A Kansas business executive and former Democratic congressional candidate has been named as the new international director at the Commerce Department.
Lt. Gov. and Secretary of Commerce David Toland announced the hiring of Laura Lombard, who had worked as president and CEO of Kansas Global Trade Services in Wichita.
“Kansas has retaken its rightful position on the global stage because of a rejuvenated International Division and Governor Kelly’s personal involvement with negotiations,” Toland said in a statement.
“I am excited for Laura Lombard to lead our team, where her business acumen and experience will help drive record-breaking exports and foreign direct investment even higher,” he said.
Before leading Kansas Global, Lombard served as CEO of ImEpik and was founding president and executive director of the Middle East & North Africa Consultants in Washington, D.C.
She also served as media relations coordinator and a consultant at The Cohen Group, a firm founded by former Secretary of Defense William Cohen.
Five years ago, Lombard ran for Congress in the 4th District but lost in the Democratic primary to James Thompson.
Lombard graduated from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies with a master’s in international relations and economics.
She also has a bachelor’s in political science and international studies from the University of Kansas.
“I am truly excited to help grow the economy of my state in this new role,” Lombard said in a statement.
“The International Division has had important recent successes – particularly the Panasonic investment – and I can’t wait to build upon those successes in the coming months and years,” she said.
Lombard’s first day will be Sept. 18, when she will take over for Jeff Willis, who recently retired.
Within his first year as commerce secretary, Toland hired Willis to run that arm of the agency, charged with growing the state’s exports and attracting more foreign investment to Kansas — something that happened when Panasonic chose to build a plant in De Soto.
Kansas exports reached an all-time high of $13.97 billion in 2022, a 11.4% increase from the previous record set in 2021.
Gov. Laura Kelly this week traveled to Japan and South Korea to participate in the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference.
While there, she met with business leaders to continue building on the state’s economic development efforts.
