April H. Foley (born 1947) is an American former diplomat who served as the U.S. ambassador to Hungary from 2006 to 2009. She was the chair of the board of trustees of The Hungary Initiatives Foundation. [1] [2] Foley attributed her appointment as ambassador to her friendship with George W. Bush, a classmate from Harvard. [3]
Foley was born in 1947. [4] She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. [1] [2]
Before her appointment as ambassador, Foley was a director at the Export–Import Bank of the United States, becoming first vice president and vice chairman in 2003. She played a vital role in the creation of the Trade Bank of Iraq and was one of six Americans on the American-Iraqi Joint Economic Council. For 17 years, Foley was an executive for PepsiCo in roles including strategic planning, financial management, and mergers and acquisitions and her work led to PepsiCo's acquisition and integration of Kentucky Fried Chicken. [1] [2]
As ambassador, she considers her biggest success to be getting Hungary to be part of the Visa Waiver Program. [3]
Elaine Lan Chao is an American businesswoman and former government official. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the 18th United States secretary of transportation in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2021, and as the 24th United States secretary of labor in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2009. Chao was the first Asian American woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet.
Tyra Lynne Banks, also known as BanX, is an American television personality, model, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15, and was the first African-American woman to be featured on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, on which she appeared three times. She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 1997 to 2005. By the early 2000s, Banks was one of the world's top-earning models.
William Henry Draper III is an American venture capitalist.
PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of its products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company and Frito-Lay, Inc. PepsiCo has since expanded from its namesake product Pepsi Cola to an immensely diversified range of food and beverage brands. The largest and most recent acquisition was Pioneer Foods in 2020 for US$1.7 billion and prior to it was buying the Quaker Oats Company in 2001, which added the Gatorade brand to the Pepsi portfolio and Tropicana Products in 1998.
Indra Nooyi is an Indian-American business executive and former CEO and the Chairperson of PepsiCo.
Nancy Goodman Brinker is the founder of The Promise Fund and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, an organization named after her only sister, Susan, who died from breast cancer. Brinker was also United States Ambassador to Hungary from 2001 to 2003 and Chief of Protocol of the United States from 2007 to the end of the George W. Bush administration. Brinker, a breast cancer survivor, uses her experience to heighten understanding of the disease. In 2011 she was appointed to be a Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control by the World Health Organization.
Eric Steven Edelman is an American diplomat who served as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (2005–2009), U.S. Ambassador to Turkey (2003–2005), U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Finland (1998–2001), and Principal Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs (2001–2003). A career Foreign Service Officer, Edelman entered the Senior Foreign Service in 1992. He is a recipient of the Secretary of Defense's award for Distinguished Civilian Service (1993) and the State Department's Superior Honor Award.
Penny Sue Pritzker is an American billionaire businesswoman and civic leader who served as the 38th United States secretary of commerce in the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017. She was confirmed by a Senate vote of 97–1.
Julia Chang Bloch is a Chinese American businessperson and diplomat, who was the first U.S. ambassador of Asian descent. She is the founder and president of the US-China Education Trust.
Lael Brainard is an American economist serving as the 22nd Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve since May 23, 2022. Prior to her term as vice chair, Brainard served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors since 2014. She previously served as the United States Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs from 2010 to 2013.
Harold E. Doley, Jr. (born March 8, 1947) is an investment banker and United States ambassador. He is the founder of the oldest African-American owned investment-banking firm in the United States. Doley left the firm in 2003, taking emeritus status.
Kristalina Ivanova Georgieva-Kinova is a Bulgarian economist serving as managing director of the International Monetary Fund since 2019. She was the Chief Executive of the World Bank Group from 2017 to 2019 and served as Acting President of the World Bank Group from 1 February 2019 to 8 April 2019 following the resignation of Jim Yong Kim. She previously served as Vice-President of the European Commission under Jean-Claude Juncker from 2014 to 2016.
Maria Contreras-Sweet is an American businessperson and former government official who served as the 24th Administrator of the Small Business Administration from 2014 to 2017. She was the executive chairwoman and founder of ProAmérica Bank, a commercial bank focusing on small to mid-sized businesses with a specialty in the Latino community. Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Contreras-Sweet immigrated to Los Angeles, California and has since been involved in both the private sector founding a private equity firm and in public service as the California Secretary of Business, Transportation, and Housing under Governor Gray Davis.
Barry B. White is an American lawyer and former ambassador. He served as United States Ambassador to Norway from 2009 to 2013.
Barbara Hackman Franklin is an American government official, corporate director, and business executive. She served as the 29th U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 1992–1993 to President George H. W. Bush, during which she led a presidential mission to China.
Nadia Murad Basee Taha is an Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist who lives in Germany. In 2014, she was kidnapped from her hometown Kocho and held by the Islamic State for three months.
Bozoma "Boz"Saint John is an American businessperson and marketing executive who was the chief marketing officer (CMO) at Netflix. Previously, she served as CMO at Endeavor, and chief brand officer (CBO) at Uber until June 2018. Saint John was also a marketing executive at Apple Music until June 2017, after joining the company in its acquisition of Beats Music. From 2005 until 2014 she worked at PepsiCo, eventually serving as the head of music and entertainment marketing. In May 2021, she was named among the Top 50 Most Influential Female Leaders in Africa within the corporate and business sphere by Leading Ladies Africa.
Michele Buck is an American businesswoman. In March 2017, she became the first female Chairman, President, and CEO of The Hershey Company, an American food manufacturing company, replacing former CEO John Bilbrey.
Annie Young-Scrivner is a Chinese-American business executive who is the chief executive officer of Wella Company. She previously held senior posts at Godiva Chocolatier, PepsiCo, and Starbucks.
Ramon Laguarta is a Spanish businessman who is the chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo. He became CEO on 3 October 2018 after Indra Nooyi stepped down. He is the sixth CEO in the company's history and the first Spanish CEO of a large American multinational company.
