Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12 1947) is an American businessman and politician. Formerly the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Romney unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination in the 2008 United States presidential election.

Romney was CEO of Bain & Company, a management consulting firm, and co-founder of Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm. After his business career and serving as the CEO of the 2002 Winter Olympics, Romney was elected as the 70th Governor of Massachusetts in 2002. Romney served one term and did not seek re-election in 2006; his term expired January 4, 2007.