Acrow Bridge CEO Bill Killeen Is Appointed to President's Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa

PARSIPPANY, NJ--(Marketwired - Oct 5, 2016) - Bill Killeen, President and CEO of Acrow Bridge, a leading international bridge engineering and supply company, was recently appointed to the President's Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (PAC-DBIA) by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. Established by executive order in August 2014 by President Obama following the U.S. Africa Business Forum held in Washington, DC, the Council's objectives are to connect American businesses with African partners, support existing and new American investment in Africa, expand access for American businesses to finance their exports to Africa and reduce barriers to trade and investment in Africa.

The Council's 23 members, made up of private sector leaders from a variety of industry sectors, will advise the President, through the Secretary of Commerce, on ways to strengthen commercial engagement between the U.S. and Africa. The appointments were announced in conjunction with the second annual U.S.-Africa Business Forum held on September 21 in New York. The Forum brings together hundreds of American and African business leaders as well as African heads of state to discuss how to stimulate additional trade and investment between the U.S. and Africa.

Killeen spoke during the plenary session of the Forum on "U.S.-Africa Partnerships Since 2014," which was when the first Forum was convened. Killeen and co-speaker Rahama Wright, Founder & CEO, Shea Yeleen, addressed some of the outstanding achievements over the past two years. 

"Acrow is proud to have worked on the African continent since the 1990's," said Killeen. "We have constructed more than 1,000 rural road bridges where 60% of the African population reside, mostly Sub-Saharan, and these bridges have been transformative to the lives of individuals, communities and businesses. Such improvements to infrastructure facilitate agricultural expansion, increase land values that can be collateralized for business financing, improve regional and export trade by eliminating supply-side transportation constraints, and increase accessibility to schools and medical clinics. Acrow bridges in rural settings allow safe and easy commutation for the 600 million people not living in the urban centers of Africa, which can lead to an expanded entrepreneurial spirit and the increase of individual prosperity. Additionally, an important part of every Acrow project is transferring a technical knowledge base to local workers on how to build and maintain bridges, in the process creating a robust skills-building program. We are excited and enthusiastic to continue to partner with all African nations and the private sector to support the goals of the billion people on this most remarkable continent."

Killeen joined Acrow Bridge in 1977, and has been President and CEO since 1995. He received his Bachelor's degree from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and has been a licensed Professional Engineer since 1987. He recently completed a six-year appointment to the Board of Directors of the Corporate Council on Africa.

About Acrow Bridge
Acrow Bridge has been serving the transportation and construction industries for more than 60 years with a full line of modular steel bridging solutions for vehicle, rail, vessel, military and pedestrian use. Acrow's extensive international presence includes its leadership in the development and implementation of bridge infrastructure projects in over 80 countries, covering Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.acrow.com.