Barbara Hackman Franklin is President and Chief Executive Officer of Barbara Franklin Enterprises, a private international consulting firm headquartered in Washington, DC. She is an advocate for and adviser to American companies doing business in international markets, notably China, and is an expert on corporate governance, auditing, and financial reporting practices.

As the 29th U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the administration of 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 historic mission to China in 1992 normalized commercial relations with that country and removed one of the sanctions – the ban on ministerial contact – that the U.S. had imposed following the events at Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Secretary Franklin has served on the board of directors of 14 public companies and is currently a board member of the board of Aetna Inc. and The Dow Chemical Company. She is a trustee of a cluster of American Funds and a member...