• Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft Corporation
• Craig Barrett, Chairman, Intel Corporation
• John Chambers, Chairman and CEO, Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Yousif Ghafari, Chairman, GHAFARI, Inc.
• Dr. Ray Irani, Chairman, President and CEO, Occidental Petroleum Corporation

The Partnership is working with businesses in the United States, Lebanon and across the globe to forge public-private partnerships designed to expand the reach of education and workforce training, create jobs and build Lebanon's technology infrastructure. For more information about the Partnership, email info@partnershipforlebanon.org.

The focus of the Partnership is on five key areas:

Connected Communities

The Partnership is working to enable full-service online community access points in Lebanon, offering citizens local portals to access job training, healthcare, education and other government resources. A pilot program for five connected community centers has been initiated in the villages of Alma al Chaab, Baalbeck, Bint Jbeil, Bourj al Barajneh, and Nabatieh. To find out how you can get involved, please email connectedcommunities@partnershipforlebanon.org.

Workforce Training and Education               

The Partnership is placing qualified Lebanese interns in top businesses in the U.S. and elsewhere to improve worker training and education, provide critical skills training and knowledge transfer to Lebanon's youth, and plant the seeds for sustainable economic growth. The Partnership plans to place 500 interns in top companies around the world over the next three years. The first group of interns has already arrived in the United States. To find out how you can get involved, please email workforcetraining@partnershipforlebanon.org.

Job Creation/Private Sector Revival               
The Partnership is working to create jobs and grow key industries by identifying financing and capital for promising Lebanese business projects, or matching them with compatible American business ventures. More than 100 projects have been identified in six key industries: technology, tourism, banking and finance, agribusiness, health care and manufacturing. The United States Chamber of Commerce has launched a web portal allowing U.S. based companies to browse business opportunities in Lebanon, and is conducting a series of business classes at the American University in Beirut for many of the Lebanese businesses featured on the website. To find out how you can get involved, please email privatesector@partnershipforlebanon.org.

ICT Infrastructure               

The Partnership is committed to connectivity by helping modernize Lebanon's ICT infrastructure, improve the speed and efficiency of Internet traffic flow, provide a foundation for improved communications and e-commerce, and potentially decrease costs for the Lebanese people. The effort includes assistance to the Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (TRA) to establish an enabling environment for ICT that can promote innovation, investment and infrastructre development as well as working to provide an International Internet Gateway and Internet Exchange Point for the country. To find out how you can get involved, please email ICTinfrastructure@partnershipforlebanon.org.

Relief and Response 
    Working with proven NGOs including ANERA, Habitat for Humanity, Mercy Corps, and UNICEF, funds raised by the Partnership are being used to rebuild homes, rehabilitate schools, and expand workforce training programs. To find out how you can get involved, please email reliefandresponse@partnershipforlebanon.org.

Partner Profiles

Steven A. Ballmer Chief Executive Officer Microsoft Corporation Craig Barrett Chairman Intel Corporation John Chambers Chairman and CEO Cisco Yousif Ghafari Chairman GHAFARI, Inc. Dr. Ray Irani Chairman, President and CEO Occidental Petroleum Corporation Renée S. Acosta President & CEO Global Impact

