AIAC AT YALE CEO SUMMIT IN NEW YORK
For Immediate Release
December 17 - 18, 2024 – New York, NY – L. M. Levie, Chairman of American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC), was among 200 leaders of business, finance, law, media, and government at the 150th Yale CEO Summit, held in New York on December 17 and 18. Led by Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute and held at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in midtown Manhattan, the Yale CEO Caucus was entitled “The Return of the Roaring Twenties – Welcoming 2025 Opportunities with Lessons from 1925.” The event focused on the current political landscape and economic outlook, with a particular emphasis on the Republican sweep of the White House, House of Representatives, and the Senate.
The highlight of the program was the presentation of the Yale Legend in Leadership Award to Larry Fink, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Blackrock and to Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. Arvind Krishna, Chair and CEO of IBM, and Alex Gorsky, Former CEO of Johnson & Johnson, presented the award to Tim Cook. Jane Frazier, CEO of Citigroup, Bob Diamond, Founder and CEO of Atlas Merchant Capital and Former CEO of Barclays, and Greg Fleming, President and CEO of Rockefeller Capital Management and Former President and CEO of Merrill Lynch, presented the award to Larry Fink.
Topics covered in the forum were:
The Return of the Roaring 20’s – Lessons and Legacies From Century-Old Economic Pillars
A Century of Consumer Tastes
A Century of Viewers’ Interests and Media Evolution
Fortifying Security of Leaders, Enterprises, and the US Over the Century
Invention and Obsolescence – Balancing Innovation With Continuity
Manufacturing Across Decades and Continents
Keeping Currency Current For Future Financial Firms
Participants at the Yale CEO Summit included:
Robert Davis, Chair and CEO, Merck
Robert Isom, CEO, American Airlines
Eric Nordstrom, CEO, Nordstrom
Greg Brown, Chair and CEO, Motorola Solutions
July Marks, CEO and President, Otis Worldwide
Richard Dickson, President and CEO, Gap
Robert Hormats, Former Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs International and of Kissinger Associates, Former US Undersecretary of State
Nicholas Pinchuk, Chair and CEO, Snap-On Incorporated
Kay Koplowitz, Founder USA Networks
Jonas Prising, Chair and CEO, Manpower Group
Asutosh Padhi, Global Leader, McKinsey & Co.
Bill George, Former CEO Medtronic, Former Director, Target, Novartis, ExxonMobil, Mayo, Goldman Sachs
Faye Wattleton, Former President of Planned Parenthood, former Director of Estée Lauder Companies, and Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Klaus Kleinfeld, CEO, K2Elevation, Former Chairman and CEO of Alcoa/Arconic and of Siemens
Helena Buannano Foulkes, Former President, CVS Pharmacy, Former President, Harvard University Board of Overseers
John O’Connor, Chair and CEO, JH Whitney Investment Management
Phil Lader, Senior Advisor, Morgan Stanley, Former US Ambassador to the UK, Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant to the President
Courtney O’Malley, President, the Starr Foundation
Robert Simmons, Founder and Chair, STX Entertainment
Dr. Joel Meyers, Founder and Chair, AccuWeather
Mark Penn, Chair and CEO, Stagwell Corporation, former Chief Strategy Officer, Microsoft, and Founder, Penn Shoen Berlind
Jeffrey Solomon, President, TD Cowen
Anthony Scaramucci, Founder and Managing Director, Skybridge
Eileen Murray, Former Chair, FINRA, Former Co-CEO, Bridgewater Associates
Vivek Ramaswamy, Co-Head of Department of Government Efficiency
Eric Rosengren, 13th President, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Penny Pritzker, 38th US Secretary of Commerce, Founder and Chair, PSP Partners
Hon. Douglas Ginsburg, Senior Judge, US Court of Appeals DC Circuit
Jay Clayton, US Attorney Designate for the Southern District of New York, Former Chairman of the SEC
Eric Adams, Mayor, City of New York
Jeh Johnson, Partner, Paul Weiss, Former US Secretary of Homeland Security
John Negroponte, Former US Director of National Intelligence and Deputy Secretary of State
Jessica Sibley, CEO, Time
Morgan Brennan, Anchor, CNBC
Geof Colvin, Editor and Columnist, Fortune
Stephanie Ruhle, Anchor, 11th Hour on MSNBC
Tom Rogers, Founder, MSNBC and CNBC
Joanne Lipman, CNBC Contributor, Former Editor in Chief of USA Today and the Wall Street Journal’s Weekend Journal
Ralph Reed, Founder and Chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, Chairman of Century Strategies, Former Executive Director of Christian Coalition
Joele Frank, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher,
Richard Edelman, CEO, Edelman
Lally Graham Weymouth, Senior Associate Editor, The Washington Post
Steven Brill, Founder, Newsguard, The American Lawyer and Court TV,
Edith Chapin, Editor in Chief, NPR
Almar Latour, CEO, Dow Jones, Publisher, The Wall Street Journal
Andrew Ross Sorkin, Editor, DealBook, New York, Times, Anchor, CNBC
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and National Director, Anti-Defamation League
Mr. Levie remarked, “It was a pleasure to once again reunite with my dear friends at the Yale CEO Summit. This 150th Summit was especially significant, not only as a major milestone for the program but also because it took place just 43 days after a highly consequential national election. The program also occurred only 13 days after the tragic murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, just 32 steps from the site of that crime, a fact that was not lost on anyone present.”
Mr. Levie continued, “As always, the debates were vigorous, candid, and respectful, with conservative, centrist, and progressive perspectives shared. I was impressed and inspired by the remarkable humility and grace shown by both Tim Cook and Larry Fink as they received the Yale Legends in Leadership Award. Tim and Larry have made an astonishing impact, transforming their companies, their industries, and our lives, truly making the world a better place.”
For further information, please see:
https://som.yale.edu/story/2024/yale-chief-executive-leadership-institute-honors-apple-ceo-tim-cook-yale-legend https://som.yale.edu/story/2024/yale-chief-executive-leadership-institute-honors-blackrock-ceo-larry-fink-yale-legend https://time.com/7203755/trump-administration-ceo-hopes/
https://yale.box.com/s/y1u3jaxniimma3x2xz9agqz0k407h3ls
About the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute
The Chief Executive Leadership Institute (CELI) is the pioneer of CEO learning and hosts CEO Summits which bring together top business leaders and policy makers, as well as leading academics, in a unique learning environment that fosters candid, off-the-record exchanges among participants. The Yale Mayors College is a best-practices dialogue among municipal leaders in an off-the-record interactive setting, with participants sharing the steps they are taking to make their cities more livable. The Yale CEO Caucus is a semiannual roundtable for business leaders, political leaders, and scholars to discuss the business implications of urgent national and global events that span economics, diplomacy, security, energy, environment, regulation, and politics. The Yale Higher Education Leadership Summit brings together university presidents and board chairs, along with other top leadership, to discuss the higher education environment and key strategies to shape the future of colleges and universities in the U.S.
CELI is the world’s first school for CEOs, featuring applied research and peer-driven learning through lively exchanges among the world’s top business leaders, influential public policy makers, media opinion leaders, as well as foremost scholarly thought leaders, employing candid, confidential discussions of timely global business leadership challenges and compelling societal concerns.
For further information, please see:
https://som.yale.edu/centers/chief-executive-leadership-institute
About the Yale Legend in Leadership Award
The Yale Legend in Leadership Award was created 35 years ago to honor current and former CEOs who serve as living legends to inspire chief executives across industries, sectors, and nations. Recipients have included the following:
June 2024
Marc Benioff, Founder, Chair & CEO, Salesforce
March 2024
Mike Sievert, President & CEO, T-Mobile
January 2024
Shirley Tilghman, 19th President, Princeton University
December 2023
Ajay Banga, President, World Bank Group
September 2023
Arvind Krishna, Chairman & CEO, IBM Corporation
June 2023
Steven Spielberg, Filmmaker & Chairman of Amblin Partners
March 2023
Kathy Warden, Chair, President & CEO, Northrop Grumman Corporation
January 2023
Hanna Holborn Gray, 10th President, University of Chicago
December 2022
Satya Nadella, Chairman & CEO, Microsoft
June 2022
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine
September 2022
Darius Adamczyk, Chairman & CEO, Honeywell
March 2022
W. Douglas Parker, CEO, American Airlines Group
December 2021
Albert Bourla, Chairman & CEO, Pfizer
Alex Gorsky, Chairman & CEO, Johnson & Johnson
September 2021
Lynn J. Good, CEO, Duke Energy
June 2021
Lisa Su, CEO, Advanced Micro Devices
March 2021
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
December 2020
Doug McMillon, CEO, Walmart Corp.
