“We prize achievement over activity.”
The Washington Institute for Business, Government and Society is a convener of people and ideas at the intersection of business, government and society. We drive conversations from Capitol Hill and conference rooms to lecture halls and living rooms. We host events, write op-eds, produce podcasts, publish reports and engage in debates on social media—all to stimulate cooperation, meaningful action and tangible results. We know that complex problems require new, creative approaches. And innovation can only happen when we focus on tangible, measurable achievements, not just endless activity.
SIGNATURE ISSUES
Global Technology and Innovation
Shaping the future of the internet, artificial intelligence, and other significant technological advances
Global Corporate Social Responsibility
Defining a new corporate playbook for addressing the social and regulatory landscape
Global Economic Interdependence
Proposing long-term fixes to the challenges that plague our global economy
Programs
Washington Institute
Embassy Series
Events with local embassies that bring together ambassadors, diplomats and global leaders to discuss the Institute’s signature issues and tangible solutions for problems like trade, which cannot be contained by geographic borders alone
Washington Institute
Technology Series
Events with technology executives and leading government officials, designed to break down the silos between our public and private sectors, build a mutual understanding of regulatory issues and promote a spirit of collaboration
Washington Institute
Summits
Biannual conferences to examine signature issues – for example, how global sports, including the Olympics and World Cup, influence business, government and societal dynamics
Washington Institute
University Consortium
Partnerships with prominent, global universities to deliver new research, internship opportunities and joint conferences
Washington Institute
Scholarships
Funding for exceptional students involved in the Washington Institute Consortium to pursue careers that focus on the intersection of business, government and society
Washington Institute
Fellows
Three seasoned leaders who serve as spokespeople in the areas of business, government and society as well as representatives for the Institute in the U.S. and abroad
Washington Institute
Embassy Awards
Recognition of individuals and institutions who promote greater cooperation and understanding of signature issues, and who represent business, government, nonprofits, academia or the media
Washington Institute
Directory
A first-of-its-kind database with contact and logistical information for the Washington, D.C. offices of corporations, government agencies, Congress and nonprofit organizations
Washington Institute
Podcasts
Interviews between our founder and world leaders on topics of the day
Hemal Vaidya is a Principal at Deloitte LLP, where he serves as a strategy and financial advisor to the CXO-level of the public sector, NGOs, and non-profit organizations. With over 25 years of experience from The White House, Deloitte, and Georgetown University, Hemal focuses on the integration among the public, private, and non-profit sectors to address business challenges and public policy issues. As an entrepreneur and Partner at Deloitte, Hemal has a sustained track record of growing enterprises and programs in various industries & sectors in the US and multilateral organizations. Key areas of specialization include finance, sustainability, regulatory transformation, digital modernization, and security & risk management. Hemal received his Bachelor’s degree in International Political Economy from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service and The London School of Economics, magna cum laude, and his Master’s in Public Finance & Administration, summa cum laude, from The Maxwell School of Syracuse University.
H.E. Luis Lacalle served as the President of Uruguay from 1990-1995. Lacalle’s political career began when he was elected Member of the Parliament of Montevideo, a position which he held until the military coup d’état of 1973. When democracy was restored to Uruguay in 1984, Mr. Lacalle became both a Senator and Vice president of the Senate where he participated in the Public Funds, Transportation, and Public Works committees. He was elected President of Uruguay in November of 1989 and formally inaugurated the position on March 1st, 1990 to serve the five-year term from 1990 to 1995. His administration is known for having implemented a free market program; during his term in office Luis Lacalle, along with his colleagues in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, co-founded the MERCOSUR which was established by the Treaty of Asunción on March 26th 1991. He has been President of the National Party (Partido Nacional) on two occasions; between 1999 and 2004, and from August 2009. He was a candidate in the 2009 presidential elections but lost to José Mujica. In 2009 was elected Senator for the 2010-2015 term. Lacalle graduated with a Law degree from the School of Law and Social Sciences at the Universidad de la República Oriental del Uruguay (1974).
Jimmy Lynn, a veteran of 30 years in the Sports and Entertainment sectors, is one of the pioneers of the Digital Sports space and is regarded as one of the leading relationship brokers and connectors in the global sports industry. He is a co-founder and Vice-President of Kiswe Mobile, the world’s most advanced cloud-based social-gamified mobile video platform.
Mr. S. Tien Wong is a technology entrepreneur, CEO, and angel investor. He is Chairman & CEO of Opus8, Inc., a private investment and strategic advisory firm specializing in raising capital for private equity and venture capital fund managers, as well as promising tech companies. He is also Chairman of Tech 2000, Inc., an ed tech company which provides advanced tech training, learning analytics, and software development to Fortune 500 customers. Mr. Wong is also Chairman of Lore Systems, Inc., an IT services company which provides managed hosting, IT support, “virtual CIO,” and cloud computing solutions for commercial, nonprofit, and government clients. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College.
