Florizelle (Florie) Liser is a name synonymous with U.S.-Africa trade relations. As the third President and CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), she is the first woman to lead the organization since its inception in 1993. Ms. Liser’s career has been largely dedicated to fostering U.S.-Africa trade relations. Before joining CCA, she served as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for Africa, a position she held from 2003 to 2017. In this role, she spearheaded U.S. trade and investment policy towards 49 sub-Saharan African countries and played a key role in implementing the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). AGOA has been a critical tool in strengthening economic ties between the U.S. and Africa, offering sub-Saharan African countries preferential access to the U.S. market.
Prior to her work at USTR, Ms. Liser held several other high-ranking positions within the U.S. government. From 2000 to 2003, she served as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Industry, Market Access, and Telecommunications, overseeing trade policy affecting key U.S. industrial sectors. Her extensive experience includes her work as Senior Trade Policy Advisor in the Office of International Transportation and Trade at the Department of Transportation from 1987 to 2000. Here, she coordinated trade and transportation issues, with a special focus on Africa, and organized the first-ever U.S.-Africa Transportation Ministerial.
As President and CEO of CCA, Florizelle Liser is at the helm of a premier business association dedicated to promoting business and investment ties between the United States and African nations. Under her leadership, CCA has continued to foster partnerships that catalyze economic development on both sides of the Atlantic. Through trade missions, conferences, and policy advocacy, Liser’s work at CCA has enabled U.S. companies to explore and expand their business operations in Africa, thus driving growth and creating jobs in African economies. Ms. Liser served as a member of the 2023-2024 Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee for the Export-Import Bank (EXIM), having previously held this role from 2019 to 2021. She was also a co-chair of the Advisory Council for the Millennium Challenge Corporation and served on the board of Women in International Trade (WIIT), advocating for gender inclusion in international trade.
Born in Colon, Republic of Panama, and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Florie Liser’s interest in international relations began during her time at Dickinson College, where she initially planned to pursue law. However, her passion shifted after taking courses in international relations, prompting her to apply to Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where she earned her M.A. in International Economics. This academic foundation set the stage for her illustrious career in global trade and development.
