Council of the Americas - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Council of the Americas is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

business organization whose goal is promoting free trade, democracy and open markets throughout the Americas. This includes Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

and the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

, as well as South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. Its members share a common commitment to economic and social development, open markets, the rule of law, and democracy throughout the Western Hemisphere. The Council's membership consists of leading international companies representing a broad spectrum of sectors, including banking and finance, consulting services, consumer products, energy and mining, manufacturing, media, technology, and transportation.

History

The group was founded in 1965 by David Rockefeller

David Rockefeller

David Rockefeller, Sr. is the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family. He is the youngest and only surviving child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the only surviving grandchild of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. His five siblings were...

and a group of like-minded business people, based on the fundamental belief that free markets and private enterprise offer the most effective means to achieve regional economic growth and prosperity. Since that time, membership has grown to over 200 blue chip companies that represent the majority to the U.S. private investment in Latin America.

The Council Today

The Council regularly hosts presidents, cabinet ministers, central bankers, government officials, and leading experts from across the Americas in economics, politics, business, and finance. This practice affords it unique access to information and insights into the evolution of the entire region.

The Council of the Americas argues that free markets and private enterprise offer the most effective means to achieve regional economic growth and prosperity. It has been an ardent supporter of free trade agreements and has been instrumental in the conception of the North American Free Trade Agreement

North American Free Trade Agreement

The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...

(NAFTA) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), both of which have been heavily promoted by David Rockefeller.

The Council has also campaigned for Trade Promotion Authority, usually referred to as "fast track", which gives the president of the US authority to negotiate trade agreements that cannot be amended by Congress, and are voted on as only 'yes' or 'no'. In effect from 1975 to 1994 – during which time it resulted in NAFTA – it was restored in 2002 by the US Trade Promotion Authority Act

Trade Act of 2002

The Trade Act of 2002 granted the President of the United States the authority to negotiate trade deals with other countries and gives Congress the approval to only vote up or down on the agreement, not to amend it. This authority is sometimes called fast track authority, since it is thought to...

.

Mack McLarty

Mack McLarty

Thomas F. "Mack" McLarty III is a prominent Arkansas business and political leader and former White House Chief of Staff for US President Bill Clinton...

, chief of staff for Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

, was a crucial liaison of the Council to the Clinton administration. He also served as Clinton's "special envoy to the Americas," in which capacity he was a key mover and shaker in the creation of NAFTA and the yet to be implemented Free Trade Area of the Americas

Free Trade Area of the Americas

The Free Trade Area of the Americas , , ) was a proposed agreement to eliminate or reduce the trade barriers among all countries in the Americas but Cuba. In the last round of negotiations, trade ministers from 34 countries met in Miami, United States, in November 2003 to discuss the proposal...

(FTAA), which originated from David Rockefeller. McLarty was a top official at the 1994 Miami Summit of the Americas which laid the groundwork for this Trade bloc.

Current Elite Corporate Member

As of Nov 22, 2010

AEI Services
Aeropuertos Argentina 2000
Archer Daniels Midland Company
Arcos Dorados S.A.
Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
Barrick Gold Corporation
BNY Mellon
Bridas Corporation
Bridas Corporation
Bridas Corporation is an independent oil and gas holding company based in Argentina. Since March 2010 it is 50% owned by China National Offshore Oil Corporation.-Operations:...
Brightstar Corporation
Brightstar Corporation
Brightstar Corp, founded in 1997, is a U.S. based privately held corporation that provides logistical services and supply chain management within the wireless telecommunications industry. The company's headquarters is located in suburban unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida in Miami, Florida...
Bunge Limited
Bunge Limited
Bunge Limited is a Bermudan food conglomerate with its headquarters in White Plains, New York. As well as being a leading global soybean exporter it is also involved in food processing, grain trading, and fertilizer...
CA Technologies
CF Industries
CF Industries
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. is a North American manufacturer and distributor of agricultural fertilizers, based in Deerfield, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago....
Chartis
Chartis
Chartis , is a division of AIG in the process of being spun off, formerly referred to as the 'Property Casualty Insurance' part of AIG...
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
Citigroup
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational energy corporation with its headquarters located in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas in the United States...
Corporación Multi Inversiones
Corporación Multi Inversiones
Corporación Multi Inversiones is a multinational agro-industrial corporation based in Guatemala. The firm was originally founded as a family business by Juan Bautista Gutierrez in the 1920s, and according to an article in El Diario de Hoy, one of the largest circulating newspapers in El Salvador,...
Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse
The Credit Suisse Group AG is a Swiss multinational financial services company headquartered in Zurich, with more than 250 branches in Switzerland and operations in more than 50 countries.-History:...
DHL Global Forwarding
DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...

Latin America
Duke Energy
Duke Energy
Duke Energy , headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is an energy company with assets in the United States, Canada and Latin America.-Overview:...

