Thomas John Watson Sr. was an American businessman who served as the chairman and CEO of IBM. He oversaw the company's growth into an international force from 1914 to 1956. Watson developed IBM's management style and corporate culture from John Henry Patterson's training at NCR. He turned the company into a highly effective selling organization, based largely on punched card tabulating machines. A leading self-made industrialist, he was one of the richest men of his time and was called the world's greatest salesman when he died in 1956.
In the United States government, independent agencies are agencies that exist outside the federal executive departments and the Executive Office of the President. In a narrower sense, the term refers only to those independent agencies that, while considered part of the executive branch, have regulatory or rulemaking authority and are insulated from presidential control, usually because the president's power to dismiss the agency head or a member is limited.
Levi Strauss & Co. is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, to open a West Coast branch of his brothers' New York dry goods business. Although the corporation is registered in Delaware, the company's corporate headquarters is located in Levi's Plaza in San Francisco.
James A. Johnson was an American businessman, Democratic Party political figure, and chairman and chief executive officer of Fannie Mae. He was the campaign chairman for Walter Mondale's unsuccessful 1984 presidential bid and chaired the vice presidential selection committee for the presidential campaign of John Kerry. He briefly led the vice-presidential selection process for the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama.
Ronald Harmon Brown was an American politician. He served as the United States Secretary of Commerce during the first term of President Bill Clinton. Prior to this he was chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). He was the first African American to hold these positions. He was killed, along with 34 others, in a 1996 plane crash in Croatia.
Robert D. Haas is the Chairman Emeritus of Levi Strauss & Co., son of Walter A. Haas Jr., and the great-great-grandnephew of the company's founder, Levi Strauss.
Walter A. Haas Jr. was an American businessman. He served as the president and CEO (1958–1976) and chairman (1970–1981) of Levi Strauss & Co, succeeding his father Walter A. Haas (1889–1979). He led the company in its growth from a regional manufacturer to one of the world’s leading apparel companies.
The Business Enterprise Trust, a nonprofit organization which was based in Palo Alto, California, celebrated exemplary acts of courage, integrity and social vision in American business. The organization's purpose was to examine specific instances of bold, creative leadership that combined sound business management with social conscience.
Clifford Michael Sobel is an American business executive, financier, Republican fundraiser, U.S. diplomat and former ambassador.
Barbara McConnell Barrett is an American businesswoman, attorney and diplomat who served as the United States secretary of the Air Force from 2019 to 2021. She is also an instrument-rated pilot, and cattle and bison rancher.
David Nelson Farr is an American business executive. He was the chairman and CEO of Emerson Electric Company, a Fortune 500 company. Farr has worked at the company since 1981 and retired as CEO on Feb 5, 2021. He is married to Lelia Far, with whom he has two children, and is a resident of Ladue, Missouri.
Arthur Kittredge "Dick" Watson was an American businessman and diplomat. He served as president of IBM World Trade Corporation and United States Ambassador to France. His father, Thomas J. Watson, was IBM's founder and oversaw that company's growth into an international force from the 1920s to the 1950s. His brother Thomas J. Watson Jr. was the president of IBM from 1952 to 1971 and United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union.
Dennis Fowler Hightower, is a former United States Army officer, retired business executive, college educator, and public servant who was the United States Deputy Secretary of Commerce from August 11, 2009 to August 27, 2010.
Ronald Allan "Ron" Rosenfeld is an American politician and housing expert. Rosenfeld has previously served in numerous U.S. federal and Oklahoma state government positions relating to housing. He served as chair of the Federal Housing Finance Board and president of the Government National Mortgage Association under president of the United States George W. Bush and as Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce under governor of Oklahoma Frank Keating.
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.
The Outies, formally known as the Out & Equal Workplace Awards, is an annual awards gala hosted by Out & Equal Workplace Advocates. The Outies honor individuals and organizations that are leaders in advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees in America's workplaces. Through these awards, Out & Equal provides the business and LGBT communities with examples of innovative approaches and proven successes to help create safe and equitable workplaces. The awards are presented annually at the Out & Equal Workplace Summit, a nationwide conference addressing LGBT issues in the workplace.
The International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American multinational technology corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York and is present in over 175 countries. It specializes in computer hardware, middleware, and software, and provides hosting and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology. IBM is the largest industrial research organization in the world, with 19 research facilities across a dozen countries, and has held the record for most annual U.S. patents generated by a business for 29 consecutive years from 1993 to 2021.
Bank of Utah is a federally-insured community bank, with corporate headquarters in Ogden, Utah. It is a member of the Utah Bankers Association (UBA), the American Bankers Association (ABA), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Branden P Hansen is president of Bank of Utah, as of January 2023.
The White House Conference on the Industrial World Ahead was the first White House conference "exclusively concerned with American business and the first one on the future." The conference was called by President Richard Nixon and jointly chaired by Secretary of Commerce Maurice H. Stans and Secretary of Labor James D. Hodgson. Taking place February 7–9, 1972, in Washington D.C., its stated purpose was to bring together key business, labor, university, and government leaders "with an interest in our industrial society to take a long-range look and develop policies that will help shape the future." The conference themes were the social responsibility of business, technology and resources for business, the human side of enterprise, the structure of the private enterprise system, and business and the world economy of 1990.
Ellen Hughes-Cromwick is an American economic advisor serving as a senior economist at the University of Michigan Energy Institute. She previously served as the chief economist for Ford Motor Company for over 18 years, and oversaw the company through the 2008 financial crisis. Hughes-Cromwick has been involved with the National Association for Business Economics for over a decade, and served as the association's president from 2007 to 2008.