Philippe Nacson was born and raised in Africa and remembers having read an article, in one of the very few French magazines distributed then locally, about Martine Kempf, a female French researcher who invented a vocal command system called the Katalavox, allowing handicapped people to drive cars. “It was a revelation for me, I read this article so many times that I knew it by heart. Since then my interest in Robotics has only strengthened.”
Anthony Haggar is the co-founder of HCH Partners and chief executive officer of Haggar Trading DMCC, an investment holding company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Haggar received a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business in 1998 and has dedicated his career to building a better Africa by employing Africans and supporting business on the continent from within. Throughout his experience, he’s being engaged in a series of mergers and acquisitions. In 2011, he led the sale of Haggar Trading DMCC’s tobacco assets in Sudan to Japan Tobacco for $450 million, as well as Haggar Trading DMCC’s $23 million investment in ACE Marine Cables based in West Africa.
Ms. Ronna CHAO is CEO of Novel Investment Partners Limited, Chairman of Novetex Textiles Limited, a Director of Novelpark Investments Limited and the CEO of Bai Xian Asia Institute (BXAI). Through BXAI, Ms. Chao created and has fundraised US$100 million for the Asian Future Leaders Scholarship Program, through which scholarships are granted every year to Asian students to study abroad at one of 16 leading universities in Northeast Asia. Ms. Chao is also a Standing Committee Member of the 12th Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) since 2013. She earned her bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Brown University and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.
David C. McCourt is the founder of Granahan McCourt Capital, LLC and serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. McCourt is the Founder of Discovery Television, and also formed Satellite Holdings, LLC. He has been an innovator, entrepreneur and
Genevieve Ryan is the Founder and CEO of Real World Playbook, a company that helps twenty-somethings navigate the transition from school into the working world. She has had a broad array of professional experience across business, law and government. An attorney by profession, she received her JD/MBA from Georgetown University and worked on strategic partnerships at Goldman Sachs until leaving to found Real World Playbook. Beyond her work in the entrepreneurial world, Ryan is passionate about women’s empowerment, education and national security. She currently serves as a member of the Pencils of Promise Leadership Council and the Acumen Fund Young Professional Committee.
Jack Markell was sworn in as Delaware’s governor on January 19, 2009, and was sworn in for his second term on January 15, 2013. He focused on economic development, education and workforce training as top priorities. Beginning his career in the private sector, Markell helped lead the wireless technology revolution as the 13th employee at Nextel, where he served as senior vice president for corporate development. His other business experience includes a senior management position at Comcast Corporation, work as a consultant with McKinsey and Company and as a banker at First Chicago Corporation. He was elected state treasurer in 1998, winning three consecutive terms, including his last re-election in November of 2006. He has been recognized in Delaware and across the country as a leader in promoting policies to help all people achieve their economic potential. Markell is a Henry Crown Fellow and a Rodel Fellow at the Aspen Institute.
Robert Kahn is the co-inventor of the TCP/IP protocols and was responsible for originating DARPA’s Internet program. Known as one of the “Fathers of the Internet,” Kahn demonstrated the ARPNET by connecting 20 different computers at the International Computer Communication Conference. While Director of Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO) at DARPA, he initiated the United States government’s billion dollar Strategic Computing Program, the largest computer research and development program ever undertaken by the federal government. In December 1997, President Bill Clinton presented the U.S. National Medal of Technology to Kahn and his colleague, Vinton Cerf, for founding and developing the Internet. In 2004, Kahn was the recipient of the ACM Alan M. Turing award (sometimes called the “Nobel Prize of Computer Science”) and in 2005 he was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George Bush.
As the Chief Operating Officer for IFC, Stephanie von Friedeburg leads all IFC investment operations and advisory services, delivering private sector capital and solutions to create jobs, positive development outcomes and opportunities in the world’s poorest and most fragile countries. Von Friedeburg began her World Bank Group career at IFC, spending more than two decades in IFC investment operations where she developed strong regional expertise in Africa and Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in numerous industry sectors, including telecom, media, general manufacturing and technology. Most recently, von Friedeburg served as IFC’s Chief Strategy and Resources Officer, where she led the development of IFC’s new strategy and aligned the organization’s resources in support of it. Prior to this, leveraging her more than ten years of experience investing in telecom and IT start-ups in emerging markets, she served as the World Bank Group Chief Information Officer.
Vicente Fox is a businessman and politician who was president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006. As President Fox focused his early efforts on improving trade relations with the U.S., calming civil unrest and reducing corruption, crime and drug trafficking. In 2001, his administration introduced constitutional reforms that strengthened the rights of Mexico’s indigenous peoples. Before his presidency, Fox was a route supervisor for the Mexican unit of the Coca-Cola Company. After a series of promotions, he served as the company’s chief executive in Mexico and then head of its Latin American operations.
