A Conversation with Florie Liser, CEO, Corporate Council on Africa

Florie Liser was a little girl when her parents, immigrants from Panama, brought her to Brooklyn, New York. Like many immigrant children, she and her siblings spent their early years living in close quarters with uncles, aunts and other relatives—all striving to find their footing in the United States. Her parents didn’t have much money, but they had very high expectations, cherished the value of education, and didn’t allow much room for excuses.

Even if her school report card showed six A’s and a B, her parents—especially her father—insisted on getting an explanation for the B. “For my parents, getting a B was unacceptable,” Liser said. “You had to bring home all As.”

Everybody in the world who wants to make money is in Africa. If you’re a company now and you’re trying to expand your business, you’d be crazy not to be looking at the continent of Africa as an incredible market.

Florie Liser

When she enrolled at Dickinson College (in Carlisle, Pennsylvania), Liser was planning to go to law school after finishing her bachelor’s degree. But her plans changed when she took a course in international relations during her second or third year in college and realized this was really what she wanted to do. While finishing up at Dickinson College, Liser applied to Johns Hopkins SAIS and was thrilled to be accepted. She enrolled at SAIS in 1973 and graduated in 1975.

Liser went on to a fulfilling international career, mostly focused on international trade and economic development. Today, she is president and chief executive officer of Corporate Council on Africa, a leading U.S. business association that promotes business and investment connections between the United States and the nations of Africa.

She shared her experiences during a Dean’s Speaker Series conversation with James Steinberg, the dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS, on March 8, 2023. Chiedo Nwankwor, vice dean for Education and Academic Affairs at SAIS, provided the opening remarks for the event, which was also convened in celebration of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day 2023.

During the discussion, Liser noted a welcome shift in the conversation about business relationships between the United States and African countries. She stated: “We’re finally at a place where there are enough U.S. companies, and others from around the world, who realize that if you can invest in what Africa has to offer… and you want to partner with [Africans] as equals, then that creates the environment for a better partnership.”

She added: “Everybody in the world who wants to make money is in Africa. If you’re a company now and you’re trying to expand your business, you’d be crazy not to be looking at the continent of Africa as an incredible market.”

Before she took on her role leading the Corporate Council on Africa, Liser spent a significant part of her career at United States government agencies that focus on trade and development. She joined the Corporate Council on Africa from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where she was the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa. At USTR, she led trade and investment policy towards 49 African nations and oversaw implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a landmark legislation enacted in 2000 to improve economic ties between the United States and the continent.

Previously, Liser served as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Industry, Market Access, and Telecommunications from 2000-2003. She also served as senior trade policy advisor in the Office of International Transportation and Trade at the U.S. Department of Transportation from 1987-2000; worked as a director in USTR’s Office of GATT Affairs and served as an associate fellow at the Overseas Development Council (ODC) from 1975-1980.