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The Los Angeles World Affairs Council, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation held an exclusive, invite-only event featuring Chevron CEO Mike Wirth who highlighted “Advancing a Global Energy Transition” at the California Club.

Michael K. (Mike) Wirth:  

Michael K. (Mike) Wirth, 63, has been chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Chevron Corporation since 2018. Wirth served as vice chairman of the board in 2017, and as executive vice president of Midstream & Development from 2016 to 2018, where he was responsible for the shipping, supply and trading, and pipeline and power operating units, as well as for Chevron’s strategy, business development, and corporate affairs. 

Previously, Wirth was executive vice president of Downstream & Chemicals from 2006 to 2015 and president of Global Supply and Trading from 2003 to 2006. He joined Chevron as a design engineer in 1982 and holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Colorado.Wirth serves on the board of directors of Catalyst and the American Petroleum Institute, and is a member of the National Petroleum Council, the Business Roundtable, the World Economic Forum International Business Council, the American Heart Association CEO Roundtable, The Business Council, and the American Society of Corporate Executives. 

The Honorable Maria Contreras-Sweet: 

The Hon. Maria Contreras-Sweet served as an Obama cabinet member, California state cabinet official and investor/entrepreneur. Her achievements in bringing efficiencies and modernization to large scale organizations have earned her international acclaim. Honorable Contreras-Sweet, was sworn in as a member of President Obama’s cabinet as the 24th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). She was charged with supporting America’s 28 million small businesses, which create a majority of US jobs and employ half of our nation’s private-sector workforce. As an entrepreneur, Contreras-Sweet is one of a few in the US to start a publicly-traded bank. Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, the bank focused on the small and mid-size market. She served as its founding and executive chairwoman, successfully steering it through the great recession. Prior, she served as the California cabinet Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. She serves as the Board Chair of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall.  

President & CEO Maria Salinas:  

Maria S. Salinas is the President and CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the largest business association in Los Angeles County representing member companies and serving the interests of more than 235,000 businesses across the Los Angeles region. Ms. Salinas took the helm of the organization in August of 2018 and became the first woman and Latina to lead the Chamber in its 136-year history. An accomplished businesswoman, entrepreneur, and a determined community leader, Ms. Salinas’ business acumen and financial expertise provide her with the right experience to lead the L.A. Area Chamber. Ms. Salinas, a steward of the Chamber’s new vision, “A Thriving Region for All,” has re-imagined the role of the Chamber. The Chamber looks to the future with a vision to build an inclusive economy and lead in three pillar areas of focus: advocacy work, global engagement, and through community collaboration for economic growth and mobility. The Los Angeles region, which is the 14th largest economy in the world, and the Chamber membership represents a broad spectrum of industries, small businesses, corporations, academic institutions, and nonprofits, which are all examples that the Los Angeles economy is diverse, dynamic and that business is a force for good. Ms. Salinas was an appointee to Governor Gavin Newsom’s Commission on the Future of Work and named to his Business and Jobs Recovery Task Force during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was appointed to the US Chamber of Commerce’s Committee of 100, a distinction reserved for the top 100 Chambers across the country. She represents the Los Angeles business community in state-wide policy initiatives with the Coalition of Regional Economic Association Leaders (R.E.A.L.), she is a member of the Board of Directors of Mobility 21, a regional transportation effort, and an appointee of Mayor Karen Bass to the Small Business Cabinet. She serves on the Board of Directors of The Music Center and Pacific Council for International Policy, among others. 

President & CEO Stephen Cheung:  

Stephen Cheung is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) and its subsidiary, the World Trade Center Los Angeles (WTCLA). As CEO of the LAEDC, Mr. Cheung brings together the capabilities of LAEDC’s mission-delivery department areas, including the Institute for Applied Economics (Research), Business Assistance, Industry Cluster Development, Workforce Development, World Trade Center Los Angeles (International), Strategic Relations, Communications & Marketing, and Public Policy, into a single team that delivers the LAEDC’s critically important, public-benefit mission – Reinventing our economy to collaboratively advance growth and prosperity for all. In 2023, Cheung was elevated to President and CEO after serving as Chief Operating Office and Executive Vice President of LAEDC, and continues in his concurrent role as President of World Trade Center Los Angeles, a title he has held since coming to the organization in 2014. Prior to that, Cheung was the Secretary General and Managing Director of International Trade and Foreign Affairs for Los Angeles Mayors Eric Garcetti and Antonio Villaraigosa, and was responsible for managing policies and programs related to the Port of Los Angeles, Los Angeles World Airports, International Affairs, Global Trade and Clean Technology. In these roles, he was the lead organizer for the Mayors’ previous international trade missions to Mexico, China, Korea, Japan, Colombia, Chile and Brazil. Furthermore, Cheung implemented the city’s strategic plan to make Los Angeles a global capital of clean technology by building the infrastructure to support research, development and manufacturing with key partners. Concurrently, Cheung was the Director of International Trade for the Port of Los Angeles – the busiest container port in North America, and was responsible for developing programs to increase trade through the Port of Los Angeles, and facilitate goods movement through the Southern California region. Cheung currently sits on the Board of Advisors of UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA Extension, Coro Southern California and Sister Cities of Los Angeles, while also serving on the Los Angeles County Workforce Development Board. 

