Karen Gordon Mills (born September 14, 1953) served as the 23rd Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). She was nominated by President-elect Barack Obama on December 19, 2008, confirmed unanimously by the Senate on April 2, 2009, and sworn in on April 6, 2009. During her tenure, her office was elevated to the rank of Cabinet-level officer, expanding her power on policy decisions and granting her inclusion in the President's cabinet meetings. On February 11, 2013, she announced her resignation as Administrator and left the post on September 1, 2013.
Since leaving the SBA, Mills has served as a Senior Fellow at Harvard Business School and Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. She is the president of the investment firm MMP Group, Inc., the vice chairman of the board of directors of the immigration services company Envoy Global, and a regular contributor to Fortune and other publications. She is the author of Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream.
