Chair of the Board
April H. Foley served as the United States Ambassador to Hungary from 2006-2009. She has been an Independent Director of Vista Outdoor since January 2015. She has been a Director of Xerium Technologies Inc. since May 25, 2010. Ambassador Foley serves as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Hungary Foundation.
Ambassador Foley has had an extensive career in professional management. Prior to serving as US Ambassador to Hungary, she worked at the Export-Import Bank of the United States. After first serving as a Director of the Bank, she was appointed to be First Vice President and Vice Chairman in 2003. Ambassador Foley drove the creation of the Trade Bank of Iraq, securing a $2 billion short-term credit facility. She was one of six Americans on the American-Iraqi Joint Economic Council, which laid plans for strengthening the economic performance of Iraq. Ambassador Foley worked with the Minister of Finance of Afghanistan to create a development strategy that laid the groundwork for foreign direct investment. As a Director, she chaired the Audit Committee and implemented Sarbanes-Oxley processes for the first time, bringing much-needed transparency and accountability to the Bank. She worked for 17 years as an executive for PepsiCo in roles including strategic planning, financial management, and mergers and acquisitions. Her efforts resulted in the acquisition and integration of Kentucky Fried Chicken. She led the introduction of shareholder value approaches to PepsiCo corporate-wide, which resulted in an acceleration of bottling and restaurant acquisitions. She initiated efforts to enhance strategic planning, which led to the Pepsi Challenge.
She served as an independent director of Alliant Techsystems Inc. from 2010 to 2015. She also worked for Wilson Sporting Goods, Pfizer, and The Reader’s Digest. At Wilson Sporting Goods, Ambassador Foley introduced strategic planning, which triggered a significant product portfolio restructuring and business turnaround. At Reader’s Digest, she spearheaded efforts to diversify the business away from a very mature product line. At Pfizer, she introduced annual planning at a new factory.
In addition to her business experience, she holds significant volunteer leadership positions. She is a member of the Smith College Board of Trustees. She is Chair of the Capital Campaign Steering Committee and Chair of the Investment Committee. She serves on the Ambassadorial Advisory Council of the Atlantic Council. She serves on the board of the International Center for Democratic Transitions and the Center for Advanced Defense Studies. She sits on the President’s Council for Northern Westchester Hospital.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Smith College and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University.
She is a widow with three children, Catherine, Gifford, and James, and three grandchildren.