International
Eton Park Capital Management
Eton Park Capital Management
Eton Park Capital Management is a hedge fund, founded in November 2004 by former Goldman Sachs partner Eric Mindich. While at Goldman, he was a senior member of the investment bank's Principal Strategies group....
Exxon Mobil Corporation
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
Freeport-McMoRan
Freeport-McMoRan
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., often called simply Freeport, is the world's lowest-cost copper producer and one of the world's largest producers of gold...
General Electric Company
General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

Latin America, Africa and Middle East
Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
Greenberg Traurig
Greenberg Traurig
Greenberg Traurig LLP and Greenberg Traurig PA is an international law firm based in Miami, Florida.The firm has approximately 1,800 attorneys and governmental professionals in 32 locations in the United States, Europe and Asia. Its founding office is in Miami, Florida with its largest office in...
Grupo Salinas
Grupo Salinas
Grupo Salinas is a Group formed by several companies focused on many different sectors. Grupo Salinas started as a retail store, but since Ricardo Salinas Pliego, its current President took over the company, Grupo Salinas began to diversify....
HBO Latin America
HSBC
HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...

Securities (USA) Inc.
IBM Corporation
IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones, S.A.
J.P.Morgan
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company is listed among the Fortune 500....
Latham & Watkins
Latham & Watkins
Latham & Watkins LLP is a global law firm, one of the largest in the world. Latham currently employs approximately 2,000 attorneys in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm was started in Los Angeles in 1934 and has extensive Californian roots, but its largest office is now...
Manpower Inc.
McDonald's Corporation
MeadWestvaco Corporation
Mercantil Servicios Financieros
Merck & Co.
Merck & Co.
Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The Merck headquarters is located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated area in Readington Township...
MetLife
Microsoft Corporation
NEC
News Corp/Fox
PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
Pfizer
Pfizer
Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
Philip Morris International, Inc.
Safra Asset Management
Shearman & Sterling
Shearman & Sterling
Shearman & Sterling LLP is a law firm headquartered in New York City with 20 offices located in major financial centers around the world founded in 1873. It is well known for both its litigation and transactional capabilities, especially in International Arbitration, Capital Markets, Finance, and...
Shell International
Sullivan & Cromwell
Sullivan & Cromwell
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is an international law firm headquartered in New York. The firm has approximately 800 lawyers in 12 offices, located in financial centers in the United States, Asia, Australia and Europe. Sullivan & Cromwell was founded by Algernon Sydney Sullivan and William Nelson...
Telefónica
Telefónica
Telefónica, S.A. is a Spanish broadband and telecommunications provider in Europe and Latin America. Operating globally, it is the third largest provider in the world...

Internacional USA, Inc.
The AES Corporation
AES Corporation
AES Corporation is a Fortune 500 company that generates and distributes electrical power. The company was founded on January 28, 1981, as Applied Energy Services by Roger Sant from the US Federal Energy Administration and Dennis Bakke from the Office of Management and Budget. AES Corporation is...
The Coca-Cola Company
Travelport
Wal-Mart Stores
White & Case
White & Case
White & Case was founded in New York in 1901 and has grown into one of the world's leading global law firms. The firm has since expanded, and has practice groups in emerging markets including Latin America, Central & Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, as well as in Europe...

Other Members

As of Nov 22, 2010

ACE Group
Akerman, Senterfitt
Alcatel-Lucent
American Express Company
Amgen, Inc.
AméricaEconomía
Andes Energia plc
Avon Products, Inc.
Banco Bradesco S.A.
Banco de Chile
Banco de la Nación Argentina
Banco Latinoamericano de Exportaciones, S.A. (Bladex)
Banco Santander
Baxter
BBVA Bloomberg
BNP Paribas
Bulltick Capital Markets
Bureau Veritas Group
Burson-Marsteller
Business News Americas
Cargill, Incorporated
Caterpillar Inc.
Celulosa Arauco y Constitución (Arauco)
Chadbourne & Parke
Chadbourne & Parke
Chadbourne & Parke LLP, founded in 1902 by Thomas L. Chadbourne, currently has some 400 lawyers and tax advisors in 13 offices in ten countries...

