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

Michael S. Ansari is an industrialist and a philanthropist.  He founded M.I.C. Industries, Inc. in 1981 and has served as its Chairman, President and CEO since its inception. M.I.C. reached Inc. magazine's list of America's 500 fastest growing companies in the 1990’s, and it continues to surpass industry standards. M.I.C. 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. 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 and colleagues 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, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush, and President Barack Obama.

Mr. Ansari completed his higher education in political science at Ohio State University and in business at the Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Program. He is a recipient of the prestigious United States Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

In 2005, in the presence of five Marine Generals, Mr. Ansari was bestowed the title of Honorary Marine - the greatest honor in my life - by the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps. He is a recipient of the Commandant’s Leadership Award of the Marine Corps – Law Enforcement Foundation.

In 2008, Mr. Ansari became an Alliance Trustee and a Chairman’s Council Member for America’s Promise Alliance founded by General and Mrs. Colin Powell.  He is a member of the Board of the Atlantic Council of the United States and serves on its Executive Committee. 

In April 2010, as a result of the vision of General Jim Jones, President Obama’s National Security Advisor, and Mr. Ansari, the Michael S. Ansari Africa Center of the Atlantic Council was launched.  The Center is founded on the principle that it is not only a think tank but a do tank.  It provides a forum for strategic analysis and policy recommendations for Africa.  The Ansari Africa Center works under the broad themes of security and prosperity, emphasizing African perspectives. The Center brings together African, European, and U.S. governments and other entities under one roof to share ideas and strategies for better integrated policies.

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 James L. Jones, Jr., USMC (Ret.)
Advisor to the Chairman – Strategic Planning

General James L. Jones was the National Security Advisor to President Obama until 2010. During his military career, he served as the Commander of the U.S. European Command and as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe. General Jones also served as the 32nd Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.  

The Honorable Chuck Hagel
Special Advisor to the Chairman

Chuck Hagel served two terms in the United States Senate from 1997 to 2009, representing the state of Nebraska. He is Co-Chairman of President Obama’s Intelligence Advisory Board and a member of the Secretary of Defense’s Policy Board.

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.

General Pace was the 16th 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, the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council. General Pace was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor a President can bestow.

Mrs. Ruth Rabb, who spent nine years in Italy as the wife of The Honorable Maxwell Rabb, United States Ambassador to Italy, is a graduate of Radcliffe College. She 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.