Wilbur Ross U.S. Secretary of Commerce

Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence as 39th Secretary of Commerce on February 28, 2017.  Secretary Ross will be the principal voice of business in the Trump Administration, ensuring U.S. entrepreneurs and businesses have the tools they need to create jobs and economic opportunity. 

Secretary Ross is the former Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer of WL Ross & Co. LLC and has over 55 years of investment banking and private equity experience.  Mr. Ross has restructured over $400 billion of assets in the airline, apparel, auto parts, banking, beverage, chemical, credit card, electric utility, food service, furniture, gypsum, home-building, insurance, marine transport, mortgage origination and servicing, oil and gas, rail car manufacturing and leasing, real estate, restaurants, shipyards, steel, textiles, and trucking industries.  He has been chairman or lead director of more than 100 companies operating in more than 20 different countries. 

Named by Bloomberg Markets as one of the 50 most influential people in global finance, Mr. Ross is the only person elected to both the Private Equity Hall of Fame and the Turnaround Management Hall of Fame.  He previously served as privatization advisor to New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the board of the U.S.-Russia Investment Fund.  President Kim Dae-jung awarded Mr. Ross a medal for helping South Korea during its financial crisis and, in November 2014, the Emperor of Japan awarded him The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star.

As a philanthropist, Secretary Ross recently served as Chairman of the Japan Society, Trustee of the Brookings Institution and Chairman of its Economic Studies Council, the International Board of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the Blenheim Foundation, the Magritte Museum in Brussels, and the Palm Beach Civic Association.  He was also an Advisory Board Member of Yale University School of Management.

Secretary Ross is a graduate of Yale University and of Harvard Business School (with distinction).  He and his wife Hilary Geary Ross have four children, Jessica Ross, Amanda Ross, Ted Geary, and Jack Geary.

Nelson Peltz CEO & Founding Partner, Trian Partners

Nelson Peltz is Chief Executive Officer and a founding partner of Trian Fund Management, L.P. (“Trian”). Mr. Peltz, along with Peter May and Ed Garden, founded Trian in November 2005. Trian invests in under-performing and undervalued public companies and then works constructively with the management and Boards of Directors of those companies to create shareholder value through a combination of strategic re-direction, improved operational execution, more efficient capital allocation and stronger focus. 

Mr. Peltz serves as the non-executive Chairman of The Wendy’s Company. Mr. Peltz is also a director of Mondelēz International, Inc., Sysco Corporation, and The Madison Square Garden Company. He previously served as a director of H. J. Heinz Company from September 2006 to June 2013, Legg Mason, Inc. from October 2009 to December 2014 and Ingersoll-Rand plc from August 2012 to June 2014. Mr. Peltz was recognized by The National Association of Corporate Directors in 2010, 2011 and 2012 as among the most influential people in the global corporate governance arena. From April 1993 through June 2007, Mr. Peltz served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Triarc Companies, Inc. which during that period of time owned Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc. and the Snapple Beverage Group, as well as other consumer and industrial businesses. 

Mr. Peltz was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and a director of Triangle Industries, Inc. from 1983 until December 1988, the largest packaging company in the world and a Fortune 100 industrial company, when that company was acquired by Pechiney, S.A., a leading international metals and packaging company. Mr. Peltz began his business career in 1963 when he joined his family food business. 

Mr. Peltz is Honorary Co-Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Weill Cornell Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences, a member of the Intrepid Advisory Council, a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Intrepid Museum Foundation and an Advisor and a member of the Executive Council of No Labels. 

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Mr. Peltz attended The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. 

Irene Rosenfeld Chairman & CEO, Mondelēz International

Irene is Chairman and CEO of Mondelēz International, the global snacking powerhouse launched following her decision to spin-off of the company’s North American grocery operations in October 2012. Creating delicious moments of joy in 165 countries, Mondelēz International (NASDAQ: MDLZ), with 2015 net revenue of approximately $30 billion, is a world leader in biscuits, chocolate, gum, candy and powdered beverages, with billion-dollar brands such as Oreo, LU and Nabisco biscuits; Cadbury, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Milka chocolate; and Trident gum.

Since returning to Kraft Foods, the predecessor to Mondelēz International, in June 2006 as CEO and then Chairman in March 2007, Irene has changed the face, footprint and prospects of the company by reinvigorating iconic brands, transforming the portfolio into high-growth snacks categories, strengthening the company’s presence in emerging markets and aggressively improving margins.

The Financial Times, Fortune and Forbes have repeatedly ranked Irene on their lists of the “Top 50 Women in Global Business,” “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” and as one of the world’s “100 Most Powerful Women.”

Irene holds a Ph.D. in Marketing and Statistics, an M.S. in Business Administration and a B.A. in Psychology – all from Cornell University. She is active in a number of industry and community organizations, including The Economic Club of Chicago, the Board of the Consumer Goods Forum and The Business Council.

Michael White Fmr Chairman, President & CEO, DIRECTV

Michael D. White is a former chairman, president, CEO, and director of DIRECTV. White also has served as chairman and CEO of PepsiCo International; as president and CEO of PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East; as VP of planning, SVP, and CFO for PepsiCo. Inc.; as EVP and CFO for Pepsi-Cola Co. worldwide; and as EVP and CFO of Frito-Lay International. Earlier in his career, White was an SVP at Avon Products Inc., and a management consultant at Bain & Co. and Arthur Andersen & Co. Mr. White is a member of the boards of directors for Bank of America, Whirlpool, and a Trustee of Boston College.  He is an advisory partner for Trian Fund Management LP.

Dr. David Martin Founder & CEO, M-CAM International

Dr David Martin is, as Buckminster Fuller once wrote, “not a thing – a noun… but a verb, an evolutionary process – an integral function of the universe.” For three decades, David has built economic, business, social and philosophical models that don’t fight the existing reality but make prevailing models obsolete. From public policy to innovation; from banking to breaking bread with friends and strangers; from the laboratory to the rainforest; his work evidences a relentless commitment to engaging humanity and the ecosystem with dignity and liberty. Together with his colleagues at M·CAM®, he embodies integral engagement from grassroots to global.

Founder and Chairman of M·CAM®, Dr. Martin has served as the Senior Advisor for over 128 countries throughout the OECD on matters of finance, trade, and technology procurement, as well as working with Allied Intelligence Operations for nearly 30 years.

Rick Ledgett Fmr Deputy Director, National Security Agency Cyber Expert, The Cipher Brief

Rick Ledgett served as the Deputy Director of the National Security Agency from January 2014 until his retirement in April 2017, culminating a nearly 40 year career in cryptology at NSA and in the U.S. Army. He previously led the Media Leaks Task Force, the Agency’s response to the Snowden leaks. He was the first National Intelligence Manager for Cyber at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and he directed NSA’s 24/7 cyber threat operations center.

Mark Kelton  Fmr Deputy Director for Counterintelligence, CIA National Clandestine Service National Security Expert, The Cipher Brief

Mark Kelton is currently Director of Threat Insider Solutions at Cipher Systems, LLC. Kelton is a retired senior Central Intelligence Agency executive with 34 years of experience in intelligence operations.  He completed his career in 2015 after serving as Deputy Director of the National Clandestine Service for Counterintelligence.  Mr. Kelton’s distinguished career includes sixteen years of overseas service, to include four assignments in key CIA field leadership positions.

Jim Cramer Host, Mad Money with Jim Cramer Co-Anchor, Squawk on the Street, CNBC

Jim Cramer believes there is always a bull market somewhere, and he wants to help you find it. He is host of CNBC's Mad Money, featuring lively guest interviews, viewer calls and most important, the unmatched, fiery opinions of Cramer himself. He serves as the viewer's personal guide through the confusing jungle of Wall Street investing—navigating through both opportunities and pitfalls with one goal in mind—to help them make money. 

Cramer is also co-anchor of the 9 a.m. ET hour of CNBC's Squawk on the Street and the founder of TheStreet, a multimedia provider of financial commentary.

He graduated from Harvard College where he was president and editor-in-chief of the prestigious daily, The Harvard Crimson. After graduation, he became a reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat and later for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, where he covered stories ranging from homicides to sporting events.

Cramer is a former hedge fund manager and founder/owner and senior partner of Cramer Berkowitz. His compounded rate of return was 24 percent after all fees for 14 years at Cramer Berkowitz. He retired from his hedge fund in 2001, where he finished with one of the best records in the business, including having 36 percent-plus year in 2000.

He helped Steve Brill launch American Lawyer magazine before attending Harvard Law School and earning a law degree. Upon graduating and passing the New York State Bar Examination and being admitted to the N.Y. State Bar, Cramer joined Goldman Sachs in sales and trading. While at Goldman, Cramer wrote for The New Republic about stock market issues.

In December 2013, he published the book, Jim Cramer's Get Rich Carefully, in which he creates a guide to high-yield, low-risk investing. Cramer is also the author of Jim Cramer's Getting Back to Even, Stay Mad for Life: Get Rich, Stay Rich, Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich, Jim Cramer's RealMoney and Confessions of a Street Addict.

