Mitch Daniels is an accomplished American academic leader, businessman, author, and former politician. He served as Indiana's 49th governor from 2005 to 2013 and later as president of Purdue University from January 2013 to December 2022.

Daniels launched his career in politics as an assistant to Senator Richard Lugar, later becoming his chief of staff in the U.S. Senate from 1977 to 1982. He then went on to serve as the executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (1983–1984) when Lugar was chairman. In 1985, he worked as a top assistant to President Ronald Reagan. Daniels returned to Indiana to head the Hudson Institute, considered the nation’s original think tank. His career in the private sector took him to Eli Lilly and Company, where he held senior positions, including president of North American Pharmaceutical Operations (1993–1997) and senior VP of corporate strategy and policy (1997–2001).

In January 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Daniels as the director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, a position he held until June 2003.

After leaving the Bush administration, Daniels ran for governor in one of the most imaginative and entertaining campaigns of modern times. Though he was widely urged to run for President in 2012, Daniels ultimately chose not to enter the race. After his terms as governor ended in January 2013, the trustees of Purdue University named him the school’s next president.