joining United in September 2002, Tilton was the vice chairman of the board of directors of ChevronTexaco, as well as the interim chairman of Dynegy Inc.  Tilton worked for 30 years in various marketing, corporate planning and European downstream assignments of increasing responsibility at Texaco Inc., ultimately assuming the role of chairman of the board and chief executive officer in 2001. Tilton serves as chairman of the board of directors of the Air Transport Association, the industry trade organization representing the leading U.S. airlines. He is also on the board of directors of Abbott Laboratories, and Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. Tilton serves on the board of trustees for the Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry. He is a member of The Business Council and Business Roundtable.
 
James S. Turley, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
James S. Turley is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ernst & Young, an international accounting firm with auditing and accounting operations in 140 countries. He began his career with Ernst & Young in 1977, became Deputy Chairman in 2000 and Chairman and CEO in 2001. Mr. Turley co-chairs the Russia Foreign Investment Advisory Council and serves on the International Business Leaders’ Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai. He is Chair of the Catalyst organization, an Officer for the Boy Scouts of America, Chair of the National Corporate Theater Fund, and a Trustee for Rice University. In addition, he is a member of the U.S Business Roundtable and Chair for the U.S. Center for Audit Quality's Governing Board.
 
Patricia Woertz, Appointee for Member, President’s Export Council
Patricia A. Woertz is Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of Archer Daniels Midland Company. Woertz was named CEO and President in April 2006, and assumed the additional role of Chairman of the board in February 2007.  Woertz began her career as a certified public accountant with Ernst & Ernst, later Ernst & Young, in Pittsburgh. She joined Gulf Oil Corporation in 1977, where she held various positions in refining, marketing, strategic planning and finance. Following the merger of Gulf and Chevron in 1987, Woertz led international operations and a global workforce as President of Chevron Canada and, later, Chevron International Oil Company. With the merger of Chevron and Texaco in 2001, she was named the executive vice president in charge of the company’s global refining, marketing, lubricant, and supply and trading operations.  Woertz serves on the board of directors of The Procter & Gamble Company, the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum and The Business Council.