Ken Howery | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| United States Ambassador to Denmark Nominee | |
| Assuming office TBD | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Succeeding | Alan M. Leventhal |
| United States Ambassador to Sweden | |
| In office November 7, 2019 – January 20, 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Azita Raji |
| Succeeded by | Erik Ramanathan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kenneth Alan Howery (1975-11-04)November 4, 1975 (age 49) |
| Alma mater | Stanford University (BA) |
| Known for | Co-founder andCFO atPayPal; Co-founder and partner atFounders Fund |
Kenneth Alan Howery (/ˈhaʊəri/; born November 4, 1975) is an American entrepreneur and diplomat. He is a co-founder ofPayPal[1] andFounders Fund.[2] He served as theU.S. ambassador to Sweden from 2019 to 2021 under PresidentDonald Trump.[3]
On December 22, 2024, President-Elect Trump announced his intention to nominate Howery as the nextU.S. ambassador to Denmark.[4]
Howery was born in 1975 in Texas.[5][6] Later graduating fromStanford University in 1998 with a B.A. in economics. While at Stanford, he was managing editor ofThe Stanford Review, a student-run newspaper founded byPeter Thiel.[7]
The same year he graduated, he co-foundedPayPal withPeter Thiel,Luke Nosek,Elon Musk, andMax Levchin. The group of founders became known as thePayPal Mafia, which included other peers and early investors. From 1998 to 2002, Howery served as PayPal'sCFO. Following PayPal's acquisition byeBay in 2002, Howery served as eBay's Director of Corporate Development until 2003. Howery then rejoined Thiel in 2004 atClarium Capital Management, where he served as vice president of private equity, as well as a member of the research and trading teams.[citation needed]
In March 2012, theWorld Economic Forum named Howery a Young Global Leader,[8] a community of “socially-minded men and women selected under the age of 40, who operate as a force for good to overcome barriers that elsewhere stand in the way of progress."[9] He is also a member of the Selection Committee for the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneers Program.[10]
In 2005, Howery and Thiel, along with fellow PayPal alumnus, Nosek, startedFounders Fund, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm with over $3 billion under management, where he served as co-founder and partner. He has served on the boards ofQuantcast andZocDoc. In 2010, Venture Capital Journal named Howery one of the Top 10 VCs under 36.[11] He has lectured on entrepreneurship atHarvard Business School andStanford, and has helped students atUC Berkeley and theMcCombs School of Business develop business models.
Howery is a member ofThe Explorers Club, a non-profit group that promotes scientific exploration.[12]
Howery is an advisor toKiva, a 501(c)(3) charity organization which enables people to lend money via the Internet to low-income entrepreneurs and students in over 80 countries. He is a member of theU.S. Council on Competitiveness, which has a stated goal of increasing the United States' economic competitiveness in the global marketplace.[10]
Howery's net worth stands at $1.5 billion.[13]
On January 16, 2019, Howery was nominated byPresident Donald Trump to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Kingdom of Sweden.[14][15] Following a confirmation hearing on May 16, 2019, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee favorably reported Howery's nomination to the Senate, which confirmed Howery on September 17, 2019, by a vote of 62–32.[16][17] In his confirmation hearing, Howery stated his priorities as ambassador would include pursuing expanded economic and trade relationships, advancing mutual security commitments, and promoting science, technology and entrepreneurship opportunities.[18]
Howery was sworn in as ambassador on October 10, 2019,[19] and presented his credentials toHis Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf on November 7, 2019.[20]
As ambassador, Howery was active across a number of policy areas.[21] Howery engaged with Swedish officials on defense issues and military strategy, including pressing for increased interoperability of U.S. and Swedish military systems.[22][23] He also advocated for the longstanding U.S. goal of increased European defense spending; Sweden approved a 40% increase in defense spending over five years during Howery's tenure - the largest increase in more than 70 years.[24] President Trump later praised Howery's leadership on increasing defense, security, and economic cooperation between the United States and Sweden, saying "he served our [n]ation brilliantly," as an ambassador.[25]
Howery strongly advocated for clean5G technology,[26] promoting the officialU.S Department of State position that encourages the use of equipment made by Swedish manufacturerEricsson and asserts thatHuawei-made products are a security risk to democracies. Howery met with senior Swedish officials on5G security in September, 2020,[27] and Sweden subsequently announced a ban on equipment from telecommunication companies Huawei andZTE in its 5G network.[28]Howery also promoted increased cooperation, including on security issues, between the U.S. and Sweden in theArctic.[29] In October 2020, Sweden published its first new Arctic Strategy in a decade, highlighting concerns about deteriorating global relations and the growth of military activity in the Arctic.[30][31] His Arctic advocacy included helping establish a partnership between the Arctic Initiative at theHarvard Kennedy School of Government and Sweden'sLuleå University of Technology.[32]
As Sweden serves as theprotecting power for the United States in North Korea,[33] Howery worked to maintain a strong communication channel for the push for denuclearization, and worked with Swedish officials to counter disinformation, and promote democracy, human rights, free trade, and regional security.[23]
Howery advocated for the importance of transparency and information-sharing between countries to respond effectively to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[34] He led efforts by U.S. Embassy Stockholm to assist Swedish manufacturerGetinge with supply chain issues, helping it to expand production of ventilators for the benefit of COVID-19 patients in the United States and around the world.[35]
Howery engaged with the Swedish academic community, including on the role universities can play in entrepreneurship and the importance of academic integrity.[36][37] He conducted outreach to the U.S. and Swedish business communities in Sweden,[38][39][40][41][42] including delivering speeches at the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce.[43][44] He also engaged with top Swedish scientific research institutes, science parks, and Sweden's Innovation Agency.[45][46][47][48][49]
In response to growing calls for Sweden's NATO accession followingRussia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Howery authored an op-ed saying the Ukraine invasion had dramatically shifted public opinion in Sweden about NATO, and that the country would "make an outstanding addition" to the alliance and its joining "will be cause for celebration."[50]
President-elect Donald Trump announced Howery as his choice to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to theKingdom of Denmark on December 22, 2024.[4]
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| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Sweden 2019–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Minister Plenipotentiary |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Chargé d'Affaires | ||
| Minister Resident | ||
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | ||
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | ||