Bernard L. Schwartz is a private investor, a retired industrialist, a progressive public policy advocate and a philanthropist. Chairman and CEO of BLS Investments, LLC, a private investment firm, Mr. Schwartz also manages the investments of the Bernard and Irene Schwartz Foundation. The foundation invests in think tanks, universities and advocacy organizations that develop policies to promote U.S. economic growth and job creation initiatives. It also supports institutes of higher education, medical research and New York City-based cultural organizations. Mr. Schwartz is a life-long Democrat and an active supporter of the Democratic Party.
Prior to establishing BLS Investments in March 2006, Mr. Schwartz served for 34 years as chairman of the board and CEO of Loral Corporation and its successor, the satellite communications company Loral Space & Communications, formed in 1996. Loral Corp, a Fortune 200 defense electronics firm, employed as many as 38,000 employees at its 25 locations. At its height Loral attained annual revenues of nearly $7.5 billion and had a market value of $13 billion.
In addition, from 1989 to 2005, Mr. Schwartz formed and served as chairman of the board of K&F Industries, a worldwide leader in the manufacture of wheels, brakes and brake control systems for the aviation industry. He also served until 2001 as chairman and CEO of Globalstar Telecommunications Limited, a low-Earth orbit global mobile satellite telecommunications network launched under his leadership in 1991.
Mr. Schwartz is often called upon to express his views or provide counsel on matters ranging from U.S. economic growth and competitiveness to job creation, investment in infrastructure, innovation, technology, and research and development. At a number of institutions, he has initiated programs that rigorously examine current U.S. economic policy and competitiveness, and that consistently challenge current orthodoxy to arrive at policy proposals that will further U.S. economic and technological preeminence and will create jobs. The programs employ lectures, position papers, op-ed pieces, conferences and debates, and tap the expertise of leading economists, business people, and policy makers. The policy proposals that emerge from these programs are broadly distributed to members of the administration and Congress, educators, researchers, the media and the general public.