The Trump-Pence Transition Team announced on Wednesday Elon Musk of Tesla, Travis Kalanick of Uber, and Indra Nooyi of Pepsi would now serve in the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum.
The announcement comes after Donald Trump called together 16 business leaders of different industries at the beginning of the month to take part in the economic advisory council.
The three CEOs will join other executives from enterprises as notorious as IBM, General Motors, and The Walt Disney Company. Steven A. Schwartzman of Blackstone will serve as Chairman of the Forum.
The Forum will meet for the first time on early February, and many of the members represent a bright prospect for the U.S. if they manage to influence Trump’s vision in one way or another.
What is the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum?
The President’s Strategic and Policy Forum is a group of influential and successful business leaders from different industries that will provide their insights on how Trump’s policies affect the nation.
The President-Elect’s way of conducting business is very much in line with the formation of such a Forum, one the Transition Team deems “non-bureaucratic and non-partisan.”
Members of the Forum will make use of their long experience in their areas of work to advise Trump on how best to implement government policies that have a positive impact on the U.S. economy.
Who are the members of the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum?
The full list of the 16 founding members and the three newcomers to the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum includes:
• Stephen A. Schwarzman (Forum Chairman): Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Blackstone.
• Paul Atkins: CEO, Patomak Global Partners, LLC, Former Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Mary Barra: Chairman and CEO, General Motors.
• Toby Cosgrove: CEO, Cleveland Clinic.
• Jamie Dimon: Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Larry Fink: Chairman and CEO, BlackRock.
• Travis Kalanick: CEO and Co-founder, Uber Technologies.
• Bob Iger: Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company.
• Rich Lesser: President and CEO, Boston Consulting Group.
• Doug McMillon: President and CEO, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
• Jim McNerney: Former Chairman, President, and CEO, Boeing.
• Elon Musk: Chairman and CEO, SpaceX and Tesla.
• Indra Nooyi: Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo.
• Adebayo “Bayo” Ogunlesi: Chairman and Managing Partner, Global Infrastructure Partners.
• Ginni Rometty: Chairman, President, and CEO, IBM.
• Kevin Warsh: Shepard Family Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Economics, Hoover Institute, Former Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
• Mark Weinberger: Global Chairman and CEO, EY.
• Jack Welch, Former Chairman and CEO, General Electric.
• Daniel Yergin: Pulitzer Prize-winner, Vice Chairman of IHS Markit.
Some of the members opposed Trump’s candidacy
Donald Trump said his administration was going to work together with the private sector to improve the business climate and make it attractive for firms which would create new jobs across the country.
Many of the names in the member list of the Forum had previously expressed their opposition to Trump’s presidential candidacy and potential administration, but they are now keen on being in the mix to influence the country any way they can.
Not surprisingly, personal interests may also play a role in some of the executives participating in the council board.
Elon Musk, for example, endorsed Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign but has now a newly-merged alternative energy company to push forward, and Trump’s views on climate change might get in the way of his objectives.
Uber’s Kalanick also has reasons to be there. Since the CEO of the digital ride-hailing company is expanding to include driverless tech in its services, it may serve him to have the President’s ear to lessen regulations that could fasten the project.
The Forum will meet at the White House for their first session in the first week of February.
Source: The Trump-Pence Transition Team
