Thomas C. Foley

Thomas Coleman Foley (born January 9, 1952) is an American politician and businessman.

He went to both Phillips Academy Andover and Kent School (class of 1970) and then received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

He is no relation to former U.S. House Speaker Tom Foley.

At Andover, he played on the football team with New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

Foley first worked at McKinsey & Company and then at Citicorp Venture Capital.

He left CVC to found NTC Group, a private investment company, in 1985.

That year, NTC Group (also known as National Textile Corp) purchased the Bibb Company in Macon, Georgia.

NTC purchased T.B. Woods Sons Company in 1986 and Stevens Aviation in 1989.

NTC sold its interest in Bibb in 1996.

From August 2003 through March 2004, Foley served in Iraq as the director of private sector development for the Coalition Provisional Authority.

Foley's responsibilities included overseeing most of Iraq's 192 state-owned enterprises, stimulating private sector growth, developing foreign trade and investment, and overseeing three state Ministries.

Foley received the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award in June 2004 for his service in Iraq.

Woods, a manufacturing company headquartered in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, had operations in North America, Germany, Italy, and India, 2005 revenue of about $110.9 million and about 830 employees.

NTC principals still own Stevens Aviation, a provider to general aviation operators of fueling and other line services, maintenance, modification, and refurbishment work, as well as aircraft sales.

Stevens is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.

The company also has locations in Dayton, Ohio and Nashville, Tennessee, in addition to its two locations in Greenville.

He served as the United States Ambassador to Ireland from 2006 to 2009 and was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Governor of Connecticut in 2010 and 2014.

Foley is one of six children of Catherine Coleman Foley and Gifford Pinchot Foley (both deceased).

From October 2006 to January 2009, Foley was the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, appointed by President George W. Bush.

Foley served as ambassador at a time when U.S. foreign policy was unpopular in Ireland.

He directed his public diplomacy efforts mostly toward an improved understanding of U.S. foreign policy goals and shared interests with Ireland.

Foley worked with Robert Tuttle, U.S. Ambassador to the U.K., and special envoy Paula Dobriansky to re-establish the devolved government in Northern Ireland under the Good Friday Agreement and to stimulate investment there.

In April 2007, T.B. Woods was sold to ALTRA Holdings.

He was present in Belfast on May 8, 2007, when the new government of Northern Ireland was sworn in.

As ambassador, Foley hosted a conference on green technology in Galway and another in Dublin on philanthropy, bringing together experts from the U.S. and their Irish counterparts.

He was active in promoting cultural exchange by arranging visits from prominent Irish American artists and performers including Conan O'Brien and former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins.

In June, 2009, Foley announced that he would run for the U.S. Senate in 2010 against incumbent Christopher Dodd.

However, following the surprise announcement by Republican governor Jodi Rell that she would not seek a second term, Foley announced on December 3, 2009, that he was leaving the Senate race to run for Governor of Connecticut.

In its endorsement of Foley for the 2010 Connecticut governor's race, the Irish Voice said, "Foley is a former Ambassador to Ireland who performed great service there and is fondly remembered."

On May 22, 2010, Foley received the Republican Party's endorsement at the state convention.

Two other candidates, Lieutenant Governor Michael Fedele and Simsbury businessman Nelson "Oz" Griebel, also received sufficient support from delegates to qualify for an August 10, 2010, primary.

In the August 10 state Republican primary, Foley defeated challengers Fedele and Griebel to become the official Republican candidate for governor in 2010.

In the general election, Foley ran against Democrat Dannel Malloy, the former mayor of Stamford.

Foley ran on a platform emphasizing his executive and problem-solving experience in the private sector and that he was not a career politician.

Early in the campaign he published a "Plan Forward for Connecticut" outlining what he would do to solve Connecticut's biggest problems, including bringing more jobs to the state and closing Connecticut's large budget deficit.

In 2018, NTC's principals acquired Tenax Aerospace, headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi.

Tenax leases and operates general aviation aircraft for firefighting and other special mission work, mostly for U.S. Government customers.

In 2020, NTC's principals acquired The Entwistle Company, headquartered in Hudson, Massachusetts.

Entwistle manufactures systems and components for Navy ships and other military equipment.

Foley has served in national government twice.