Company Profiles

Microsoft Intel Cisco GHAFARI Occidental Petroleum Corporation Global Impact

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Letter from the Leaders   The people of Lebanon are in great need of assistance to rebuild their country. On September 22, as the first United States business delegation to Lebanon, we saw the devastation firsthand. The Partnership for Lebanon was formed to raise awareness and funds to aid in the rebuilding, and to create public-private partnerships designed to help the people of Lebanon find the path to long-term stability and economic growth. We are both honored and proud to lead this initiative on behalf of the American people. Please join us in our effort to partner with the people of Lebanon to rebuild their country. This effort is about doing what is necessary to make a difference in the lives of people in need on a global basis. Working together, we can build a better future in Lebanon. Sincerely, Craig Barrett Chairman Intel Corporation John Chambers Chairman and CEO Cisco Yousif Ghafari Chairman GHAFARI, Inc. Dr. Ray Irani Chairman President and CEO Occidental Petroleum Corporation [Back to Top] Partner Profiles Steven A. Ballmer Chief Executive Officer Microsoft Corporation Steven A. Ballmer is Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft Corporation, the world's leading manufacturer of software for personal and business computing. Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 and was the first business manager hired by Bill Gates. Since then, Ballmer's leadership and passion have become hallmarks of his tenure at the company. During the past 20 years, Ballmer has headed several Microsoft divisions, including operations, operating systems development, and sales and support. In July 1998, he was promoted to President, a role that gave him day-to-day responsibility for running Microsoft. He was named CEO in January 2000, assuming full management responsibility for the company, which includes delivering on the company's mission of enabling people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential. Together with Gates and the company's other business and technical leaders, Ballmer is focused on continuing Microsoft's innovation and leadership across the company's seven businesses. Microsoft's goal is to provide an integrated platform to enable a seamless experience across a wide range of computing and non-PC devices and services. Variously described as ebullient, focused, funny, passionate, sincere, hard-charging and dynamic, Ballmer has infused Microsoft with his own brand of energetic leadership, vision and spirit over the years. Ballmer was born in March 1956, and grew up near Detroit, where his father worked as a manager at Ford Motor Co. He graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and economics. While in college, Ballmer managed the football team, worked on the Harvard Crimson newspaper as well as the university literary magazine, and lived down the hall from fellow sophomore Bill Gates. After college, he worked for two years at Procter & Gamble Co. as an assistant product manager and, before joining Microsoft, attended Stanford University Graduate School of Business. [Back to Top] Craig Barrett Chairman Intel Corporation Craig Barrett is chairman of the board of Intel Corporation and a leading advocate for improving education in the U.S. and around the world. He is also a vocal spokesman for the value technology can provide in raising social and economic standards globally. Craig Barrett was born Aug. 29, 1939, in San Francisco, Calif. He attended Stanford University in Palo Alto, California from 1957 to 1964, and received his Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science. After graduation, he joined the faculty of Stanford University in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and remained through 1974, rising to the rank of Associate Professor. Dr. Barrett was a Fulbright Fellow at Danish Technical University in Denmark in 1972 and a NATO Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Physical Laboratory in England from 1964 to 1965. Dr. Barrett is the author of over 40 technical papers dealing with the influence of microstructure on the properties of materials, and a textbook on materials science, Principles of Engineering Materials. Dr. Barrett joined Intel Corporation in 1974 as a technology development manager. He was named a vice president of the corporation in 1984, promoted to senior vice president in 1987, and executive vice president in 1990. Dr. Barrett was elected to Intel Corporation's Board of Directors in 1992 and was named the company's chief operating officer in 1993. He became Intel's fourth president in May 1997, chief executive officer in 1998 and chairman of the Board on May 18, 2005. Dr. Barrett was recently named as the first-ever chairman of the United Nations' Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development. He also is a recent appointee to the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations and to the American Health Information Community (AHIC). He is a member of the National Academies Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the 21st Century: An Agenda for American Science and Technology, co-chairman of the Business Coalition for Excellence in Education, a member of the Board of Trustees for the U.S. Council for International Business and co-chair of the National Innovation Initiative Leadership Council. As chair of the National Academy of Engineering, Dr. Barrett promotes the Academy and its policies to the engineering community and the public. Dr. Barrett is also a member of the Board of Directors for Intel Corporation, the U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association, the National Forest Foundation, Achieve, and TechNet. [Back to Top] John Chambers Chairman and CEO Cisco John Chambers is chairman and CEO of Cisco. Since January 1995, when he assumed this position, Chambers has grown the company from US$1.2 billion in annual revenues to its current run-rate of approximately US$24.8 billion. Chambers has been lauded by government leaders and countless publications worldwide for his visionary strategy, his ability to drive an entrepreneurial culture, and his warm-hearted, straight-talking approach. In January 2006, Chambers was named the Best CEO in America in the "Telecommunications, Data Networking" category by Institutional Investor magazine, and in February he was awarded the prestigious Excellence in Corporate Philanthropy Award from the Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy (CECP), an international forum of more than 120 CEOs and board chairpersons focused on corporate philanthropy. In November 2005, Chambers accepted the prestigious Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for Cisco's co-sponsorship of the Jordan Education Initiative, on which Cisco has worked in partnership with his Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan and the World Economic Forum. He has spearheaded several other key educational efforts, most recently the 21st Century Schools (21S) initiative, to improve education and opportunity for children in the Gulf Coast Region affected by Hurricane Katrina. He is a two-time winner of the "Best Investor Relations by a CEO" award by Barrons and IR Magazines, and he received the prestigious "Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship" from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution. He has received numerous other awards including the 2005 International Partner award from the California Israel Chamber of Commerce, the Smithsonian Lifetime Achievement award, and the Presidential Award: Ron Brown Award for Corporate Leadership from the Business Council. Chambers was also named "The Most Influential CEO" in telecommunications by Institutional Investor magazine and "The Most Influential Person in Communications" by Telecom Magazine. San Jose Magazine voted Chambers "Man of the Year" in 2005. Chambers has served two American presidents; most currently as Vice Chairman of the President George Bush National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC). On this committee, he provides industry experience and leadership to help protect the critical infrastructure of the United States. He served on President Bush's Transition Team, Education Committee, and has previously served on President Bill Clinton's Trade Policy Committee. Chambers joined Cisco in 1991 as senior vice president, Worldwide Sales and Operations. Prior to joining Cisco, he spent eight years at Wang Laboratories and six years with IBM. He holds a law degree and a bachelor of science/bachelor of arts degree in business from West Virginia University. He later received a masters of business administration degree in finance and management from Indiana University. He is married and has two adult children. [Back to Top] Yousif Ghafari Chairman GHAFARI, Inc. Yousif B. Ghafari is founder and chairman of GHAFARI, a full-service organization of architects, engineers, consultants, and staffing specialists serving a global client base that includes the aviation, manufacturing, government, and commercial sectors. Born in southern Lebanon on September 27, 1952, Mr. Ghafari emigrated to the United States in the early 1970's and became an American citizen on September 6, 1978. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics in 1974, a Master of Arts in Applied Mathematics and Computer Applications in 1975, and a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering in 1977 - all from Wayne State University. In 1992, Mr. Ghafari received his Master of Business Administration from the Michigan State University Advanced Management Program (AMP). He became a licensed Professional Engineer in 1984. Mr. Ghafari established his company in 1982 based on a foundation of responsive client service and the use of the latest technology to improve quality. The success of the GHAFARI organization has been consistently acknowledged by such national publications as INC. magazine and Engineering News Record, as well as the other national print and broadcast media. GHAFARI projects have won numerous awards from associations such as the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Construction Association of Michigan, and the Engineering Society of Detroit. Yousif Ghafari is considered one of the Detroit area's leading philanthropists. In 1995 he was named one of the Top 100 "Executive Heroes" in southeastern Michigan. He is a member of the International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit's "Hall of Fame"; his portrait is on permanent display in downtown Detroit's Cobo Hall Convention Center. In 2005, Wayne State University acknowledged his longtime support by renaming one of its residence buildings Yousif B. Ghafari Hall. He is an active member in numerous business and sports clubs, including the Bloomfield Hills Country Club, Oakland Hills Country Club, and Tournament Players Club. An active athlete, he has run the Boston Marathon and Detroit Free Press International Marathon. Mr. Ghafari is on the Board of Trustees of the College for Creative Studies and Oakwood Healthcare, Inc. He is on the Board of Directors for Automobile Club