President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday afternoon that Goldman Sachs Foundation President Dina Habib Powell will serve as assistant to the president and senior counselor for economic initiatives.
The presidential transition team issued the following statement:
In this role, she will build new efforts around entrepreneurship, small business growth and the global economic empowerment of women.
Powell currently serves as global head of impact investing at Goldman Sachs and president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation, and over the past 10 years has built the most successful programs focused on global growth and job creation. Before joining Goldman Sachs, Powell had a long-standing career working in government in the White House as assistant to the president for presidential personnel, and the State Department as assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs and deputy undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs.
Trump said Powell is “a tremendous talent” with “a stellar record of public service” and a great career record in the private sector as well. He said he knew she will excel in her new position in the Trump-Pence Administration.
“She has been recognized for her strategic oversight of key programs and initiatives and is a leader in both economic growth and the crucial empowerment of women in various aspects of business development and entrepreneurial endeavors,” he said. “I am proud to have her serve as a senior counselor in my administration, where I know she will produce great results working with the highly respected team of experts we have assembled.”
For her part, Powell said she is eager to do her part to ensure women play a big role in helping to make America great again.
“The Trump administration has a unique opportunity to unleash the untapped potential of small business owners and female entrepreneurs, and by working together with the public and private sectors, we can ensure they continue to be a critical part of growing the economy and creating jobs,” she said. {eoa}
