The Committee to Select the International Executive of the Year Award has now concluded its search and deliberations and recommended that we honor Mr. James “Jim” Lawrence as this year’s AIB Fellows International Executive of the Year. Mr. Lawrence is a seasoned international business executive who has led major multinational companies and started several international organizations.

This distinguished honor will be conferred on Mr. Lawrence at the AIB Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, where he will deliver the Keynote Speech at the Opening Plenary Ceremony on 29 June 2025.

The International Executive of the Year Award recognizes business leaders who have significantly improved the reputation and performance of their respective firms on the international stage. Recipients typically have been individuals with a reputation of impeccable integrity and a performance track-record admired by stakeholders and competitors alike.

Having Jim Lawrence as a keynote speaker at the annual meeting will be informative and inspiring for our members. We congratulate Mr. Lawrence and look forward to welcoming him and celebrating his achievements at the AIB Annual Meeting in Louisville.

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AIB International Executive of the Year Selection Committee
Rob Grosse (Chair), Paula Caligiuri, Seung Ho “Sam” Park, Rob van Tulder, Anthea Zhang

About James “Jim” Lawrence

James (Jim) Lawrence has served on 18 public company boards since 1990. Currently he is a Director of AerCap (world’s largest lessor of commercial aircraft, helicopters, and jet engines) and he recently left the boards of Smurfit Westrock and Avnet. His previous board service includes Apple, British Airways, Travelers, and Intuitive Surgical (maker of DaVinci surgical system). In his various roles, he has been advisor or principal in numerous mergers, activist campaigns, acquisitions, joint ventures and divestitures.

Previously, Mr. Lawrence served as chairman of Rothschild North America and earlier as Chief Executive Officer of Rothschild North America and as co-head of global investment banking at Rothschild from 2010 to 2015.

Prior to Rothschild, Mr. Lawrence was Chief Financial Officer of the Anglo Dutch company, Unilever, and he served as Executive Director on the boards of Unilever NV and Unilever PLC. He joined Unilever in 2007 after serving as the Vice Chairman and Chief Financial officer of General Mills for nine years. Also, he had responsibility for General Mills’ international business. Prior to General Mills Mr. Lawrence was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Northwest Airlines from 1996 to 1998, and before that Mr. Lawrence was a division president at PepsiCo, serving as CEO of Pepsi-Cola Asia, Middle East, Africa from 1992 to 1996.

In 1983, he cofounded The LEK Partnership in London. Before that he was partner of Bain and Company, having opened their London and Munich offices. His first job after business school was working for The Boston Consulting Group.

Mr. Lawrence earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Yale University and an M.B.A. with distinction from Harvard Business School.

We congratulate Mr. Lawrence and look forward to celebrating his achievements at the AIB annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky this year.