of Michigan, Dura Automotive Systems, Inc., the Economic Club of Detroit, and the Wayne State University Foundation. In 2004 and 2005, he served as Public Delegate Designate at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations for the 59th United Nations General Assembly. He was appointed by President George W. Bush to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board in 2005. Mr. Ghafari is married to Mara Kalnins-Ghafari, J.D., and has three children. [Back to Top] Dr. Ray Irani Chairman, President and CEO Occidental Petroleum Corporation Dr. Ray R. Irani has been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Occidental Petroleum Corporation since 1990, and assumed the additional position of President in 2005. He has been a director of the company since July 1984. He was President and Chief Operating Officer of Occidental from September 1984 to December 1990, and before that was an Executive Vice President of the Corporation. Dr. Irani joined the Occidental organization in June 1983 as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Occidental Chemical Corporation, an Occidental Petroleum Corporation subsidiary. He was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd. from 1987 to 1999. Prior to joining Occidental, Dr. Irani served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Olin Corporation and as a member of that firm's Board of Directors. After starting his career as a research scientist, Dr. Irani played a key role in creating and developing commercially viable products and processes at Monsanto Company and Diamond Shamrock Corporation before joining Olin's Chemicals Group in March 1973 as Vice President of Research and Development. He was promoted to Senior Vice President of the Group in August 1974 and in December was elected a Corporate Vice President of Olin. He was appointed Executive Vice President of the Chemicals Group in March 1976; the Group's Chief Operating Officer in May 1977; President of the Group in October 1978; President of Olin Corporation and a member of the Board of Directors in September 1980; and Chief Operating Officer in October 1981. By 1963, he was Senior Research Group Leader at Monsanto. He joined Diamond Shamrock in 1967 as Associate Director for New Products and Processes and became that company's Director of Research two years later. Dr. Irani was born on January 15, 1935, in Beirut, Lebanon. He received a B.S. degree in chemistry from the American University of Beirut in 1953 and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Southern California in 1957. Dr. Irani holds 50 U.S. patents and more than 100 foreign patents, is the author of the book Particle Size, and has published more than 50 technical papers. Dr. Irani is a director of the American Petroleum Institute, KB Home and The TCW Group, Inc. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Chemists, Inc., the California Business Roundtable, The Conference Board, the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Committee on United States-China Relations, the National Petroleum Council, Sigma Xi - The Scientific Research Society, and the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council. He is a Trustee of the University of Southern California, and is Chairman of USC's Board Personnel Committee. He is also Vice Chairman of the Board of the American University of Beirut; a member of the Board of Governors of Town Hall Los Angeles and the Los Angeles World Affairs Council; and serves on the Advisory Board of RAND's Center for Middle East Public Policy. In 1994, Dr. Irani was appointed by President Clinton to the President's Export Council, the premiere national advisory committee on internationa l trade, and served on the Council as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe, Japan, and newly independent states until 2001. From 2002 to 2006, Dr. Irani served on the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. He also served on the Energy Advisory Board's Task Force on the Future of Science Programs. Dr. Irani was the recipient of the American Institute of Chemists' 1983 Honorary Fellow Award, Polytechnic University's 1988 Creative Technology Award, and the Chemical Marketing Research Association's 1990 Man of the Year Award. In 1992, he received the CEO of the Year Bronze Award from Financial World magazine and the Americanism Award from the Boy Scouts of America. In 1993, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor Award and the City of Hope's Humanitarian of the Year Award, as well as, the Silver Chief Executive Award from the Wall Street Transcript in both 1993 and 1995 for outstanding achievement in the domestic integrated oil industry. He also received the University of Southern California's 1997 Asa V. Call Achievement Award and the Volunteers of America's 1998 Marco Polo Award. In May 2003, Dr. Irani was presented with the American Task Force for Lebanon's Lifetime Achievement Award. In November 2003, Dr. Irani was the recipient of the first STOP CANCER Humanitarian Award. [Back to Top] Renée S. Acosta President & CEO Global Impact Ms. Acosta oversees policy development and implementation, fundraising and management for Global Impact. In addition, Global Impact was selected to manage the two largest federal workplace giving campaigns-the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area (CFCNCA) and the Combined Federal Campaign-Overseas (CFC-O) for the Department of Defense. In that capacity, Ms. Acosta is responsible for the management of the CFC-O for the Central, European, Pacific and Southern Commands. Global Impact is the not-for-profit partner