Mr. William Perry assumed US Executive Directorship of the International Biofuels Commission (formerly the Inter-American Ethanol Commission) on July 14, 2008, after serving as a consultant since its inception in late 2005. Over the course of more than three previous decades, he has compiled an extensive record of accomplishment in the field of US relations with the remainder of the Western Hemisphere at distinguished academic and public policy institutions, in government service and through his work with the private sector.

Mr. Perry has taught or conducted research at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, the School of Advanced International Studies of The Johns Hopkins University, the Stanford Research Institute, the University of Brasilia, and the Center for Strategic International Studies. He has also served as the chief staff person for hemispheric affairs on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Director for Latin American Affairs at the National Security Council and Senior Advisor to three Assistant Secretaries of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. In addition, he was in charge of Latin American issues for the campaign of George H. W. Bush in 1988 – at which time his efforts laid the basis for what is today the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) initiative – and discharged similar responsibilities for the Republican presidential candidates in 1992, 1996 and 2000.

Mr. Perry has, since 1996, also been the principal at William Perry and Associates, a Washington-based firm providing consulting services to governments and the private sector throughout the Western Hemisphere. Business and government service have taken him to almost all the countries of the region and he is a fluent speaker of both Spanish and Portuguese. He is the author of numerous book-length works, studies, reports and articles. Moreover, his opinions are widely cited by print and electronic media in Europe and Latin America, as well as the United States. He has frequently been called upon to provide testimony before various Committees of the US Senate and House of Representatives.

Mr. Perry received a B.A, in History and Political Science (Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of Vermont and earned his M.A. in International Studies and Latin American Affairs at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He has resided in Vienna, Virginia for more than 25 years, is married to Carmen Tello de Perry and they have two daughters, Chantal and Diana.