Carla Hills

Ambassador Carla A. Hills served as United States Trade Representative from 1989 to 1993. As a member of President George H.W. Bush’s Cabinet, Carla was the President’s principal advisor on international trade policy. She was also the nation’s chief trade negotiator, representing American interests in multilateral and bilateral trade negotiations throughout the world. Carla negotiated and concluded the North American Free Trade Agreement and also led the U.S. negotiations on the Uruguay Round of the World Trade Organization. During her tenure, the United States entered into a large number of trade and investment agreements with countries around the world.

Earlier, Carla served as Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (the third woman to hold a Cabinet position). She also served as the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Before entering government, Carla co-founded and was partner in what is now the Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP law firm. She also served as an adjunct professor at the University of California at Los Angeles Law School teaching antitrust law, and co-authored the Antitrust Adviser, which was published by McGraw-Hill. Carla’s prior expertise in antitrust and federal civil matters informs her understanding of business.

Over the years, Carla has served on a number of corporate boards, including AIG, AT&T, Chevron, Corning Glass Works, Gilead Sciences, IBM, Time Warner, Trust Company of the West, and United Airlines. She is currently on the international advisory board of J.P. Morgan Chase. Carla also serves in leadership positions with not-for-profit organizations. She is Chair of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the International Advisory Board of the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Co-Chair of the Inter-American Dialogue; Chair Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations (after serving as Co-Chair until July 2017); Honorary Director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics; and Executive Committee member of the Trilateral Commission.

Carla graduated from Stanford University, attended Oxford University’s St. Hilda’s College, and obtained her law degree from the Yale Law School. She holds honorary degrees from a number of colleges and universities. In 2000, she was awarded the Aztec Eagle, the highest honor given by the Mexican government to a non-citizen.