Candace Bond
{{Short description|American businesswoman & diplomat (born 1965)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Candace Bond
| image = Candace A. Bond, U.S. Ambassador 2.jpg
| office = United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago
| term_start = December 8, 2022
| term_end = January 20, 2025
| successor = TBC
| president = Joe Biden
| predecessor = Joseph Mondello
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|June 27, 1965}}
| birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
| children = 2
| spouse = Steven McKeever
| mother = Anita Lyons Bond
| education = Harvard University (AB, MBA)
}}
Candace A. Bond (born June 27, 1965) is an American businesswoman who is the president and CEO of AESA Inc., a business advisory and community development consulting firm. She had served as United States ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago.
Early life and education
Bond was born in St. Louis in 1965. Her mother, Anita Lyons Bond, is a civil rights activist. After graduating from the Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government from Harvard College and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.{{Cite web |title=Candace Bond McKeever's Biography |url=https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/candace-bond-mckeever |access-date=2022-03-18 |website=The HistoryMakers |language=en}}
Career
From 1992 to 1997, Bond was a vice president at Motown Records. In 2019, she was featured in The Black Godfather, a Netflix documentary about the record label.{{Cite web |title=Candace Bond-McKeever |url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm8999717/ |access-date=2022-03-18 |website=IMDb}} From 1997 to 2001, she was the vice president of De Passe Entertainment for special projects. From 2001 to 2003, she was the vice president of Essence and general manager for entertainment. In 2004 and 2005, she was a senior partner at Impact Strategies. From 2005 to 2010, she was a managing partner at Infusion Media Partners. She was also a business development advisor at EV Structure. Since 2010, she has been a principal at Beacon Rose Partners, a real estate investment firm. She is the president and CEO of AESA, a consulting firm that offers advisory services in community development, environmental stability, governance, education, and health equity.{{cite web |title=President Biden Announces Key Nominees |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/03/18/president-biden-announces-key-nominees-7/ |website=The White House |access-date=29 June 2022 |date=18 March 2022}}
=United States ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago=
On March 18, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Bond to be the next ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago. Hearings on her nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 28, 2022. The committee favorably reported her nomination to the Senate floor on August 3, 2022. She was confirmed by the Senate on September 29, 2022.{{cite web |title=PN1892 - Nomination of Candace A. Bond for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022) |url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/117th-congress/1892 |website=www.congress.gov |access-date=29 June 2022 |date=30 March 2022}} On November 15, 2022, she was ceremonially sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris as ambassador,{{cite web |title=CANDACE BOND SWORN IN AS NEXT AMBASSADOR TO TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO |url=https://tt.usembassy.gov/candance-bond-sworn-in-as-next-ambassador-to-trinidad-and-tobago/ |website=tt.usembassy.gov |date=15 November 2022 |access-date=17 November 2022}} and she presented her credentials to President Paula-Mae Weekes on December 8, 2022.{{cite web |url=https://guardian.co.tt/news/new-us-ambassador-pledges-to-continue-strong-bilateral-ties-with-tt-6.2.1586107.61930ba556 |title=New US ambassador pledges to continue strong bilateral ties with T&T |date=2022-12-09 |website=Guardian Trinidad & Tobago |access-date=2022-12-09}}
Personal life
Bond and her husband, Steven McKeever, have two children and live in Los Angeles. McKeever works as an attorney.{{Cite web |title=Woman of Achievement |url=http://www.stlamerican.com/news/community_news/celebrations/woman-of-achievement/article_01c0708c-b579-11e3-b2d1-001a4bcf887a.html |access-date=2022-03-18 |website=St. Louis American |date=27 March 2014 |language=en}} Bond's older son, Brent McKeever, is a photographer.{{Cite web |last=Chong·Art· |first=Chantelle |date=2020-07-31 |title=Brent Mckeever Captures the Sexy, Young, Desired, and Reckless |url=https://sheeshmagazine.com/brent-mckeever-photography-captures-the-sexy-desired-young-and-reckless/ |access-date=2022-03-18 |website=SHEESH MAGAZINE |language=en-US}}
References
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{{s-bef|before=Joseph Mondello}}
{{s-ttl|title=United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago|years=2022–2025}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bond, Candace}}
Category:21st-century American businesswomen
Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Trinidad and Tobago
Category:American entertainment industry businesspeople
Category:American women ambassadors
Category:American women chief executives
Category:Businesspeople from Los Angeles
Category:Businesspeople from St. Louis
Category:Diplomats from Los Angeles