Private Company Director’s Directors to Watch 2026 highlights 29 significant and diverse directors who have contributed to and will continue to expand ongoing dialogue on board best practices and corporate governance excellence.
Reta Jo Lewis
Rare Earth Americas
Reta Jo Lewis is a global business advisor, corporate director and lawyer whose career spans three decades in international trade, export finance, government affairs, and state and local relations. Lewis serves as a nonexecutive director of Rare Earths Americas, where she chairs the nominating and corporate governance committee. She most recently served as the 27th chairman, president and CEO of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, overseeing $135 billion in financing authority and advancing U.S. competitiveness in critical minerals, clean energy and key technologies. A former partner at an international law firm, she has served in three Presidential administrations and is co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains.
Geopolitics as governance. “Boards in geopolitically exposed sectors must treat government engagement as a core fiduciary duty. Effective directors set a clear strategy for engaging administrations, key agencies, Congress, and state and local leaders to assign proper accountability for execution. Leading boards use evidence-driven outreach rooted in national security awareness rather than transactional lobbying. They build lasting government relationships that provide early warning of risk and a credible platform to influence policy. By learning from former regulators, diplomats and local leaders, boards gain critical insight into how geopolitical tensions shape markets and can craft a unified strategy that withstands policy changes and global volatility.”