GE Africa CEO, Farid Fezoua Appointed as Co-Chair of U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa

Farid Fezoua, President & CEO, GE 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; Farid Fezoua, President and Chief Executive Officer, GE Africa, Washington, D.C.; Frank Mosier, Chief Executive Officer, Rendeavour, Inc., New York, New York and other industry eggheads.

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."