Bill Lane is Executive Director of Trade for America, and one of the business community’s leading advocates for free trade and global engagement. A 40-year Caterpillar veteran, Bill led a global team of 38 government affairs professionals in 12 countries. In that capacity, Bill was responsible for Caterpillar’s international advocacy in support of competitiveness, trade liberalization and economic growth.

Bill has held numerous leadership positions in Washington most recently chairman of the Russia PNTR coalition and the U.S. Latin America Trade Coalition, a group that supported Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Colombia and Panama. He is also co-president of the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign, a coalition supporting a robust international affairs budget.

Appointed by Speaker Hastert, Bill served on the HELP Commission, a presidential committee examining the effectiveness of U.S. foreign aid. He was a member of the German Marshall Fund Task Force on Development and Peace Corps Review Team.

Previously, Bill founded and led the USA Engage Effort, the Coalition of American Steel Using Manufacturers (CASUM) and helped lead the business advocacy efforts in support of the Australia, Chile and Peru FTAs. He was the Company Spokesman in Peoria during the Caterpillar-UAW labor dispute (1991-1993). For ten straight years (2004- 2013), Bill has been named one of Washington’s top corporate lobbyists by the Hill newspaper.

Bill is a 2011 Penn State Alumni Fellow and a member of the Penn State Hammond Society. He is an Adjunct Professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. Bill received his BS and MA degrees from Penn State and attended the University of Cologne in Germany. He was also a Certified Management Accountant. Bill is on the boards of Global Communities, US-Russia Business Council, National Foreign Trade Council and Washington International Trade Foundation.

Bill received his BS and MA degrees from Penn State and attended the University of Cologne in Germany.