New Members Named to Ex-Im Bank Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) have named two new members to its Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee. The committee, established once again by act of Congress in its 2006 reauthorization of Ex-Im Bank, provides expert guidance to the Bank in developing policies to strengthen Bank support of U.S. exports to Africa.
Chairing the committee this year will be Dr. Willene Johnson, a development economist with experience in Africa and Latin America who serves as a member of the United Nations Committee for Development Policy and is an adjunct member of the faculty of Cornell University in the department of applied economics and management. Dr. Johnson previously was with the Federal Reserve System.
Newly appointed members are: Mark E. Chiaviello, a director at Standard Bank, Africa's largest financial institution, with the responsibility of promoting foreign direct investment, trading relationships and donor flows from the United States to Africa; and Julian Lighton, vice president of Strategy and Business Development organization for Cisco Systems, Inc's Emerging Markets, San Jose, Calif.
The other committee members are: Patrick Baumann, corporate treasury director, Harris Corporation, Melbourne, Fla.; Patricia Desvergers, vice president and CEO of Global Trading International, Washington, D.C.; Dennis Dubois, senior vice president and director of International Trade Banking, Global Solutions Group, Sovereign Bank, Boston, Mass.; Franklin Kennedy, director, Equator Management Services, Avon, Conn.; Kanu C. Obioha, vice president of policy and planning for Bluefield Associates, Inc., Ontario, Calif.; Barry Worthington, executive director of the U.S. Energy Association, Washington, D.C.; and Gerald Zadikoff, CEO of G.M. Selby & Associates Inc., Miami, Fla.
The Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet next at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, February 7, 2007 in the Bank's headquarters in Washington, D.C. The meeting is open to the public.
Ex-Im Bank, the official export credit agency of the United States, helps finance U.S. exports by providing loan guarantees, export credit insurance and direct loans. In fiscal year 2006, Ex-Im Bank assisted in supporting almost $16.1 billion of U.S. exports to markets around the world.
For more information, visit www.exim.gov.