Laura D'Andrea Tyson (born June 28, 1947) is an American economist and university administrator who is currently a Distinguished Professor of the Graduate School at the

Haas School of Business The Walter A. Haas School of Business (branded as Berkeley Haas) is the business school of the University of California, Berkeley, a Public university, public research university in Berkeley, California. It was the first business school at a pub ...

of the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

and a senior fellow at the

Berggruen Institute The Berggruen Institute is a Los Angeles-based think tank founded by Nicolas Berggruen. History Berggruen Institute was formed in 2010 by founder Nicolas Berggruen and co-founder Nathan Gardels as a global network of "thinkers" dedicated to ...

. She served as the 16th Chair of the White House

Council of Economic Advisers The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is a United States agency within the Executive Office of the President established in 1946, which advises the president of the United States on economic policy. The CEA provides much of the empirical resea ...

from 1993 to 1995 and 2nd Director of the National Economic Council from 1995 to 1996 under President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

. Tyson was the first woman to hold each of those posts. She remains the only person to have served in both posts.

Early life and education

Tyson was born Laura D'Andrea in New Jersey. Her father was

Italian American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

and her mother was of Swedish and Dutch descent. Tyson graduated ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' with a B.A. in

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

from

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

in 1969 and earned her Ph.D. in

from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in 1974. Her doctoral advisor was

Evsey Domar Evsey David Domar (, ''Domashevitsky''; April 16, 1914 – April 1, 1997) was a Russian-American economist, famous as developer of the Harrod–Domar model. Life Evsey Domar was born on April 16, 1914, in the Polish city of Łódź, which was ...

. She joined the faculty of the economics department at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1974 and remained in the position until 1977 when she became a professor of economics at the

. She was appointed a professor of

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

in 1990.

Career

On December 12, 1992, President-elect Bill Clinton announced his intention to nominate Tyson as Chairman of the President's

. She was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

in 1993 and served until her appointment as Director of the National Economic Council from 1995 to 1996. She was the first woman in both roles. During her time with the

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican in ...

, Tyson was a spokesperson in favour of

GATT The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its p ...

, arguing with Sir

James Goldsmith Sir James Michael Goldsmith (26 February 1933 – 18 July 1997) was a French-British financier and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family. His controversial business and finance career led to ongoing clashes with British media, fr ...

Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show ''Charlie Rose (talk show), Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg L.P., Bloombe ...

that American jobs would be increased by the trade agreement. After leaving politics, Tyson returned to UC Berkeley, becoming Dean of the

from 1998 to 2001. She later served as Dean of

London Business School London Business School (LBS) is a business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London. LBS was founded in 1964 and awards post-graduate degrees (Master's degree, Master's degrees in management and finance, Master of B ...

from 2002 to 2006. She was the first woman to lead both institutions. Tyson has been a member of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

since 1987, a board director of

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...

since 1997, a board director of AT&T Inc. since 1999, and a board director of

Eastman Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

. She is a member of the

Committee on Capital Markets Regulation The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research organization financed by contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations. Background Thirty-six leaders from the financial sector, in ...

. In December 2009 it was announced that Tyson would join

CB Richard Ellis CBRE Group, Inc. (an initialism of Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis) is an American commercial real estate services and investment firm with corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas and global financial headquarters at Lever House in Midtown Manh ...

Board of Directors on March 4, 2010. Tyson also sits on the QFINANCE Strategic Advisory Board. Since 2019, she has served on the board of advisors for Angeleno Group, a private equity and venture capital firm focused on sustainable energy investments. Tyson has published a number of books and articles on industrial competitiveness,

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

, and the economies of

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

and their transitions to

market system A market system (or market ecosystem) is any systematic process enabling many market players to offer and demand: helping buyers and sellers interact and make deals. It is not just the price mechanism but the entire system of regulation, qualif ...

An "Economic Viewpoint" columnist for ''

BusinessWeek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

'' magazine, Tyson writes regularly about domestic and international economic policy matters in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and other nationally and internationally syndicated newspapers and magazines. In addition to her professorship at UC Berkeley, Tyson is also a member of the board of trustees at UC Berkeley's Blum Center for Developing Economies. The center is focused on finding solutions to address the crisis of

extreme poverty Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, ...

and disease in the developing world. Tyson joined

Berkeley Research Group, LLC Berkeley Research Group, LLC (BRG) is a global consulting firm that helps organizations with assistance in disputes and investigations, corporate finance, and performance improvement and advisory. BRG is headquartered in Emeryville, California, w ...

, an expert services advisory firm co-founded by

David Teece David John Teece (born September 2, 1948) is a New Zealand-born US-based organizational economist, Professor emeritus in Global Business and director of the Tusher Center for the Management of Intellectual Capital at the Walter A. Haas School ...

, as a special advisor in 2010. Tyson had consulted for LECG, another expert advisory firm founded by Teece, from 1997 to 2001. Since 2012, she has written monthly columns for international media organization

Project Syndicate ''Project Syndicate'' is an international nonprofit media organization that publishes and syndicates commentary and analysis on a variety of global topics. All opinion pieces are published on the ''Project Syndicate'' website, and also distribu ...

. In November 2013, Tyson founded the Institute for Business and Social Impact at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business.

References

External links

Haas School of Business bio

Berggruen Institute bio

Tyson testimony on H.R. 2652 (1997)

Debate with Sir James Goldsmith over GATT in 1994

YouTube link to Debate with Sir James Goldsmith over GATT in 1994

Tyson's profile at LittleSis
*

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyson, Laura 1947 births Academics of London Business School 20th-century American economists 21st-century American economists American people of Italian descent American people of Dutch descent American people of Swedish descent American women economists Center for American Progress people Directors of Morgan Stanley Haas School of Business faculty Living people MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences alumni Princeton University faculty Smith College alumni Clinton administration cabinet members Women members of the Cabinet of the United States 21st-century American women Chairs of the United States Council of Economic Advisers