Sara Eisen Co-Anchor, Squawk on the Street Co-Anchor, Worldwide Exchange, CNBC

Sara Eisen joined CNBC in December 2013 as a correspondent focusing on the global consumer. She is co-anchor of the 10AM ET hour of CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" (M-F, 9AM-11AM ET), broadcast from Post 9 at the New York Stock Exchange.

In January 2016, Eisen was named co-anchor of CNBC's "Worldwide Exchange" (M-F, 5AM-6AM ET), which broadcasts from CNBC Global Headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J.

Previously, Eisen was co-anchor of "Bloomberg Surveillance" as well as a correspondent for Bloomberg Television, where she covered global macroeconomics, policy and business. During that time, she covered the European debt crisis, the tsunami aftermath and Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan.

Prior to Bloomberg Television, she hosted the Bloomberg Radio program, "On the Economy." She is the editor of "Currencies After the Crash: The Uncertain Future of the Global Paper-Based Currency System" published by McGraw-Hill in Jan. 2013.

Eisen holds a master's degree in broadcast journalism with a concentration in business reporting from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

Becky Quick Co-Anchor, Squawk Box Anchor, On the Money, CNBC

Becky Quick is co-anchor of "Squawk Box" (M-F, 6AM-9AM ET). Quick is also anchor of the nationally syndicated "On the Money."

Quick is known for her hard-hitting interviews and profiles of some of the world's richest and most influential investors, including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Alan Greenspan, T. Boone Pickens, Jamie Dimon, Charlie Munger and many others. She also has interviewed three U.S. presidents and has hosted panels at some of the most prestigious conferences in the world such as the Microsoft CEO Conference, Fortune's Most Powerful Women's Conference and the Allen & Co. Sun Valley Media Conference. Quick also authors a regular column for Fortune magazine as well as contributes to CNBC.com.

Previously, Quick, a seven-year veteran of The Wall Street Journal, covered the Wall Street beat for CNBC as part of the network's partnership with Dow Jones.

Prior to joining CNBC in February 2001, Quick covered various beats for The Wall Street Journal, including retail, e-commerce and the Internet. She also played a crucial role in the launch of The Wall Street Journal Online, while serving as the site's International news editor.

She graduated from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., and previously served on the board of The Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

Carl Quintanilla Co-Anchor, Squawk on the Street Co-Anchor, Squawk Alley, CNBC

Carl Quintanilla is an Emmy Award-winning reporter and one of the principal anchors of CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" (M-F, 9AM-11AM ET), broadcast live from the New York Stock Exchange. In May 2014, Quintanilla was also named anchor of CNBC's "Squawk Alley" (M-F, 11AM-12PM ET).

Since joining the network in 1999, Quintanilla has covered a wide range of stories for both CNBC and NBC News, where he was a New York- and Chicago-based correspondent. He has covered the Beijing and London Olympics, the reconstruction of post-war Iraq and the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign. In 2005, he spent weeks in New Orleans as part of NBC's team coverage of Hurricane Katrina, for which he shared a national Emmy, an RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award and broadcast's highest honor, the Peabody Award.

Quintanilla has reported one-hour documentaries for the network including, "The New High: Extreme Sports," "#TwitterRevolution," "The Costco Craze: Inside the Warehouse Giant," "BMW: A Driving Obsession," "Big Mac: Inside the McDonald's Empire," "Trash Inc.: The Secret Life of Garbage" and "The Money Chase: Inside Harvard Business School." He is also the correspondent for the CNBC series "Crime Inc."

Prior to joining NBC, Quintanilla spent six years as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal.

Quintanilla earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Colorado.

Suzanne Kelly CEO & Publisher, The Cipher Brief

Suzanne Kelly is CEO and Publisher of The Cipher Brief (www.thecipherbrief.com), a national security-focused media company with more than 75 security-related experts and more than 900 global contributors. Prior to founding The Cipher Brief, Kelly was the Intelligence Correspondent for CNN, where she co-founded, co-developed and served as co-editor of CNN's national security website. As she moved into the private sector, Kelly founded and launched AragornCo, a boutique consulting and strategy agency working for clients operating in the national security space. Her first book, 'Master of War: Blackwater USA's Erik Prince and the Business of War', published by (Harper) Collins in 2009, offered the only inside look at the rise and fall of private security contractor Blackwater. She spent nine years working as a news anchor for CNN International based in both Atlanta, Georgia and Berlin, Germany for a series of news programs broadcast live around the world, including a morning news program broadcast live throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. She also worked as a war correspondent in Kosovo and Macedonia.