Claude G.B. Fontheim
Chief Executive Officer
Claude Fontheim is the CEO of business consultancy Fontheim International, LLC; Board Chair, GlobalWorks Foundation; Co-Founder and Senior Advisor, American Leadership Initiative; Board Executive Committee, Center for International Private Enterprise; Board Member NewDEAL Forum.
Mr. Fontheim was among the first practitioners in the field now known as ESG (environment, society & governance) and has long been involved in the development and implementation of U.S. international trade policy and legislation. He has also long advised global businesses, civil society organizations, government officials, and Presidential and congressional campaigns regarding international trade, human rights, global development, and foreign policy matters.
Mr. Fontheim’s extensive nonprofit activities include service on the following boards of directors and advisory boards:
Co-Founder and Senior Advisor: American Leadership Initiative works with policy makers, and thought leaders from business, civil society, and think tanks to develop new policy strategies in global technology, trade, aid, and foreign policy.
Member, Board of Directors: NewDEAL Forum supports outstanding center-left state and local elected officials in the United States through education and professional development programs.
Member, Board of Directors: Center for International Private Enterprise, a core institution of the National Endowment for Democracy and an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce.
Chair, Board of Directors: GlobalWorks Foundation provides capacity building, training and thought leadership regarding business and human rights.
Founding Chair, Advisory Council and former board Chair, human rights organization GoodWeave International founded by Nobel Laureatt Kailash Satyarthi.
Member, Advisory Board of the University of Michigan – Michigan in Washington Program where he and his family have endowed a scholarship for students who would otherwise be unable to afford participation.
Mr. Fontheim has been leading a seminar at Princeton University’s annual Business Today seminar series.
Mr. Fontheim served previously on the President’s Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations, as well as the advisory committees on Africa for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and on international economic policy for the State Department. He was also a partner in a global law firm, served on the board of the Alliance to End Hunger, and has been politically active for many years.
Mr. Fontheim received his J.D., M.P.P., and B.A. from the University of Michigan where he graduated with High Honors, High Distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, and was Managing Editor of the University of Michigan’s publication Transnational Legal Problems of Refugees.