Ambassador Alan Holmer (Retired)

Board Member

Ambassador Alan F. Holmer has served as a member of the board since 2011. He has over 40 years’ experience in government and the private sector and has been involved with building secondary schools in rural Tanzania for over 15 years. Previously, he served as co-chairman of the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, as well as president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), where he supported the business model to develop new medicines. 

Ambassador Holmer has served as a director of multiple for-profit and not-for-profit enterprises in the U.S. and overseas, and has deep experience in strategic planning, organizational direction, and risk management.  He currently serves as Chairman of Corbus Pharmaceuticals.  He is a Board member of Food for the Hungry (which actively partners with community leaders and families in over 20 countries to lift the burden of extreme poverty); Catholic Charities; and Catholic Distance University. 

 He has significant expertise in handling legal, international trade, and governmental issues, having held various positions within the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Commerce, State, and Treasury Departments, and the White House, including serving as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative with rank of Ambassador. He also served as a partner at the international law firm, Sidley & Austin (now Sidley Austin LLP).

Ambassador Holmer earned his juris doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1978 and was an honors graduate from Princeton University in 1971. He is the recipient of the Alexander Hamilton Award from the U.S. Treasury and the Yetta Rosenburg Humanitarian Award.