The Honorable Barbara Hackman Franklin

As the 29th U.S. Secretary of Commerce for President George H.W. Bush, she achieved a major goal – increasing American exports – with emphasis on market-opening initiatives in China, Russia, Japan and Mexico. Her Presidential mission to China in 1992 normalized commercial relations with that country, removed the ban on ministerial contact that the U.S. had imposed following the events at Tiananmen Square in 1989, and brought back $1 billion in signed contracts for American companies. Trade with China grew dramatically in the ensuing years as did foreign investment. In 2016, she was awarded a “Lifetime Achievement Award in US-China Relations” by the US-China Policy Foundation.

Additionally, Franklin has served four terms on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, by appointments of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, and as Alternate Representative to the 44th United Nations General Assembly by appointment of President George H. W. Bush. Altogether, Franklin has served five U.S. Presidents and, in 2006, received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service. In March 2017, TIME Magazine named her one of the “50 Women who Made American Political History”.

Secretary Franklin is chairman emerita of the Economic Club of New York and past president of the Management Executives’ Society. She is a current board member of the U.S.-China Business Council, the National Committee on US-China Relations, the National Museum of American History, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Atlantic Council, and a board member emerita of the Nixon Foundation. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Committee for Economic Development. She was a founding member of Executive Women in Government (EWG) in 1973 and of the Women’s Forum of Washington, DC, in 1981. During the 1980’s, Franklin was a Senior Fellow of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Fresh out of Harvard Business School and prior to joining the White House staff in 1971, Franklin worked at the Singer Company as manager of environmental analysis and at First National City Bank (now Citibank) as assistant vice president. She created and headed the Bank’s first government relations department. Born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Franklin graduated with distinction from the Pennsylvania State University and was one of the first women graduates of the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. Among her many honors, awards, and honorary degrees, she has received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Penn State and the Alumni Achievement Award from Harvard Business School. She was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame in 2013 and into the Financial Executives International Hall of Fame in 2015. She is married to Wallace Barnes, retired chairman and CEO of Barnes Group, Inc. They reside in Washington, DC and Bristol, CT.