Robert Ray

Mr. Ray has an array of experience in the political, civic and business arenas.
He retired January 1997 as President and Chief Executive Officer of IASD Health Services Corp.
(d.b.a.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa).
Prior to joining Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Mr. Ray was President and Chief Executive Officer of Life Investors, Inc., now known as AEGON, Inc., a major insurance and financial services company.
As an attorney, Mr. Ray was a partner in a Des Moines law firm, Lawyer, Lawyer and Ray, for fourteen years before being elected Governor.
An Iowa native, Mr. Ray served five terms as Governor of Iowa from 1969 to 1983.
He was Republican State Chair and Chair of the Republican State Central Committee.
In the late 1990's, Mr. Ray served as President of Drake University, his alma mater, and served as Mayor of Des Moines.
Mr. Ray has been a U.S.
Representative to the United Nations.
He was Chairman of the National Governors' Association, Midwestern Governors' Association, Republican Governors' Association, Chairman of the Educational Commission of the States, and a number of other national organizations.
Mr. Ray served as the Chairman of the Iowa Sesquicentennial Commission and is currently Chairman of the Institute for Character Development, focused on civility and character development in Iowa.
He was a founder of the Iowa Peace Institute, Sister States, and the Iowa National Heritage Foundation.
Mr. Ray was named "Iowa's Most Influential Man" in 1999.
As an Army veteran, Mr. Ray earned degrees in Business Administration and Law from Drake University.
He holds the Order of Coif distinction and is the recipient of honorary degrees from seventeen colleges and universities.
He is a trustee for the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library.