Rick C. Wade

Rick C. Wade is President of The Wade Group, a global business development and strategic communications firm. A graduate of the University of South Carolina and Harvard University, he is a former Senior Adviser to both Obama for America presidential campaigns and Deputy Chief of Staff for U.S. Secretary of Commerce and Ambassador to China Gary Locke. While at Commerce, Rick helped to expand opportunities for U.S. companies to sell their products abroad and represented the department at many international forums such as the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation, African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum and the Conference on the Caribbean and Central America. Rick was an executive at Green Tech Automotive, Harves Investment Group, Hoffman-La Roche and Blue Cross Blue Shield. A former member of the Cabinet of S.C. Governor Jim Hodges, he also served as Executive Assistant to the President of the University of South Carolina and Chief of Staff for Lt. Governor Nick Theodore. A member of the Democratic National Committee, he was the 2002 Democratic nominee for S.C. Secretary of State and a 2014 candidate for the U.S. Senate. A frequent public speaker, columnist and MSNBC commentator, Rick has received numerous awards for exemplary leadership and public service.