September 2020
Arne M. Sorenson, CEO, Marriot International
June 2020
Brian C. Cornell, CEO, Target
December 2019
Randall L. Stephenson, CEO, AT&T
September 2019
Colin Powell, Retired Four-Star U.S. Army General; Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989–93), and 65th U.S. Secretary of State (2001–05)
June 2019
Virginia M. (Ginni) Rometty, Chairman, President & CEO, IBM Corporation
March 2019
Janet Yellen, Former Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
December 2018
Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever PLC
September 2018
Mary T. Barra, Chairman and CEO, General Motors Company
June 2018
Brian Moynihan, Chairman & CEO, Bank of America
March 2018
David M. Rubenstein, Co-Founder & Co-Executive Chairman, The Carlyle Group
December 2017
Leonard S. Schleifer, President & CEO, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
George D. Yancopoulos, President & Chief Scientific Officer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
September 2017
Brian L. Roberts, Chairman & CEO, Comcast Corporation
June 2017
Ronald M. Shaich, Founder, Chairman & CEO, Panera Bread
December 2016
Terry J. Lundgren, Chairman & CEO, Macy’s, Inc.
September 2016
Marillyn A. Hewson, Chairman, President & CEO, Lockheed Martin Corporation
June 2016
ZHANG Ruimin, Founder, Chairman & CEO, Haier Group
March 2016
Denise M. Morrison, President & CEO, Campbell Soup Company
December 2015
Kenneth C. Frazier, Chairman, President & CEO, Merck & Co.
September 2015
W. James McNerney, Chairman, The Boeing Company
June 2015
Ian M. Cook, Chairman, President & CEO, Colgate-Palmolive
March 2015
Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman & CEO, Goldman Sachs Group
Prior Winners
Klaus Kleinfeld, Chairman & CEO, Alcoa
JIANG Jianqing, Chairman, ICBC
GAO Xiqing, President & CIO, China Investment Corporation
D. Scott Davis, Chairman, UPS
Frank Blake, former Chairman & CEO, The Home Depot
Duncan L. Niederauer, former CEO, NYSE
Kenneth R. Feinberg, Managing Partner, Feinberg Rozen
Ellen J. Kullman, former Chairman & CEO, DuPont
David Stern, former Commissioner, National Basketball Associate
FU Chengyu, former Chairman, Sinopec
David M. Cote, Chairman & CEO, Honeywell International
Sir James Wolfensohn, Former President, World Bank Group
Jeffrey L. Bewkes, Chairman & CEO, Time Warner Inc.
Indra K. Nooyi, Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo
Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chairman & CEO, General Electric Company
Michael S. Dell, Chairman & CEO, Dell Inc.
Andrew Liveris, Chairman, President & CEO, The Dow Chemical Company
Kenneth Chenault, Chairman & CEO, American Express Company
Myron E. (Mike) Ullman, III, Chairman & CEO, JCPenney Company, Inc.
Alan Mullally, President & CEO, Ford Motor Company
Anne Mulcahy, Chairman, Xerox Corporation
Robert A. Iger, President & CEO, The Walt Disney Company
Ivan G. Seidenberg, Chairman & CEO, Verizon Communications
Jamie Dimon, Chairman & CEO, JPMorgan Chase
Louis V. Gerstner Jr., Former Chairman & CEO, IBM
Richard J. Harrington, Chairman & CEO, The Thomson Corporation
Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman & CEO, The Blackstone Group
Herbert V. Kohler Jr., Chairman, President & CEO, Kohler Company
Thomas G. Stemberg, Founder, Staples
Wilbur L. Ross Jr., Chairman & CEO, W.L. Ross & Company
Terry S. Semel, Chairman & CEO, Yahoo!
Ann M. Fudge, Chairman & CEO, Young & Rubicam
John E. Pepper Jr., Former Chairman & CEO, The Procter & Gamble Co.
Jack Valenti, Chairman & CEO, Motion Picture Association
Kenneth L. Wolfe, Former Chairman & CEO, The Hershey Company
John C. Bogle, Founder, The Vanguard Group
William W. George, Former Chairman & CEO, Medtronic
Roger A. Enrico, Former Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo
Nandan Nilekani, Co-founder, Infosys
Ratan Tata, Tata Group
About Dr. Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld is the Senior Associate Dean for Leadership Programs at Yale University’s School of Management and the Lester Crown Professor in the Practice of Management, as well as the founder, president & chief executive officer of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute. This institute is the world’s first CEO College and is dedicated to the advancement of top leadership education through scholarly research and peer-driven educational forums for prominent CEOs. Previously, he was a professor at the Goizueta Business School of Emory University. There he founded the Center for Leadership & Career Studies, which he ran for eight years. Sonnenfeld also spent ten years as a professor at the Harvard Business School. His research, publications, and consulting address issues of top leadership development, executive succession, and board governance.