managing the Fund. Global Impact represents many of America's most effective international charities, and has a 50-year history of integrity and accountability in raising money for those in greatest need around the world [Back to Top] Company Profiles Microsoft In 1975, Bill Gates and Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen saw the potential to turn a hobbyist's toy into something more. They sold the first software language program, called BASIC, for the Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) Altair 8800, the first "personal computer." BASIC, and the many software programs that followed from Microsoft developers and partners, helped spark a technology revolution that has transformed how we do business, how we live, and how we learn. As a company, and as individuals, we value integrity, honesty, openness, personal excellence, constructive self-criticism, continual self-improvement, and mutual respect. We are committed to our customers and partners and have a passion for technology. Microsoft is committed to being a responsible industry partner by working with businesses, communities, and governments to help advance social and economic well-being and to enable people around the world to realize their full potential. The Microsoft Global Citizenship Initiative is organized around three themes, or strategic concepts, which form the foundation of our citizenship activities worldwide: Responsible Business Practices, Security and Internet Safety, and Building a Knowledge Economy. Each of these themes is fundamental to our business. For more information visit www.microsoft.com. [Back to Top] Intel Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Their mission is to meet and exceed the expectations of customers, employees, and shareholders.  Intel is driven to create bold advancements in technology that lead to positive change and a better, more interesting world.  Learn more about these efforts at www.intel.com/pressroom. [Back to Top] Cisco Cisco is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Today, networks are an essential part of business, education, government, and home communications, and Cisco's Internet Protocol-based (IP) networking solutions are the foundation of these networks. Cisco was founded in 1984 by a small group of computer scientists from Stanford University. Since the company's inception, Cisco engineers have been leaders in the development of Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking technologies. Today, with more than 50,000 employees worldwide, this tradition of innovation continues with industry-leading products and solutions in the company's development areas of core routing and switching and advanced technologies. Cisco news and information are available at www.cisco.com. [Back to Top] GHAFARI Headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, GHAFARI is an organization of architects, engineers, consultants, and staffing specialists providing services to a global client base that includes the aviation, manufacturing, government, and commercial sectors. Founded in 1982 by Lebanon native Yousif B. Ghafari, the organization built its reputation on responsive client service and the use of the latest technology to improve quality. GHAFARI's consistent growth and success has been acknowledged on various national and local levels, including recognition in Engineering-News Record magazine as the #1 designer of automotive facilities and the #5 designer of manufacturing facilities in the United States. GHAFARI employs over 1,000 people from its Dearborn, Michigan headquarters and full-service offices in Chicago, Illinois and Indianapolis, Indiana. For more information please visit the GHAFARI website, www.ghafari.com. [Back to Top] Occidental Petroleum Corporation Occidental Petroleum Corporation is a world leader in oil and natural gas exploration and production and a major North American chemical manufacturer. With its core oil and gas operations in the United States, Middle East - North Africa region and Latin America, Oxy is helping to meet the world's energy needs. In the United States, Oxy is the largest oil producer in Texas and the largest natural gas producer in California, with additional operations in Kansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. In the Middle East - North Africa, Oxy has assets in Libya, Oman, Qatar, Yemen and is a partner in the transborder Dolphin Project that will supply natural gas from Qatar to markets in the United Arab Emirates. Our Latin American operations include producing assets in Colombia, Argentina and Bolivia. Occidental Chemical Corporation manufactures vinyls and specialty chemical products in addition to chlorine and caustic soda - the building blocks for products such as pharmaceuticals, water disinfectants, detergents and others. Worldwide, OxyChem's endeavors to safeguard the environment, protect the safety and health of employees and neighboring communities and uphold high standards of social responsibility.  For more information please visit www.oxy.com. [Back to Top] Global Impact Global Impact is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping the poorest people on earth. Global Impact represents more than 50 of the most respected U.S.-based international charities in workplace giving campaigns across the nation. Each year, Global Impact and its member charities touch hundreds of millions of lives in virtually every developing country through disaster relief, education, health training and economic programs that promote self-sufficiency. Additional information can be found at www.charity.org. [Back to Top]