Who We Are

Leadership Focused on Oregon’s Life and Future

The Oregon Business Council is an association of more than 40 business community leaders focused on public issues that affect Oregon’s life and future. Founded in 1985, we are patterned after the national Business Roundtable and affiliate organizations in a number of other states. Our mission is to partner with other Oregon leaders to identify and address policy issues of long-term importance to the well-being and prosperity of Oregonians—all of them in all parts of the state.

OBC is nonpartisan and independent, and our policy agenda is broader than the interests of individual businesses or industries. Since our founding, we have worked on issues as diverse as K-12 and higher education, health care, salmon and watershed health, a drug-free workplace, transportation, fiscal reform, and economic development.

Business Leadership Attuned to Oregon’s Issues

Our member companies are a cross-section of Oregon’s largest and most civically engaged enterprises. They are located throughout Oregon and participate in every facet of the economy, including manufacturing, agriculture, electronics, software, natural resources, finance, energy, retailing, health care, and construction.

The top executive officers of each member company, typically leaders in their industries and communities, make up our board of directors. They apply their energies, knowledge, and leadership, as well as the resources of their companies, to OBC’s work on public issues. OBC’s staff supports this involvement, with additional assistance, as needed, from consultants.