Committee for Economic Development


The Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, business-led public policy organization. CED's Trustees consist primarily of senior corporate executives from a range of U.S. industries and sectors. CED's stated aims are to sustain and promote free enterprise, improve education and healthcare, reform campaign finance, enhance corporate governance, and improve the fiscal health of the United States.

History

CED was founded in 1942 by a group of business leaders led by Paul G. Hoffman, president of Studebaker Corporation; William Benton, co-founder of Benton & Bowles advertising firm; and Marion B. Folsom, treasurer of Eastman Kodak Company. CED was first formed to help the U.S. economy transition from a wartime to peacetime economy. At the end of World War II, CED successfully worked to garner support among the American business community for the Marshall Plan.
Since its inception, CED has aimed to promote policies that its trustees believe will foster economic growth and development to benefit all Americans. The organization conducts research and outreach efforts in the U.S. and abroad to change policy at the local, state, and national levels. In recent decades, CED has increased access to pre-kindergarten and college, advocated campaign finance reform nationally, placed more women in corporate leadership, and reduced government spending.
In January 2015, the Committee for Economic Development merged with The Conference Board, given the many synergies between the two organizations. Both are non-partisan, non-lobbying, and have trustees comprised mainly from the business community.

Leadership

CED's President-elect is Bernard Bailey. Prior to Bailey, the organization's president and CEO since 2013 was Steve Odland. Michael Petro is CED's Executive Vice President, and Joseph Minarik is the organization's senior vice president and director of research.

Principles

The organization's work is based on seven core principles: sustainable capitalism, long-term economic growth, efficient fiscal and regulatory policy, competitive and open markets, a globally competitive workforce, equal economic opportunity, and nonpartisanship in the nation's interest.

Policy research

CED conducts policy research in the following issue areas: fiscal health, education, health care, campaign finance, women in corporate leadership, regulatory policy, immigration, infrastructure, and tax reform. CED aims to encourage American business leaders to take a more expansive view of their responsibilities by practicing what it calls "business statesmanship" — recognizing that business leaders can promote societal health by engaging in and speaking out for the common good on timely public policy issues.
Recent CED policy research:
CED's policy conferences are forums for trustees, senior policy makers, and industry leaders to discuss pressing national issues that are aligned with CED's core policy areas: the economy, education, global competitiveness, and democratic institutions. To advance reasoned solutions from business in the nation's interest, CED convenes for two days, twice-yearly, to address these seminal economic issues. At each Conference, CED also honors a distinguished business leader with the Leadership in the Nation's Interest Award.
Recent and distinguished speakers include:
2018 Leadership in the Nation's Interest Award Honoree:
Past Leadership in the Nation's Interest Award Honorees:
Held annually in New York City, the Distinguished Performance Awards Dinner recognizes business leaders who have shown leadership in their companies and the communities in which they operate.
2018 Honorees:
Past Honorees: