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Alumnus Philip Reeker

Thunderbird School of Global Management alumnus Philip T. Reeker, who graduated from the school in 1991, was nominated U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia on March 31. He currently serves as counselor for public affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.

Prior to serving as counselor, Reeker was deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Hungary. He has also served as a deputy spokesman at the U.S. State Department, and earlier in his career was a public affairs officer in Skopje, Macedonia.

"Philip Reeker, like so many Thunderbird graduates, is the living embodiment of the school’s mission to educate leaders who are a driving force in making the world a better place," said Thunderbird President Dr. Angel Cabrera. "His career of Foreign Service throughout the globe is truly notable, and we are confident his work in Macedonia will be equally impressive."

The announcement marks the second time in recent weeks that a person affiliated with Thunderbird has been nominated to serve as an ambassador. Former Thunderbird trustee Barbara Barrett was nominated and appointed ambassador to the Republic of Finland in April. If Reeker is appointed to the position in Macedonia, he will join Niels Marquardt, a 1980 graduate, as Thunderbird alumni currently in the ambassador position. Marquardt serves as U.S. Ambassador to Madagascar.

Other alumni who formerly held the ambassador position include Luis Moreno, a 1977 graduate who served as U.S. Ambassador to Colombia; Lewis Lucke, a 1977 graduate who served as U.S. Ambassador to Swaziland; W.L. Brown, a 1960 graduate who served as U.S. Ambassador to Austria; and Tony Holmes, a 1979 graduate who served as U.S. Ambassador to Burkina Faso.