Office of the Spokesperson
The United States welcomes the appointment of Peggy Johnson, Executive Vice President for Business Development at Microsoft Corporation to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC). Ms. Johnson will join current U.S. ABAC member Nate Gatten of American Airlines.
Ms. Johnson and her ABAC counterparts from the other 20 APEC economies will advise APEC Leaders on issues affecting the continued growth of the region’s economy. ABAC, created in 1995, consists of up to three business representatives from each APEC economy. ABAC meets throughout the year to discuss policy recommendations, undertakes activities to promote trade and investment, and reports annually to APEC Leaders.
Ms. Johnson has more than thirty years of experience in the private sector, including in senior corporate leadership positions. As Executive Vice President of Business Development at Microsoft, Ms. Johnson works with external partners around the world, ranging from start-ups to large-scale enterprises, to identify areas of collaboration and drive innovation. In this capacity, she also manages Microsoft’s relationship with the venture capital community and oversees strategic investments through the company’s corporate venture fund. Prior to joining Microsoft, she served as Executive Vice President of Qualcomm Technologies and President of Global Market Development. Ms. Johnson previously served as a U.S. ABAC member from 2013-2016.
For 30 years APEC has served as the premier economic platform for the United States to engage our regional partners on structural issues to advance an economic and trade architecture that opens markets, promotes high standards, and achieves free and fair trade. Through APEC, the United States and 20 other of the world’s leading economies come together to facilitate regional economic cooperation through trade and investment liberalization and tackle a wide range of issues critical to ensuring regional prosperity and economic growth.