Michael S. Ansari, USMC (Hon.)
Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Michael S. Ansari, an industrialist for over 30 years, founded M.I.C. Industries, Inc. in 1981 and has served as its Chairman, President and CEO since its inception. M.I.C. has reached Inc. magazine's list of America's 500 fastest growing companies, and it continues to surpass industry standards and has grown to be the global leader in industrial manufacturing of its kind.

Prior to M.I.C., Mr. Ansari owned other manufacturing and trading companies.

In addition to M.I.C., in the 1990's, Mr. Ansari in partnership with General Alexander Haig, former U.S. Secretary of State, formed US-CIS Ventures, Inc. in order to help and participate in the developmental programs of some of the countries in central Asia . He was a principal and a major participant in the development of oil and gas pipeline concepts between central Asian and European countries. For a period of time, he was the United States Honorary Consul for Turkmenistan and was a member of President Bush's OPIC Investment Mission delegation overseas.

In his industrial and commercial activities, Mr. Ansari combines his decades of experience in the global business community with his bipartisan political relationships. His political partners, colleagues, and associates in the United States have included former U.S. Presidential Chiefs of Staff, National Security Advisors, Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries of Defense and State, who served in the administrations of Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and George W. Bush. He completed his higher education in political science at Ohio State University and in business at Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Program and is a recipient of the prestigious United States Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Other past receipients of this medal include six United States Presidents, Walter Cronkite, Muhammad Ali, Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, Henry Kissinger, and Bob Hope.

The Honorable William S. Cohen
Chairman of the Board of Advisors

William S. Cohen was the 20th Secretary of Defense of the United States. Prior to his tenure as Secretary of Defense, Mr. Cohen served three terms in the U.S. Senate and three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, from the state of Maine.

General H. Hugh Shelton, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Vice Chairman of the Board of Advisors

Prior to joining M.I.C. Industries, General Shelton was the 14th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States Armed Forces. In that capacity, he served as the principal military advisor to the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense and the National Security Council.

General Anthony C. Zinni, USMC (Ret.)

General Anthony C. Zinni was Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command prior to his retirement in July 2000. In addition to his close work with M.I.C., he is Senior Advisor to the Henry Dunant Center for Humanitarian Dialogue as well as to Center for Strategic and International Studies and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Honorable Richard L. Armitage
Special Assistant to the Chairman
& Member of the Board of Advisors

The Honorable Richard L. Armitage's stellar and distinguished government service has spanned 30 years. Most recently the Deputy Secretary of State, Mr. Armitage also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia and Pacific Affairs; Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs; Presidential Special Negotiator and mediator for the Philippines and the Middle East; and President Bush's Special Emissary to Jordan 's King Hussein during the 1991 Gulf War.

Mrs. Ruth Rabb

Mrs. Ruth Rabb, a graduate of Radcliffe College, has worked in the fields of child development, drug rehabilitation and social services. Mrs. Rabb helped found Polimoda, an affiliate of the Fashion Institute of Technology of New York, in Florence, Italy. She serves on the International Advisory Board of Auburn University and is a trustee of John Cabot University in Rome. She also serves on the board of the Friends of the Cardinal Cooke Inner-City Scholarship Fund (ICSF in New York) and is involved in various humanitarian activities.

Ms. Susan Eisenhower

Susan Eisenhower is Chairman of The Eisenhower Institute (EI), where she had previously served as president and "architect" of the Institute's foreign and security studies. Over the last eighteen years, she has become best known for her work in Russia and the former Soviet Union and she contributes to security topics, with a special emphasis on nuclear and space issues. Ms. Eisenhower came to the policy field from the business community where she continues to consult for Fortune 500 US companies on international business and political matters.

Mr. Ben Gazzara

For generations, Mr. Ben Gazzara has offered international audiences insight into the human condition through his portrayal of compelling characters in such films as “Killing a Chinese Bookie,” “Husband,” “Saint Jack,” and “Anatomy of a Murder” and in the theatre productions of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “A Hatful of Rain”. Mr. Gazzara also won an Emmy Award for his role as best supporting actor in HBO’s film “Hysterical Blindness.”

General Charles E. Wilhelm, USMC (Ret.)

General Charles E. Wilhelm served as Commander in Chief of the United States Southern Command prior to his retirement in September 2000. In addition to his business activities, he continues to provide strategic advisory services to the United States military.