For further information, please see:
https://som.yale.edu/faculty-research/faculty-directory/jeffrey-sonnenfeld
About Larry Fink
Larry Fink is the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of BlackRock, Inc., the largest asset management firm in the world. Born on November 2, 1952, in Van Nuys, California, he grew up in a middle-class family and displayed an early interest in finance and business. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, followed by an MBA in Real Estate from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Larry Fink began his career at First Boston, where he was instrumental in developing the mortgage-backed securities market, a financial innovation that transformed modern finance. Despite early successes, he experienced a $100 million loss due to a market miscalculation, a pivotal moment that shaped his commitment to rigorous risk management. This lesson became central to his leadership philosophy.
In 1988, Larry Fink co-founded BlackRock with seven partners, focusing initially on fixed-income asset management. Under his leadership, the firm rapidly expanded to become the world’s largest asset manager, offering a wide array of investment products, including mutual funds, ETFs, and alternative investments. BlackRock’s success is partly attributed to the Aladdin platform, a proprietary risk management and analytics system that underscores Mr. Fink’s dedication to technological innovation and client service.
As a prominent figure in global finance, Larry Fink has influenced corporate governance and sustainability through his annual letters to CEOs, emphasizing the importance of long-term planning, corporate responsibility, and the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles. His advocacy has positioned BlackRock as a leader in sustainable investing and has shaped industry practices worldwide.
Beyond his professional achievements, Larry Fink is deeply committed to philanthropy and community development. He and his wife, Lori, are significant supporters of numerous causes, with a focus on healthcare, education, and poverty alleviation. They have contributed substantially to NYU Langone Health, supporting advancements in medical research and patient care. At UCLA Anderson School of Management, their philanthropy has bolstered educational programs and scholarships. They are also active supporters of the Robin Hood Foundation, which fights poverty in New York City, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, which provides critical resources and mentorship to underserved youth.
In addition to his philanthropic endeavors, Larry Fink serves on several influential boards, including the Council on Foreign Relations, reflecting his broader commitment to civic engagement and public service.
For further information, please see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Fink
https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/about-us/leadership/larry-fink
About Tim Cook
Tim Cook was born on November 1, 1960, in Robertsdale, Alabama, into a working-class family. His early life in a small town shaped his strong work ethic and focus on education. Tim Cook attended Auburn University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering in 1982. He then pursued an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, graduating in 1988. His academic background in engineering and business would later form the foundation of his career in technology and operations.
Tim Cook’s professional journey began at IBM, where he worked from 1982 to 1994 in its production and inventory management divisions. At IBM, Tim Cook developed expertise in supply chain management, which would become central to his future career. After IBM, Tim Cook moved to Compaq, where he served as Vice President of Corporate Materials, overseeing the company’s global procurement and logistics operations. In 1998, Tim Cook joined Apple Inc. as Senior Vice President for Worldwide Operations. At Apple, Tim Cook was tasked with managing the company's supply chain, a role in which he greatly improved efficiency and reduced costs. His ability to streamline operations and manage the company’s growing product demands was crucial to Apple’s rise as a leading technology company.
Tim Cook’s operational expertise helped Apple navigate the challenges of mass production and global distribution. As Apple's operations leader, Tim Cook played a key role in the successful launches of the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, ensuring that Apple could scale its products to meet global demand. In 2004, Tim Cook was appointed Chief Operating Officer, and by 2011, he succeeded Steve Jobs as CEO of Apple, after Jobs stepped down due to health reasons. As CEO, Tim Cook focused on continuing Apple’s innovation while expanding the company’s product portfolio. Under his leadership, Apple became the world’s most valuable company, with major expansions into new areas like wearables, services, and streaming.
Beyond his business achievements, Tim Cook has made significant contributions to philanthropy. Tim Cook has donated to a range of causes, particularly in health, education, and social justice. Tim Cook has supported the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, and the American Cancer Society, among others. Tim Cook has also contributed to various education initiatives, including programs that provide underserved communities with access to technology.
Tim Cook has also focused on environmental sustainability during his time at Apple. Under his leadership, Apple has pledged to become carbon neutral across its entire supply chain and product lifecycle. Tim Cook has emphasized the importance of renewable energy and reducing the environmental impact of technology manufacturing. Tim Cook is known for his commitment to using his position to influence social and environmental change, making corporate responsibility a key focus of his leadership.
Throughout his career, Tim Cook has been recognized for his operational acumen, leadership, and focus on corporate responsibility. His management of Apple’s supply chain and his ability to scale the company’s products were critical to its success. As CEO, Tim Cook has maintained Apple's position as an industry leader while also ensuring the company’s influence extends beyond business into social and environmental realms.
For further information, please see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Cook
https://www.apple.com/leadership/tim-cook/
About American Industrial Acquisition Corporation
American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC) is a diversified industrial group with manufacturing and distribution sites in 24 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia. AIAC has acquired and grown non-core subsidiaries and divisions of Boeing, Siemens, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Johnson Controls, Merck, Pfizer, Astellas, Visteon, Carlyle, Ahlstrom, Tolko, Groupe Suez, Groupe Rexel, and many other leading multinational corporations.
AIAC companies serve companies and governmental entities worldwide in all major sectors, including aviation, space, defense, automotive, truck, rail, marine, petrochemical, solar, nuclear, food, confectionary, beverage, civil engineering and infrastructure, commercial construction, mining, dredging, disaster relief, education, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. AIAC companies manufacture materials, components, assemblies, packaging, equipment, and finished products. In addition, AIAC companies are exclusive, authorized distributors of leading branded industrial and consumer products and serve as critical suppliers for major airports, schools, hospitals, performing art and sports centers, offices and hotels throughout Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. AIAC is a leading manufacturer of building, street, and highway signage in Europe, signage and illumination structures in North America, and a distributor of electrical products throughout France.
Of note, AIAC purchased Boeing Canada in 2005 and has produced over 10,000 unique components for every Boeing jet plane ever since, reliably serving Boeing from manufacturing facilities in North America. A leader in ultra-high precision jet engine component manufacturing, AIAC companies produce 2,200 fan blades and blisks for each jet engine produced by GE, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce, and Honeywell. AIAC companies produce the critical automotive wire and cable for Tesla, GM, Ford, Chrysler- Fiat, Toyota, and Nissan. In connection with its kraft paper manufacturing interests in Canada and the US, AIAC controls and sustainably manages 22 million acres of Manitoba, Canada forestland, an area equivalent in size to the nation of Hungary.
AIAC companies actively support exploration into outer space, manufacturing critical components for launching and propelling spacecraft and satellites. AIAC customers in this sector include NASA, the European Space Agency, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Boeing. AIAC companies also lead in the design and manufacture of undersea umbilical cables for worldwide oceanographic research.
Another AIAC affiliate, located in Germany, designs, manufactures and distributes high performance emergency portable power generators required during natural disasters, including extreme climate events worldwide. Clients include government agencies and the International Red Cross.
For further information, please see:
About AIAC Philanthropy
AIAC and the AIAC Foundation support a wide range of nonprofit, nonsectarian, bipartisan organizations which promote international conflict resolution, disaster relief, economic development, environmental sustainability, and exploration. The exploration-focused nonprofit organizations which they actively support include the Explorers Club, the National Geographic Society, the Royal Geographical Society, the American Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Space Society, and the United States Space Foundation.
In recent months, AIAC Companies have proudly served as a corporate sponsor of Hubert Sagniere’s historic circumnavigation of the earth in a single-engine plane (www.flightaroundtheglobe.com).
AIAC’s other beneficiaries include the Appeal of the Nobel Peace Laureates Foundation Inc., the Asia Society, the Atlantic Council, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Gates Philanthropy Partners, the Bretton Woods Committee, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Carter Center, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of New York, the Foreign Policy Association, the Institut Française des Relations Internationales, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Crisis Group, the International Rescue Committee, the Japan Society, the JFK School of Government of Harvard University, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), the Sierra Club, and the Trilateral Commission.
For further information, see:
https://www.aiac.com/our-values
Media Contact:
Isabel Carro-Toro, Vice President
American Industrial Acquisition Corporation
+34 689 295 827 (Spain)
+ 1 787 244 3175 (USA)
icarro-toro@aiac.com
