David P. Storch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AAR has been named to the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa, a 15-member panel of private sector business leaders charged with helping the Administration strengthen commercial engagement between the United States and Africa.
Storch is the only member of the council leading a company focused solely on aviation. He was chosen for AAR’s experience in Africa including a five-year, multimillion-dollar contract with Kenya Airways, which was secured with the support of the U.S. Commerce Department and has helped to progress AAR’s expansion across the continent.
“I want to thank Secretary Penny Pritzker for this opportunity to help develop strategies and identify opportunities to invest in this emerging market,” Storch said. “And I look forward to working with this esteemed group of business leaders.”
The council also will provide information, analysis, and recommendations on creating jobs in the United States and Africa through trade and investment; building lasting commercial partnerships between the U.S. and African private sectors; and facilitating U.S. business participation in Africa's infrastructure development.
“U.S Government and private sector leaders see tremendous opportunity in Africa, and they want to seize it,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker in the White House’s press announcement. “Africa is home to six of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world, and the demand for U.S. goods and services on the continent is high. The President’s Advisory Council will be a critical part of our efforts to strengthen our trade and investment ties across Africa, so we can do more business together.”