Ray Washburne | |
---|---|
![]() Washburne in 2021 | |
President and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation | |
In office September 5, 2017 –March 1, 2019 | |
President | Donald Trump |
Preceded by | Elizabeth Littlefield |
Succeeded by | David Bohigian (acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | Ray Willets Washburne 1960 (age 64–65) Dallas,Texas,U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Education | Southern Methodist University (BA) |
Ray Willets Washburne is an American businessman,political fundraiser,and government official. He co-founded the M Crowd Restaurant Group,which owns Mi Cocina and other restaurants. He served as President and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation from 2017 to 2019 and as a member of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board from 2019 to 2020.
Previously,he has served as an adjunct professor at Cox School of Business. [1]
Washburne is a co-founder of the M Crowd Restaurant Group,owning forty-six restaurants,including the Mi Cocina and Taco Diner restaurant chains. [2] [3] He also has real-estate developments in several states and is the CEO of Charter Holdings. In 2009,Washburne and his family bought the Highland Park Village,an upscale shopping center in Dallas,for $170 million (~$235 million in 2023). [2] [3]
In December 2020,Washburn'e HP Village Management was contracted by the owners of Knox Street District in Dallas to assist with the leasing,marketing,and management of their property. [4]
In April 2022,Washburne's HP Village Management acquired a stake in the shopping center Phillips Place,located in Charlotte,North Carolina. [5] [6] In the same month,Washburne's Charter Holdings acquired Watters Creek shopping center in Allen,Texas. [7]
In June 2024,Washburne's HP Village Management acquired Country Club Plaza in Kansas City from Macerich and Taubman Centers. [8] [9] The acquisition followed a discussion at an Urban Land Institute conference in May 2024,where Nuveen,a lender associated with Highland Park Village,approached Washburne about a new project. [8] Washburne,who had previously invested over $100 million in Highland Park Village,would make a substantial investment in the Missouri complex with Nuveen remaining involved. [8] The redevelopment plan for Country Club Plaza includes its division into several districts,each dedicated to contemporary fashion,food and beverage,and luxury and designer goods. [8]
Washburne is currently the Chairman of the Board of Sunoco,LP. [10] He is also a member of Council on Foreign Relations and a board member of SMU Cox School of Business Executive Committee. [11] [12]
On June 5,2017,President Trump nominated Washburne as president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. [13] The U.S. Senate confirmed him by voice vote on August 3,2017. [14] He worked to increase the OPIC's funding and activities despite the Trump administration's previous plans to shut down the agency. [15] [16] [17] In 2018,Washburn led the effort to create the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) which replaced OPIC with a merger of entities from USAID,State Department,and OPIC. [18]
In February 2019,Washburne announced he would resign as OPIC's head on March 1. [19] [20]
In 2019,Washburne was appointed to the President's Intelligence Advisory Board. [21] [22]
In 2019,Washburne was appointed to the advisory board of the US Military Southern Command. [23]
Washburne was actively involved in raising money for George W. Bush's presidential campaigns in both 2000 and 2004,and in the following years continued to raise money for the Republican Party. [24] In 2011,he became finance chairman of Governor Tim Pawlenty bid for President. [25] Later,in the 2012 presidential election,he backed Mitt Romney,the Republican Party's nominee,and became the campaign's Texas co-chair,while also raising money. [26] [27] Following the 2012 election,in which Romney was defeated,Washburne became the finance chairman of the Republican National Committee,during which he raised $160 million (~$210 million in 2023) for the party. [28]
In 2015,he became a part of Chris Christie's 2016 campaign for president,serving as the finance chairman. [27] Christie subsequently conceded in the race,and after Donald Trump emerged as the Republican front-runner,Washburne raised money for Trump's campaign and became the vice chairman of the Trump Victory Committee,which acted as a bridge between the campaign and the RNC. [29] [30] After Trump's victory,he was the head on the Trump transition team for the Commerce Department. [31]
In 2020,Washburne played a role in convincing Trump to call for restoring a tax break allowing corporations to fully deduct restaurant meal and entertainment costs. [32] [33] [34]
Washburne was born in Dallas,Texas in 1960,and was raised in Highland Park,later graduating from Southern Methodist University. In 1997 he married Heather Hill,a descendant of H. L. Hunt. [2]
In 2021,Washburne committed $5,000,000 to SMU to construct the new Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium. [35] The facility has been recognized as one of the finest facilities for college soccer and completed the urban design of the campus. [35]
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