LLP
Chiquita Brands International, Inc.
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Cisneros Group of Companies
Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP
Colgate-Palmolive Company
Colombian Coffee Federation, Inc.
Conduit Capital Partners, LLC
Continental Grain Company
Covington and Burling LLP
Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP
Damco Latin America
Deloitte LLP
Deutsche Bank
Diageo plc
Digicel
Discovery Communications
DLA Piper LLP
Eastman Chemical Latin America, Inc.
Edenor S.A.
Eli Lilly and Company
Embraer
Empresas CMPC S.A.
ENI Americas
Ernst & Young LLP
European InterAmerican Finance, LLC
FedEx Express
Financial Times
Fintech Advisory, Inc.
Fitch Ratings
Fluor
FTI Consulting, Inc.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Grupo Televisa, S.A.B.
Hamburg Sud
Hewlett-Packard Company
Hughes, Hubbard & Reed LLP
Industrias Arfel S.A.
Intelsat
InterContinental Hotels Group
International Minerals Corporation
ISI Emerging Markets
Itaú Unibanco Holdings S.A.
Japan Bank for International Cooperation
Japan External Trade Organization
Kansas City Southern
Kraft Foods International, Inc.
Kroll, Inc.
LAN Argentina S.A.
Latin Trade Magazine
Libra Capital US, Inc.
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
Mapfre
MasterCard Worldwide
Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. e Quiroga Advogados
MBA Lazard
McLarty Associates
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
Mitsubishi International Corporation
Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd.
Moksha8
Monsanto Company
Mosbacher Energy Company
Mylan Inc.
Nestlé S.A.
New York Life
Nokia
Novartis Corporation
Occidental Petroleum Corporation
Panedile Argentina, S.A.
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras
Pluspetrol
PODER Magazine
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Raytheon Company
Research In Motion - (RIM)
Ryder System, Inc.
Sempra Energy International
Sesame Workshop
SICPA Product Security LLC
Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom LLP
Sojitz Corporation of America
Standard & Poor's
Standard Bank
Standard Chartered Bank
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Swiss Re Financial Services Corporation
Taino Network Systems, Inc.
TATA Consultancy Services
TATA Sons Ltd.
Techint Inc.
Temasek Holdings
The Albright Stonebridge Group
The Bank of Nova Scotia
The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.
The Boeing Company
The Procter & Gamble Company
The Rohatyn Group
The Western Union Company
Thompson & Knight LLP
Toyota Motor Corporation
Tyco Electronics
Tyco International Ltd.
UBS AG
UPS
Vale
Visa International
VT Systems, Inc.
Wendy's Arby's Group (WAG)
WYSE Technology Inc.
Xela Enterprises Ltd.
Zemi Communications, LLC

Board of directors

Honorary Chairman: David Rockefeller
David Rockefeller
David Rockefeller, Sr. is the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family. He is the youngest and only surviving child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the only surviving grandchild of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. His five siblings were...
Chairman: William R. Rhodes
William R. Rhodes
William R. "Bill" Rhodes is the Senior Vice Chairman of Citi. and the Chairman of Citigroup and Citibank.He is also Chairman of the Board of both the Americas Society and its affiliate, the Council of the Americas, which were originally founded by David Rockefeller in 1965, and is a board member of...

Notable directors include:

A. Bermudez
- President & Chief Executive Officer, Commercial Business Group, Citibank
  Citibank
  Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...
  
  Texas, N.A.
Stephen E. Biegun
- Corporate Officer and Vice President of International Government Affairs, Ford Motor Company
  Ford Motor Company
  Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
Nestor T. Carbonell
- Vice President, International Public Affairs, PepsiCo
  PepsiCo
  PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
Terrence J. Checki
- Executive Vice President & Head, Emerging Markets, and International Affairs Group, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
  Federal Reserve Bank of New York
  The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is located at 33 Liberty Street, New York, NY. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses New York state, the 12 northern counties of New Jersey,...
Edward T. Cloonan
- Vice President, International and Corporate Affairs, American International Group, Inc.
Juan Fernández-Oliva
- General Manager, Latin America, IBM
  IBM
  International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
  
  Global Services
Andreas Fibig
- Regional President-Latin America, PGP, Pfizer, Inc
Sergio J. Galvis
- Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell
  Sullivan & Cromwell
  Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is an international law firm headquartered in New York. The firm has approximately 800 lawyers in 12 offices, located in financial centers in the United States, Asia, Australia and Europe. Sullivan & Cromwell was founded by Algernon Sydney Sullivan and William Nelson...
Craig Herkert
- President &Chief Executive Officer,The Americas, Wal-Mart
  Wal-Mart
  Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
  
  International
Maureen Kempston Darkes
Maureen Kempston Darkes
Vera Maureen Kempston Darkes, is a Canadian lawyer and automotive executive who is the General Motors Group Vice President; President, GM Latin America, Africa and Middle East; a member of the General Motors Automotive Strategy Board, since January 1, 2002; and holds the highest operating post...
- Group Vice President and President, Latin America, Africa and Middle East, General Motors Corporation
Stuart R. McGill
- Senior Vice President, Exxon Mobil Corporation
Mack McLarty
Mack McLarty
Thomas F. "Mack" McLarty III is a prominent Arkansas business and political leader and former White House Chief of Staff for US President Bill Clinton...

, III
- President, Kissinger McLarty Associates
Marvin Odum
- Executive Vice President, EP Americas, Shell
  Royal Dutch Shell
  Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
  
  International
Brian D. O'Neill
- Managing Director and Chairman, Latin America, JP Morgan Chase
Alixandre Schijman
- Executive Director, Global Policy, Time Warner
  Time Warner
  Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
  
  Inc.
Alexandre G. Silva
- President and CEO, South America, GE
  Gê
  Gê are the people who spoke Ge languages of the northern South American Caribbean coast and Brazil. In Brazil the Gê were found in Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Piaui, Mato Grosso, Goias, Tocantins, Maranhão, and as far south as Paraguay....
  
  Company.

External links