Announced by U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Karen Dunn Kelley at the Corporate Council on Africa’s U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Maputo, Mozambique
MAPUTO, Mozambique, June 21, 2019/ -- Farid Fezoua appointed co-chair of the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (PAC-DBIA) - 2019-2021; Announced by U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Karen Dunn Kelley at the Corporate Council on Africa’s U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Maputo, Mozambique.

Farid Fezoua, President & CEO, GE (www.GE.com) Africa was named as Co-chair of the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (PAC-DBIA) by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. PAC-DBIA members – representing small, medium, and large companies from a variety of industry sectors – advise the President, through the Secretary of Commerce, on ways to strengthen commercial engagement between the United States and Africa.

“The United States is making real progress in Africa, and we remain a strong, long-term, and stable partner in the continent’s economic development especially through the Prosper Africa initiative,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “We are working to find solutions to transition aid-based economies to trade-based economies and to creating new pathways for mutually beneficial partnerships.”

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Karen Dunn Kelley publicly announced the new PAC-DBIA appointments in a keynote address at the Corporate Council on Africa’s U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Maputo, Mozambique, where business and government leaders from the United States and Africa are exploring business opportunities as well as discussing trade and investment policies.

The appointed members of the 2019-2021 President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa include:

Andrew Inglis, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kosmos Energy, Dallas, Texas
Andrew Patterson, Global Manager for Strategy and Market and Business Development, Infrastructure, Bechtel Corporation, Reston, Virginia
Andrew Torre, Regional President for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Visa Inc., Foster City, California
Arjan Toor, Chief Executive Officer, Cigna Africa, Bloomfield, Connecticut
Bill Killeen, President and Chief Executive Officer, Acrow Bridge, Parsippany, New Jersey
Brittany Underwood, Founder and Executive Chairman, Akola, Dallas, Texas
Bruce Hanson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Credence ID, Emeryville, California
Chris Toth, President, Oncology Systems, Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, California
Craig Arnold, President, Dow Sub-Saharan Africa, Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan
Damian Halloran, Vice President, Infectious Disease, Emerging Markets, Rapid Diagnostics, Abbott, Chicago, Illinois
Denise Johnson, President, Resource Industries Group, Caterpillar Inc., Deerfield, Illinois
Farid Fezoua, President and Chief Executive Officer, GE Africa, Washington, D.C.
Frank Mosier, Chief Executive Officer, Rendeavour, Inc., New York, New York
Fred Sisson, Chief Executive Officer, Synnove Energy, Reduit, Republic of Mauritius
Jake Cusack, Founding and Managing Partner, CrossBoundary Group, Washington, D.C.
Jason Andringa, President and Chief Executive Officer, Vermeer, Pella, Iowa
Jason P.H. Brantley, Director for Sales and Marketing, Agriculture and Turf Division, Africa and Asia, John Deere, Moline, Illinois
John Nevergole, Chief Executive Officer, ABD Group, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Laura Lane, President, Global Public Affairs, UPS, Atlanta, Georgia
Olivier Puech, Executive Vice President and President, Latin American and EMEA, American Tower Corporation, Miami, Florida
Paul Marcroft, Chief Commercial Officer, APR Energy, Jacksonville, Florida
Peter Sullivan, Managing Director, Africa Public Sector Group, Citi, New York, New York
Raghu Malhotra, President, Middle East & Africa, Mastercard, Purchase, New York
Rahamatu Wright, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Shea Yeleen, Washington, D.C.
Susan Silbermann, Global President for Emerging Markets, Pfizer, New York, New York
Takreem El-Tohamy, General Manager, Middle East and Africa, IBM, Armonk, New York

The PAC-DBIA was established in 2014 to provide analysis and recommendations to the President, through the Secretary of Commerce, on strengthening commercial engagement between the United States and Africa. In its third term, 2019-2021, the PAC-DBIA will continue to play a critical role informing U.S. government policies and activities across the continent, particularly in advancing the economic pillar of the Trump Administration's Africa Strategy through Prosper Africa, which is a whole-of-government, economic initiative to substantially increase two-way trade and investment as well as support increased jobs in the United States and Africa. Prosper Africa demonstrates this Administration’s commitment to the growth of African countries and modernizes the way the government supports private sector opportunities.

Speaking on the appointment, Farid Fezoua said “It is a great honor to serve on the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa. I am delighted to co-chair this group bolstering economic growth through commercial and investment activities between Africa and United States. In this role I am particularly enthusiastic to contribute to shaping the new ‘Prosper Africa’ vision in collaboration with the U.S. and African Governments. GE remains a committed partner in Africa's sustainable development and will continue to invest in people and infrastructure across Africa."

For more information, please visit www.trade.gov/pac-dbia.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GE.
View multimedia content

Media Contact:
Patricia Obozuwa
Email: Patricia.obozuwa@ge.com
Phone: +234-1-4607100-2

About GE
GE (NYSE:GE) (www.GE.com) drives the world forward by tackling its biggest challenges. By combining world-class engineering with software and analytics, GE helps the world work more efficiently, reliably, and safely. For more than 125 years, GE has invented the future of industry, and today it leads new paradigms in additive manufacturing, materials science, and data analytics. GE people are global, diverse and dedicated, operating with the highest integrity and passion to fulfill GE’s mission and deliver for our customers. www.GE.com

SOURCE
GE