Fred Hochberg

Fred P. Hochberg is Chairman and President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States and one of the highest ranking business leaders in the Obama Administration.

Under his leadership, in FY 2010 Ex-Im Bank approved more authorizations to support U.S. exporters than any year in its history. This included $24.5 billion in export financing – a 70% increase over the past two years -- which supported $34.4 billion worth of exports and 227,000 American jobs at more than 3,300 U.S. companies. Of these authorizations, more than $5 billion was for small businesses—a record for the Bank. The Bank also tripled its renewable energy export financing.

During Hochberg's tenure, the Bank has increased its focus on customers, both foreign buyers and U.S. exporters. It is seeking new markets for U.S. goods and services in emerging economies with growing infrastructure needs, including Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Turkey, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Nigeria and South Africa. Hochberg has also worked to expand the global footprint of key domestic industries in which U.S. exporters have a comparative advantage. These include renewable energy, construction and farm machinery, medical technology, agriculture, and avionics. In addition, he has streamlined processes, cut transaction times and introduced innovative new financial products.

As head of Ex-Im Bank, Chairman Hochberg plays an essential role in President Obama's plan to double U.S. exports in five years.

As Congress Daily recently wrote, "For years Ex-Im was a minor player in the increasingly crowded world of official export finance, but Hochberg closed the competitive gap."

From 2004 to 2008, Hochberg was dean of Milano, The New School for Management and Urban Policy in New York, N.Y. From 1998 through 2001, he served as deputy, then acting administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), where he quadrupled lending to minority- and women-owned small businesses.

Prior to his service at SBA, Hochberg was the long-time President and Chief Operating Officer of the Lillian Vernon Corporation, where he led the transformation of a small, family mail order company into an international, publically traded direct marketing corporation.

Hochberg is a past board member of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Citizens Budget Commission, and FINCA International Micro Finance. He was also an appointed representative to the New York State Financial Control Board.

A native of the greater New York metropolitan area, Hochberg received his undergraduate degree from New York University and his MBA from Columbia University. Hochberg's partner is writer Tom Healy.