Howard W. Lutnick is an American businessman and the current U.S. Secretary of Commerce, appointed in 2025. He is best known as the chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, a leading financial services firm, as well as chairman and CEO of BGC Group and Newmark Group, major players in brokerage, financial technology, and commercial real estate. Born on July 14, 1961, Lutnick graduated from Haverford College with a degree in economics and joined Cantor Fitzgerald in 1983, rising to president and CEO by 1991 and chairman in 1996. Lutnick's career was profoundly shaped by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which destroyed Cantor Fitzgerald's headquarters in the World Trade Center, killing 658 of its 960 New York employees, including Lutnick’s brother. In response, he led the company’s rebuilding efforts and founded the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, which has raised over $180 million to support victims' families and aid disaster relief worldwide. His resilience earned him recognition such as Financial Times’ Person of the Year in 2001 and Ernst & Young’s U.S. Entrepreneur of the Year in 2010. Under Lutnick’s leadership, Cantor Fitzgerald and its affiliates employ more than 10,000 people globally and hold extensive financial and real estate assets. He has driven strategic growth through acquisitions and innovation, including the 2004 spin-off of BGC Partners and the 2011 acquisition of Newmark, which later went public. Politically, Lutnick shifted from Democrat to Republican, closely aligning with Donald Trump. In 2024, he co-chaired Trump’s presidential transition team and was nominated by Trump as U.S. Secretary of Commerce, confirmed by the Senate in early 2025. In this federal role, Lutnick oversees economic data, trade enforcement, industrial policy, and climate monitoring, supporting policies like tariffs and domestic industry investment. Lutnick is also active in philanthropy and serves on the board of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum[1][2][3][5][6][7][8].