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November 21, 2024 • 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm est

Careers in Sustainable Startups 

Gender disparities in entrepreneurship are stark. Only one in every three businesses is owned by a woman.

Event • Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Careers in Sustainable Startups 

Thomas E. Donilon

Chairman, BlackRock Investment Institute; Former US National Security Advisor

Biography

Thomas E. Donilon is Chairman of the BlackRock Investment Institute. He served as  National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama. In that capacity Mr. Donilon  oversaw the U.S. National Security Council staff, chaired the cabinet level National  Security Principals Committee, provided the president’s daily national security briefing,  and was responsible for the coordination and integration of the administration’s foreign policy, intelligence, and military efforts. Mr. Donilon also oversaw the White House’s  cybersecurity and international energy efforts. Mr. Donilon served as the President’s  personal emissary to a number of world leaders.

Mr. Donilon previously served as Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy  National Security Advisor. In that role, he was responsible for managing the U.S.  government’s national security policy development and crisis management process.  Mr. Donilon chaired the Obama-Biden transition at the U.S. Department of State. During  the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, Mr. Donilon headed President Obama’s general  election debate preparation effort.

Mr. Donilon chaired the Presidential Commission to Enhance National Cybersecurity.  Mr. Donilon is a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a non resident senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and  International Affairs. He is a member of the Center on Global Energy Policy Advisory  Board at Columbia University, the Aspen Strategy Group, the Brookings Institution Board  of Trustees, and the Trilateral Commission. He has participated in and led numerous  policy groups including Co-Chairing with Governor Mitch Daniels the Council on Foreign  Relations Independent Task Force on Noncommunicable Diseases.

Mr. Donilon has worked with and advised three U.S. presidents since his first position at  the White House in 1977, working with President Carter. He served as assistant  secretary of state and chief of staff at the U.S. Department of State during the Clinton  administration. In this capacity, Mr. Donilon was responsible for the development and  implementation of the department’s major policy initiatives, including NATO expansion,  the Dayton Peace Accords, and the Middle East peace process. Mr. Donilon has  received the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award, the National Intelligence  Distinguished Public Service Medal, the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished  Public Service, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Distinguished Civilian  Service Award, and the CIA’s Director’s Award.

Mr. Donilon received his undergraduate degree from Catholic University and his law  degree from the University of Virginia. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife,  Ambassador Cathy Russell. Ambassador Russell was U.S. Ambassador for Global  Women’s Issues at the State Department from 2013-2017 and currently serves as  UNICEF’s Executive Director.

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