The Business Council is a nonpartisan organization of business leaders headquartered in Washington, D.C.Dow Chief To Head National Business Organization , WSGW It holds meetings several times a year for high-level policy discussions, allowing CEOs of multinational companies to network with leaders in politics, science, and academia. The CEOs discuss business strategies and provide input on government policy.

Found in 1933, The Business Council has been described as one of the most influential commerce groups in the United States, with U.S. presidents regularly seeking its advice. As of 2026, Target executive chairman Brian Cornell is chair of the organization’s executive committee.

Mission The Business Council allows global CEOs to gather and network along with leaders in politics, science, and academia. The organization is guided by the belief that the business community's contributions to public discourse and governance are in the interest of the common good of the American people. Member CEOs discuss strategies and innovation for their respective companies, as well as providing input on government policy.

Membership is by invitation-only and limited to CEOs of leading multinational businesses personally selected by fellow members of The Business Council. The organization is strictly nonpartisan and headquartered in Washington, D.C.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Business Council helped global companies navigate the public health crisis. The organization conducted weekly CEO calls at the height of the pandemic, inviting chief executives and other experts to discuss COVID vaccines, treatments, and other topics.

The Business Council issues a quarterly “Measure of CEO Confidence” in collaboration with The Conference Board, surveying more than 100 CEOs about current economic conditions and expectations about the future. The chief executives also share their sentiments about U.S. employment, recruiting, wages, capital spending, and other economic indicators. Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., vice chairman of The Business Council, has appeared on CNBC to discuss the survey findings.

History The Business Council was founded by Secretary of Commerce Daniel C. Roper and investment banker Sidney Weinberg as the Business Advisory Council for the United States Department of Commerce in 1933, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.The Business Council, Official website, Background Dow Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris Elected Chairman, The Business Council , dow.com, October 19, 2012Press Release: The Dow Chemical Company, Dow Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris Elected Chairman, The Business Council, Yahoo!, October 19, 2012Barack Obama, Remarks by the President to The Business Council, The White House: Office of the Press Secretary, February 13, 2009 It formed the Industrial Advisory Board for the National Recovery Administration during the Great Depression. It also established committees to discuss the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Banking Act of 1935 and the Social Security Act.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the organization was designed “for corporate titans to offer counsel and advise to the federal government.” It was renamed The Business Council as an organization independent from the Department of Commerce in 1961, under President John F. Kennedy. In 2009, then-President Barack Obama claimed, "Every President since Franklin Delano Roosevelt has sought the advice of the Business Council."

In 2024, the Minnesota Star Tribune described The Business Council as "one of the most influential national commerce groups."

Leadership Marlene Colucci is CEO of The Business Council. Appointed in 2013, Colucci has held leadership positions in public policy at the White House, U.S. Department of Labor, and American Hotel and Lodging Association. She describes the organization as "an important voice for the business community with a high level of personal engagement by its members.”

In August 2025, Colucci spoke at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event on leadership and board service. That same year, she was named "one of the most powerful women in Washington" by the Washingtonian.

Prior to Colucci, Philip Cassidy was executive director of The Business Council for more than two decades.

Current executive committee The executive committee is composed of the following people:

Chair

Brian Cornell, Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Target

Members Corie Barry, CEO, Best Buy Jeff Bezos, Founder & Former CEO, Amazon Gail K. Boudreaux, President & CEO, Elevance Health, Inc. Thomas Buberl, Chief Executive Officer, AXA John Donahoe, Former President and CEO, Nike Thasunda Duckett, President and Chief Executive Officer, TIAA Egon Durban, Managing Partner and Co-CEO, Silver Lake Jim Farley, President and CEO, Ford Roger Ferguson, Immediate Past President and CEO, TIAA (Vice Survey Chair) Jim Fitterling, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Dow Chemical Company Adena Friedman, Chair and CEO, Nasdaq, Inc. Michelle Gass, President and CEO, Levi Strauss & Co. Ken Griffin, Founder and CEO, Citadel Henry R. Kravis, Executive Co-Chairman, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Ryan Marshall, President and CEO, PulteGroup Jon Moeller, Chairman, President, and CEO, Procter & Gamble Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO, Microsoft David M. Solomon, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs Lisa Su, Chair and CEO, AMD Jim Umpleby III, Chairman and CEO, Caterpillar Inc. Emma Walmsley, CEO, GlaxoSmithKline Kathy Warden, Chairman, CEO, and President, Northrop Grumman Mike Wirth, Chairman & CEO, Chevron Corporation

Former chairs

1933: Gerard Swope, General Electric 1934: S. Clay Williams, RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company 1934–35: Henry P. Kendall, Kendall Company 1936: George H. Mead, Mead Corporation 1937–39: W. Averell Harriman, Brown Brothers & Co. 1940–41: William L. Batt, War Production Board 1942–43: R. R. Deupree, Procter & Gamble 1944–45: Thomas B. McCabe, Scott Paper Company 1946: George M. Humphrey, National Steel Corporation 1947–48: John L. Collyer, Goodrich Corporation 1949–50: James S. Knowlson, Stewart-Warner 1951–52: Robert T. Stevens, JP Stevens & Company 1953: John D. Biggers, Libbey-Owens-Ford 1954–55: Harold Boeschenstein, Owens Corning 1956–57: Eugene Holman, Standard Oil of New Jersey (ExxonMobil) 1958–59: Stephen Bechtel, Jr., Bechtel 1960–61: Ralph J. Cordiner, General Electric 1961–62: Roger Blough, US Steel 1963–64: F. R. Kappel, AT&T 1965–66: W.B. Murphy, Campbell Soup Company 1967–68: Albert L. Nickerson, Mobil (ExxonMobil) 1969–70: Fred J. Borch, General Electric 1971–72: William M. Batten, JCPenney 1973–74: David Packard, Hewlett-Packard 1975–76: Edmund W. Littlefield, General Electric 1977–78: John D. deButts, AT&T 1979–80: Reginald H. Jones, General Electric 1981–82: Walter B. Wriston, Citicorp 1983–84: Clifton C. Garvin, Jr., Exxon (ExxonMobil) 1985–86: Ruben F. Mettler, TRW 1987–88: Stephen Bechtel, Jr., Bechtel 1989–90: Roger B. Smith, General Motors 1991–92: John F. Welch, Jr., General Electric 1993–94: Robert E. Allen, AT&T 1995–96: Edgar S. Woolard, Jr., DuPont 1997–98: Larry Bossidy, AlliedSignal 1999-00: Ralph S. Larsen, Johnson & Johnson 2001–02: William T. Esrey, Sprint Corporation 2003–04: Charles O. Holliday, Jr., Bank of America 2005–06: Jeffrey R. Immelt, General Electric 2007–08: W. James McNerney, Jr., Boeing 2009–10: James W. Owens, Caterpillar 2011–12: Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase 2013–14: Andrew Liveris, Dow Chemical Company 2015–16: Jeff Bezos, Amazon 2017–18: Henry R. Kravis, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts 2019–20: John Donahoe, Nike 2021–22: Satya Nadella, Microsoft 2023–24: Gail K. Boudreaux, President & CEO, Elevance Health, Inc.

References

External links The Business Council