Jeff Wilson:  

Jeff Wilson is the Manager of Corporate Affairs for Chevron Corporation representing Chevron’s subsidiary companies in the Los Angeles basin. In this role, Jeff leads government, policy, and stakeholder engagement on behalf of Chevron and serves on the El Segundo Refinery Leadership Team. His civic engagement, environmental and energy policy advocacy spans three decades, and during his career he has conducted over 2,000 media interviews.  Before Chevron, Jeff was Field Director for a major statewide ballot campaign representing the California Business Roundtable and then the Manager of External Affairs for the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA).  Jeff currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and is the fundraising Co-Chair for the L.A. Jobs Political Action Committee (PAC). He represents Chevron before the Southern California Leadership Council (SCLC), Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) and Los Angeles World Affairs Council, also having served on the Radio Television News Association (RTNA) Board, where he was honored with a Golden Mike Award. Jeff was also appointed by the State of California as the Business/Economic Governing Board representative to the Santa Monica Bay Commission and elected by the City of El Segundo to serve on the South Bay Workforce Investment Board. He is a champion for under-served communities and is a graduate of the Leadership Los Angeles Program and current President of the Board for the R.M. Pyles Boys Camp, which over its 75-year history has served over 35,000 at-risk youth. He has served on numerous non-profit boards including the Los Angeles Boys and Girls Club, Grades of Green, Manhattan Beach Mayors Youth Council, and he is an Advisory Board member and mentor for the children’s cancer support organization Walk with Sally, where he was just recognized as Mentor of the Year. Jeff received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) and is a graduate of the University of Southern California (USC) Management Development Program. 

David Adishian: 

David is a Managing Director, Senior Financial Advisor and Senior Portfolio Manager who leads Merrill Lynch Wealth Management’s Adishian Group. For over twenty years, their Group has advised successful individuals, executives, entrepreneurs, and their families on strategies to help protect and grow their investment assets. Clients often seek David’s counsel following a meaningful financial event such as sale of their business and real estate as well as life events including relocation, changing advisors, passing of loved ones, divorce, inheritance, and other family planning matters. For their businesses, clients seek David and his team’s access to distinctive resources and subject matter experts who support companies with business loans, lines of credit, real estate financing, and cash management. David graduated with Omicron Delta Epsilon honors from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a degree in Business Economics and received his Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University School of Law where he was a Margaret Brock Scholar. David holds the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor™ and the Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor® designations and he is also member of the State Bar of California. 

Dr. Richard Downie 

Richard Downie is President & CEO of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall. He is also on the faculties of the Thayer Leader Development Group at West Point and Missouri State University’s Defense and Strategic Studies Program. Additionally, he chairs the Pacific Council on International Policy’s Mexico Initiative Advisory Board, and serves on the Boards of the World Hwa Rang Do Association and Westport Construction Inc., He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. A graduate of the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point (Class of 1976), he holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Southern California. Previously, Dr. Downie served for nine years as the Director (SES-3 level) of the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies in Washington, D.C., the Department of Defense’s regional security center for the Americas. At the Perry Center, he led a wide variety of courses, seminars and conferences on security and defense topics, as well as dialogues and workshops for ministries of defense and cabinet-level national leaders. During a distinguished military career, he held a wide variety of command and staff positions, serving as an Infantryman and as a Foreign Area Officer specializing in Latin America. Dr. Downie had several assignments in Germany; was an exchange officer in Colombia, where he completed the LANCERO (International Ranger) School as the distinguished graduate; worked at both the U.S. Army South and the United States Southern Command in Panama; coordinated Western Hemisphere affairs on the U.S. Joint Staff; served with the Multinational Specialized Unit in Bosnia; and was the Defense and Army Attaché in Mexico. His final U.S. Army assignment was in command of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), where he served as the Institute’s first Commander. Dr. Downie authored Learning from Conflict: The U.S. Military in Vietnam, El Salvador and the Drug War, Greenwood Press, as well as numerous scholarly articles and other publications. His military education includes the U.S. Army War College, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff Course and the Defense Strategy Course. He was also a Fellow in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Seminar XXI Program. His numerous US and foreign awards and decorations include: the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious and the Meritorious Service Medals, the Joint Service and Army Commendation and Achievement Medals, the Army Expeditionary Medal, the Inter-American Defense Board Medal, the Order of Military Merit (Colombia), the Bosnia/ Former Yugoslavia NATO Medal, the Order of Military Merit (Mexico), the Order of the Peruvian Cross (Peru), the Order of Merit for Democracy, Grand Knight level (Colombia), the Superior War College Medal (Colombia), the First Medal of Laws (University of Nuevo Leon, Mexico), and the Order of St. Maurice (Cdr-level).