The Associated Press reports President Trump has nominated William Francis Hagerty IV as Ambassador to Japan. Bill Hagerty, the co-founder of private-equity firm Hagerty Peterson and Company, is not a newcomer to politics. Earlier in his career, he served in the HW Bush Administration as a White House Fellow, reporting directly to the Vice President on matters of international trade, commerce, treasury, defense and telecommunications. After serving as Mitt Romney’s national finance chair in 2008, the Tennessee native was tapped by the newly-elected Governor Bill Haslam to serve as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. His three-year tenure from 2011 – 2014 was hailed for its successes of significant investments by companies like Bridgestone, Calsonic Kansei and Nissan into the Volunteer State. In total, Hagerty’s term oversaw the addition of more than $15 billion in capital and 90,000 jobs. Hagerty was a Jeb Bush supporter early in the 2016 presidential election cycle, but switched to Donald Trump after he cinched the nomination. Soon after, Hagerty became instrumental in the Trump campaign and was eventually named as the transition team’s Director of Appointments in August of 2016. News of his official nomination is not a surprise to political watchers. President Trump first mentioned…
Read the full storyFormer Tennessee Trade Secretary Tapped for Ambassador to Japan