Barie Carmichael is a Senior Counselor at the global communications consultancy APCO Worldwide. She has more than 35 years of experience directing global corporate communication and has managed strategic corporate communication on a global scale in a variety of industries. Carmichael is also a co-author of Columbia University Press’ Reset: Business and Society in the New Social Landscape. Previously, she served as Dow Corning Corporation’s chief communications officer. In addition to her work at Dow Corning Corporation, Carmichael was formerly a partner at The Brunswick Group and also served as VISA USA’s executive vice president of corporate relations. Carmichael is a Batten Fellow at The University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate Business School and is also a member of the Arthur W. Page Society. Throughout her career, she has won numerous awards for issue management, employee communication and change management.
William E. Mayer is a Director of BlackRock Capital Investment Corporation. Since 1999, Mayer has been a partner at Park Avenue Equity Partners, L.P. (“Park Avenue”), which he co-founded. From 1996 until the formation of Park Avenue, Mayer was a founding Partner of Development Capital. Earlier in his career Mayer was a professor and Dean of the College of Business and Management at the University of Maryland and Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester. Mayer also was the President and Chief Executive Officer for The First Boston Corporation (now Credit Suisse). Mayer was named to the 2013 NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors), which honors leaders in corporate governance and in the boardroom.
Anthony (Tony) Williams, former Mayor of Washington, D.C., is currently CEO of the Federal City Council, an organization which serves as a catalyst for progress in the Nation’s Capital by focusing the creative and administrative talents of Washington’s business and professional leaders on major problems and opportunities that are facing the city. Prior to this he served as the Executive Director of the Global Government Practice at the Corporate Executive Board in Arlington, Virginia. He also serves as the William H. Bloomberg Lecturer in Public Management at the Harvard Kennedy School. In addition, he is a Senior Consultant to the firm McKenna Long and Aldridge. Before his service in local Washington, Williams served as the first CFO for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, appointed by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and former President of the National League of Cities. He holds a number of awards and honorary degrees, including Governing Magazine Public Official of the Year.
Promoting peaceful uses of nuclear technology, David Waller served as Deputy Director General and head of management of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Prior to IAEA, Waller was appointed Vice-Chair of the UN system wide High Level Committee on Management. Earlier in his career, Waller was nominated by President Reagan and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs. In that capacity, he was the Secretary of Energy’s chief advisor and spokesman on international energy policy and emergency preparedness. In addition, he served as Senior Associate Counsel to the President at the White House during the Raegan Administration. In 1989, Waller was presented the Secretary’s Award — the highest honor given by the Department of Energy — for outstanding leadership. And, in 2011 the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) awarded him its Gold Medal in recognition of his contribution to the reduction of the threat of nuclear weapons.
Ann M. Veneman became UNICEF’s fifth Executive Director in 2005. Under her management, UNICEF launched initiatives to improve business practices, transparency and collaboration to ensure that the agency’s programs reached those most vulnerable and that its resources were utilized efficiently to protect, save and improve the lives of children around the world. Prior to joining UNICEF, Veneman served as Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture. In 2003, she hosted the first-ever Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology, bringing together leaders from 120 nations to explore new approaches to global hunger and the better use of science and technology to reduce hunger and poverty in developing countries. Veneman held various other positions at USDA, including Deputy Secretary, Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs and Commodity Programs and Associate Administer of the Foreign Agricultural Service. She also served as Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. In 2009, she was named to Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women list, ranking #46.
Vinoda Basnayake is of counsel in Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP’s Washington office where he assists foreign governments and international corporations in legislative and policy matters. He also chairs the firm’s District of Columbia Government Relations Practice. Basnayake also serves as the Principal and Founder of Versus Equity, Chairman of DC Vote and Commissioner of the Small and Local Business Opportunity Commission for DC. He previously served as a Special Advisor at Patton Boggs LLP, Interim Director at International Gateway Trade Center and Financial Consultant at The World Bank. Basnayake was recognized as one of the most influential Washingtonians under 40 by Washington Life Magazine for several years in a row and named one of Washington’s “Power 30 Under 30” in 2010.
James P. Moore, Jr. is the founder and CEO of the Washington Institute for Business, Government and Society. Prior to launching the Institute, he served as Managing Director of the Business and Public Policy Initiative at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and taught courses in international trade, ethics, management and leadership. Earlier in his career, Moore served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Trade Development, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Trade Information and Analysis. Concurrently, he was named head of U.S. Delegation to the Industry Committee of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris and head of delegation to the Bureau of International Expositions. Upon leaving the U.S. government, he founded ATI, a global investment banking firm, with offices in Moscow, London, Doha, Washington and New York. He has received a number of honors both in the United States and abroad.