The Aspen Institute

Michael Froman is President of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He previously served as Vice Chairman and President, Strategic Growth, at Mastercard; Chairman of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth; and as a Distinguished Fellow at CFR. From June 2013 to January 2017, Ambassador Froman served in President Barack Obama’s Cabinet as U.S. Trade Representative. Major initiatives under his leadership included the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the Trade Promotion Authority, the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the Generalized System of Preferences program, and the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act. From January 2009 to June 2013, Ambassador Froman served as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs, Sherpa for the G-20, G-8, and APEC summits, and Chair of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, the Transatlantic Economic Council, the U.S.-India CEO Forum; and the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum. Prior to the Obama administration, Ambassador Froman worked at Citigroup, including as CEO of its international insurance business, COO of its alternative investments business, and head of its infrastructure investment business. During the Clinton administration, Ambassador Froman served as a senior official in the Department of the Treasury, National Security Council, and National Economic Council. Ambassador Froman received a bachelor’s degree in public and international affairs from Princeton University, a doctorate in international relations from Oxford University, and a law degree from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.