Mr. Rick C. Wade
Senior Vice President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Rick C. Wade is a seasoned leader with deep experience in both the public and private sectors. One of six children of the late Ellen Wade and Joe Wade, Sr., he was raised in the small textile community of Lancaster, S.C. His mother was a Nurse Assistant at Springs Memorial Hospital and his father a Forklift Operator at Springs Bleachery. His parents, teachers, and local leaders taught him the importance of faith, education, and hard work.
At an early age, Rick had an entrepreneurial spirit. He and his younger brother pulled their red wagon across the neighborhood in search of redeemable soft drink bottles to sell to the local grocer. He mowed lawns and swept floors at the Lancaster Creamery store to help support his family and pay for his college education at the University of South Carolina. While at USC, he was an honors student, campus leader, and received a B.S. in biology. He was awarded a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard University, where he was also a John F. Kennedy Fellow, and has studied at both the Interdenominational Theological Center and Wesley Theological Seminary.
Currently residing in Columbia, S.C. and Washington, D.C., Rick is Senior Vice President of Strategic Alliances and Outreach at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – the world’s largest business organization. He provides counsel on policy issues affecting America’s private sector and develops initiatives to help the business community expand its relationships and impact across various audiences. He created the Equality of Opportunity Initiative to advance policy and private sector solutions to help close opportunity gaps in America; serves as a liaison to various business groups and institutions of higher learning; and leads the Chamber’s efforts to advance and grow the sports and entertainment economy.
Before joining the Chamber, Rick was President & CEO of The Wade Group, a global communications and business development firm. Previously, he was Senior Adviser and Deputy Chief of Staff for Gary Locke, the 36th U.S. Secretary of Commerce, who later became Ambassador to China. While at the Commerce Department, he had a hand in all major policy, personnel, and program matters. He developed external partnerships and served as a liaison to the White House, Congress, federal agencies, state and local officials, businesses, trade associations and civic organizations. Rick was integrally involved in international trade and was instrumental in expanding opportunities for U.S. companies to sell their products in the global market.
He represented the U.S. at international trade forums including the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation, African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum, and Conference on the Caribbean and Central America. He served as Special Envoy to the Caribbean, oversaw private sector initiatives in Haiti following the 2012 devastating earthquake, and led trade missions around the world.
Rick also worked closely with Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to foster regional economic development in distressed areas, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration on expanding broadband to rural and urban America, the Minority Business Development Agency to create jobs through the growth of minority-owned enterprises, and the Census Bureau on executing the 2010 decennial census. A former White House mentor, Rick served on the White House Task Forces on Middle Class America, Puerto Rico, Small Business Contracting, Automobile-Recovery, Military Families, and Historically Black Colleges & Universities.
Rick is a former executive at Hoffman-La Roche pharmaceutical company, Fowler Communications, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of S.C. In 2005, following Hurricane Katrina, he led the efforts at Blue Cross Blue Shield to house and provide services to many evacuees and their families. He was the 2002 Democratic nominee for S.C. Secretary of State and a 2014 candidate for the U.S. Senate. A former member of the Democratic National Committee, he was also a Senior Adviser for the 2008 Obama for America campaign where he helped to direct strategies in the early primary states of Iowa and South Carolina. In his role as National Director of African American Vote, he successfully engaged political, faith, business, and community leaders as well as entertainers and athletes to help register and mobilize unprecedented numbers of African American voters across the country. He served as Chief of Staff for S.C. Lt. Governor Nick Theodore and was a member of the Cabinet of S.C. Governor Jim Hodges, serving as State Director of the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Services.
Rick began his career as an Admissions Counselor at USC and later at the S.C. State House of Representatives where he worked as a Research Analyst for the powerful Ways and Means Committee. He was the liaison to the Commission on Higher Education and oversaw the budgets of the state’s colleges, universities, and technical schools. While Executive Assistant to the President of USC, he created the Office of State Government & Community Relations.
After his mother passed in 2013 of medical complications resulting from a severe stroke, Rick became a voice for stroke prevention through the National Stroke Association. A current member of the board of USA Track & Field, he has also served on the boards of the Columbia Urban League, Wilberforce University, National Forest Foundation, USC Folks Center for International Business, Sisters of Charity Foundation, Educational Opportunity Center, and Francis Burns United Methodist Church Foundation.
Rick was awarded honorary doctorates from Benedict College and S.C. State University and has received numerous awards for exemplary leadership and public service.
