Kathleen Cooper

Kathleen Cooper is an expert on both the banking and energy industries, and in these volatile times, her invaluable experience in these two arenas places her at the forefront of economic opinion. As Under Secretary for Economic Affairs of the U.S. Department of Commerce from May 2001 until August 2005, she served as the principal economic adviser to the Secretary of Commerce. Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, she is uniquely qualified to speak about energy issues, globalization, currency and financial markets, and the global economy. She has the business know-how and executive branch experience to provide clear and insightful commentary on policy matters and the economy.

A Step Ahead of the Economic Times.  As under secretary for economic affairs, Dr. Cooper oversaw the activities of the Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  She was honored with the Commerce Department's prestigious Redfield Award for her many contributions. Accomplishments during her tenure include reengineering the 2010 Census, instituting the first quarterly measure of the U.S. service sector, achieving sustainable funding levels for accurate and timely economic statistics, and working collaboratively to develop a number of the Administration's economic policy proposals, including comprehensive private pension reform. 

Dr. Cooper was appointed senior fellow at the Tower Center for Political Studies at Southern Methodist University in August 2007, where she contributes to the Center's mission of public policy education. Previously, she served as Dean of the College of Business at the University of North Texas. Dr. Cooper recently served on the Energy Information Administration's External Review Team and on Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez's advisory committee on Measuring Innovation in the 21st Century. She is a director of the Williams Companies, a Fortune 200 energy firm, and served as founding director of Texas Security Bank from 2008 through January 2010.

Economic Acumen.  Dr. Cooper served for a decade as chief economist with the Exxon Mobil Corporation.  In this capacity, she contributed to the development of the company's positions on international trade, tax, and environmental policy issues and to the energy planning assumptions used in the company plan. Before joining ExxonMobil in 1990, Dr. Cooper was executive vice president and chief economist of Security Pacific National Bank. From 1971-81, she was corporate economist and then chief economist of the United Banks of Colorado. Currently, Dr. Cooper is chair of the National Bureau of Economic Research, trustee of the Committee for Economic Development, and member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Conference of Business Economists. She has held positions as president of the National Association of Business Economists, chair of the American Bankers Association's Economic Advisory Committee, trustee of Scripps College, past president of the U.S. Association for Energy Economics, and trustee of the American Council for Capital Formation.