USCIB Celebrates 80 Years of Global Business Leadership at Gala in New York

USCIB celebrated our 80th anniversary at a gala on December 11 at the historic Plaza Hotel in New York. The gala featured keynote remarks from Ambassador Dan Negrea, Representative of the United States to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and a fireside chat with Whitney Baird, President and CEO of USCIB, and Keith Sonderling, United States Deputy Secretary of Labor.

Ambassador Negrea's remarks were fitting given that USCIB was founded in 1945, alongside the United Nations at the end of World War II, to serve as the official representative of US business to the UN. Speaking about UN reform and noting that the United States will host the 2028 Olympics, Ambassador Negrea said that "diplomacy is a team sport… let's go for the gold now in our commercial diplomacy and private sector engagement. At, and through, the UN, together we can ensure this 80-year-old institution advances 21st century American interests and becomes as impactful as the organization we're celebrating here tonight."

Later in the program, Keith Sonderling joined Whitney Baird onstage for a fireside chat to discuss pertinent issues that are of interest to both the US business community and the US government, such as AI, labor, and education.

Earlier that day, Dorothy Attwood, General Counsel, International and Executive Vice President, Global Public Policy and Privacy at The Walt Disney Company, was elected as the new chair of USCIB. Gala attendees heard remarks from Attwood and her predecessor, Eric Loeb, Executive Vice President of Global Government Affairs and Public Policy at Salesforce.

It was an honor to celebrate eight decades of global leadership, advocacy, and collaboration. Here's to a bright future for USCIB!

The evening was made possible by the generous support of USCIB members who sponsored the gala: Amazon, Mastercard, The Walt Disney Company, Bayer, PMI, Meta, SHRM, Salesforce, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, and Ferrero.