President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Export-Import Bank of the United States
By Jean Hardiman
As the first woman and first West Virginian to serve as president and chairman of the board of directors for the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), Kimberly Reed lives her life according to the same 4-H club pledge she learned growing up in Upshur County: “I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service and my health to better living for my club, my community, my country and my world.”
Throw in the fact that she’s a hardworking, focused and dedicated straight shooter with a solid West Virginia education and a diverse Washington, D.C., career behind her, and Reed is soundly prepared to further her agency’s mission of supporting U.S. businesses in their exporting pursuits.
“I entered law school knowing I wanted to further issues important to West Virginia at the federal level,” she says.
She’s had many opportunities to do so in a career that spans the U.S. Congress, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Wall Street, international food and agricultural organizations, presidential campaigns and now EXIM.
Reed’s broad career follows a childhood filled with difficulty, amazing people and learning opportunities. Born in Charleston, WV, in 1971, she spent part of her childhood living out of state before settling in Buckhannon at age 5. Her father, attorney Terry Reed, wanted his children to have the same Upshur County education he had.
When Reed was 9 years old, her mother, Janet, passed away after a three-year battle with cancer, and her grandparents, Avis and Max, helped raise her, making sure she got involved in meaningful activities, including 4-H. Growing up in Upshur County, she did everything from participating in the First United Methodist Church hand bell choir to running track and cross country to serving as a page in the West Virginia Legislature.
“If there was something interesting to do, I wanted to be part of it and learn and grow,” says Reed. “Of course, academics always came first. The Upshur County teachers were outstanding, and programs like Gifted Education and the Governor’s Honors Academy made a big difference in my development.”
Reed planned to be a doctor and took the pre-med track while attending West Virginia Wesleyan College (WVWC). However, one class—JFK, Catholicism and the 1960 West Virginia Primary taught by Dr. Robert Rupp—changed her course forever. She discovered she loved both science and politics and went the extra mile to graduate in 1993 with a double major in biology and government and a minor in chemistry. She then took the LSAT and applied to the West Virginia University (WVU) College of Law.
“The WVU College of Law provided me with an experience based on West Virginia values, history and people. Studying state law and reading cases written by West Virginia judges touched me deeply, as these things were connected to my roots,” she says. “Most importantly, the professors taught me how to think critically—a skill I continue to use to this very day.”
Reed interned each summer in Washington, D.C., and moved there following law school graduation in 1996. Her first job in law was serving as counsel with the U.S. House of Representatives, where she learned how to put together Congressional hearings, research legislative history, investigate issues, write Congressional reports and conduct oversight of federal agencies.
She then served as senior adviser to U.S. Treasury Secretaries John Snow and Henry Paulson and headed the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, a position in which she prioritized expanding economic opportunities in rural America.
“As president of the International Food Information Council Foundation, I utilized both my science and legal education and forged into new arenas to ensure we had a seat at the table, including at the United Nations, for major global decisions on food safety, agriculture, diet and health,” says Reed. “Now, at EXIM, I am learning about every industry in our country that is or could be exporting globally to increase their economic success and jobs here at home.”
An important tool throughout her career has been how she and her team approach issues management.
“This is a skill you learn early in law school,” she says. “You should plan for every scenario but also be able to adapt when life throws you unexpected curve balls. The key is to use your problem-solving and negotiation skills to drive toward the best possible outcome, always go the extra mile to understand the larger landscape and then strategically focus.”
Reed was nominated for her position by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a strong bipartisan 79-17 vote—a two-and-a-
half-year process.
“I was surprised and honored when President Trump asked me to take on this role,” she says. “All my prior diverse experience, when knitted together, prepared me to lead this 86-year-old institution, which has the critical mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating U.S. exports. It provides billions of dollars in financing to U.S. businesses of all sizes.”
As president and chairman, Reed oversees everything in the organization from a strategic perspective, including large and small business deals totaling billions of U.S. dollars and supporting thousands of U.S. jobs and management of the 515-person EXIM team. She also keeps tabs on external, domestic and international events; White House and interagency engagement on larger economic and national security issues; and COVID-19 economic recovery.
“We are focused on recruiting and retaining the best talent possible in order to deliver on our mission,” she says. “I am pleased to say that EXIM’s workforce is now 53% female and those West Virginia values are part of our agency’s culture.”
Now a Washington resident, Reed’s volunteerism has ranged from the legal field to the Alzheimer’s Association to agricultural research and more. She’s a proud member of P.E.O. International, a women’s educational organization, and previously chaired a scholarship committee for exceptional high school women headed to college. She has been recognized as one of Washingtonian’s 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington and one of the 100 Women Leaders in STEM and honored with WVWC’s Young Alumni Achievement Award.
“My greatest success is leading EXIM to new heights, but a close second would be my induction into the Order of the West Virginia Golden Horseshoe by Governor Arch Moore in 1985 for earning a top score on the eighth grade West Virginia history test,” she says. “I proudly wore my Golden Horseshoe Pin during my swearing in ceremony with the president in the Oval Office.”
