Thomas J. Donohue

Thomas J. Donohue has served as president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce since 1997 and established the Chamber's Institute for Legal Reform (ILR).

"Prior to his current post, Donohue served for 13 years as president and chief executive officer of the American Trucking Association, the national organization of the trucking industry. "Donohue serves on three corporate boards of directors. In addition, he is a member of the President's Council on the 21st Century Workforce as well as the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. "Donohue is president of the Center for International Private Enterprise, a program of the National Endowment for Democracy dedicated to the development of market-oriented institutions around the world."

Profiles
Donohue was born 1938 in New York City. He earned a B.A. from St. John’s University and an M.S. in business administration from Adelphi University. He also holds honorary doctorate degrees from Adelphi, St. John’s, and Marymount Universities.

Since his arrival at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1997, the organization has grown immensely, with annual fundraising increasing from approximately $50 to nearly five times that amount. In addition, annual lobbying expenditures have been raised from $17 million to approximately $157 million in 2010. During the 2012 elections, Tom Donohue claimed that his goal for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was to spend $50 million in political advertising.