OUR GROUP
Demands on CEOs’ time mean that certain activities – like engaging in networking, sharing best practices and challenging their minds with new ideas – are at risk of being treated like indulgence instead of necessity.
Convening a group that is truly peer-to-peer – made up only of other CEOs – is how The Business Council creates the secure and productive space essential for what Andrew Liveris calls a “continuing education for CEOs.”
Membership in The Business Council is by invitation only. Peers invite Peers. The result is the leading CEOs, across all industry sectors, convening to share, learn and innovate.
OUR DISCUSSIONS
At The Business Council’s three annual meetings, a selection of panels, interviews and presentations engage members in discussions inspired by presentations from the world’s greatest minds – from government leaders and subject matter experts to other CEOs. It is a dynamic experience where the brightest minds gather to discuss innovative content in an intimate and safe environment.
BACKGROUND
Originally convened in 1933 to advise the executive branch of the U.S. Government, The Business Council has evolved to be the only venue for the world’s top CEOs to gather to engage in our own professional, intellectual and leadership development.
Throughout our history, these core beliefs have guided the Council’s composition and work:
That government can benefit from the expert counsel of business leaders.
That political affiliation is unimportant within the ranks of the Council.
That the Council’s contributions to public discourse and governance are in the interest of the common good of the American people.
The Business Council is limited to 200 active members, each of whom is selected on the basis of personal qualities and position as the chief executive officer of a leading multinational business.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: 2023-2024
Immediate Past Chairman
Members
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Executive Officer
OUR TEAM
Appointed to lead The Business Council’s operations in 2013, Marlene oversees the group’s programming and membership development. Her professional background includes leadership positions in public policy at the White House and the U.S. Department of Labor as well as the American Hotel & Lodging Association. She also served as senior counsel at the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP. Marlene holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.
The Business Council’s three annual meetings are planned and executed by Gillian, whose experience working in operations and event management roles has prepared her to provide the world’s top CEOs with events that challenge and inspire. Gillian holds a bachelor’s degree from The University of Florida in Recreation, Parks and Tourism, with a specialization in Event Management.
Adrienne has been responsible for designing and implementing The Business Council’s membership programs since 2007. Her professional background is in hotel management, where she worked in leadership positions for both Best Western and Comfort Inn. Adrienne’s hospitality industry skills and expertise translate perfectly to The Business Council’s membership needs. She holds a bachelors degree in Hotel Management from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
FORMER CHAIRMEN
2021-22
Satya Nadella
Microsoft
2019-20
John Donahoe
Nike
2017-18
Henry R. Kravis
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
2015-16
Jeffrey P. Bezos
Amazon.com
2013-14
Andrew N. Liveris
The Dow Chemical Co.
2011-12
James Dimon
JPMorgan Chase
2009-10
James W. Owens
Caterpillar Inc.
2007-08
W. James McNerney, Jr.
The Boeing Company
2005-06
Jeffrey R. Immelt
General Electric
2003-04
Charles O. Holliday, Jr.
DuPont
2001-02
William T. Esrey
Sprint Corporation
1999-00
Ralph S. Larsen
Johnson & Johnson
1997-98
Larry Bossidy
AlliedSignal
1995-96
Edgar S. Woolard, Jr.
DuPont
1993-94
Robert E. Allen
AT&T
1991-92
John F. Welch, Jr.
General Electric
1989-90
Roger B. Smith
General Motors Corporation
1987-88
S.D. Bechtel, Jr.
Bechtel Corporation
1985-86
Ruben F. Mettler
TRW Inc.
1983-84
Clifton C. Garvin, Jr.
Exxon
1981-82
Walter B. Wriston
Citicorp
1979-80
Reginald H. Jones
General Electric
1977-78
John D. deButts
AT&T
1975-76
Edmund W. Littlefield
General Electric
1973-74
David Packard
Hewlett-Packard
1971-72
William M. Batten
J.C. Penney Company
1969-70
Fred J. Borch
General Electric
1967-68
Albert L. Nickerson
Mobil Oil
1965-66
W. B. Murphy
Campbell Soup Company
1963-64
F. R. Kappel
AT&T
1961-62
Roger M. Blough
United States Steel Corporation
1960-61
Ralph J. Cordiner
General Electric
1958-59
S. D. Bechtel
Bechtel Corporation
1956-57
Eugene Holman
Jersey Standard
1954-55
Harold Boeschenstein
Owens-Corning
1953
John D. Biggers
Libbey-Owens-Ford Company
1951-52
Robert T. Stevens
J.P. Stevens and Company
1949-50
James S. Knowlson
Stewart-Warner
1947-48
John L. Coyer
B.F. Goodrich Company
1946
George M. Humphrey
National Steel Corporation
1944-45
Thomas B. McCabe
Scott Paper Company
1942-43
R. R. Deupree
Proctor & Gamble
1940-41
William L. Batt
War Production Board
1937-39
W. Averell Harriman
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
1936
George H. Mead
Mead Corporation
1934-35
Henry P. Kendall
Kendall Company
1934
S. Clay Williams
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco
1933
Gerald Swope
General Electric Company