Private sector 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. In April 2007, T.B. Woods was sold to
ALTRA Holdings. 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. 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.
Public sector Foley has served in national government twice. 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. 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. 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 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."
2010 gubernatorial campaign 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. 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. Foley also promoted an aggressive plan to improve Connecticut's underperforming inner-city schools.
The New London Day said in their endorsement of Foley, that "he is best suited for the job at hand. The challenges confronting the next governor do not appear to intimidate him. He is pragmatic about what needs to be fixed."
The New Haven Register also endorsed Foley, described him as "the more forthright of the two candidates", and stated that "Foley's record as a business executive is commendable. His business skills in increasing productivity while keeping an eye on cost are needed in the governor's office." In the general election for governor, Foley received 560,874 votes (48.95%), just short of Democrat
Dan Malloy's 567,278 (49.50%) tally, a difference of fewer than 6,500 votes. After nearly a week of uncertainty about the actual vote tally from Bridgeport and several other towns, he conceded defeat on Monday, November 8. Ultimately, Foley spent $11 million of his own money on the race.
2014 gubernatorial campaign Foley won the Republican nomination for governor on May 17, 2014, securing more than 57% of the delegates. He faced Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and Senate Minority Leader John McKinney of Fairfield in the August primary. Foley said that he and McKinney, his main rival, agreed to forgo any negative campaigning during the primary to avoid weakening the Republicans' general election candidate, and then later accused McKinney of violating that pledge when the campaign took a negative turn. On June 3, 2014, Foley announced that he would accept public financing. On August 12, 2014, Foley won the primary against McKinney by almost 10,000 votes, winning in every county. In the general election, Foley promised to solve Connecticut's fiscal crisis without raising taxes. He said he would reduce unnecessary costs and regulatory burdens on employers to stimulate job growth and would reduce the car tax in the state's largest cities. Foley's pledge not to raise taxes forced Governor Malloy to do make the same pledge, but within nine months of the election Governor Malloy signed a bill significantly raising Connecticut taxes both on individuals and businesses. Foley was criticized by his opponent for paying no federal income tax for 2011 and 2012 and only $673 for 2013. He explained that he typically has no taxable personal income unless one of the companies he owns is sold at a profit, which had not happened in those years. Foley's Democratic opponents in the general election initially tried to draw attention to a car accident Foley had in 1981. The state Democratic Party Communications Director who was leading the effort to attract attention to the accident was let go in early 2014 and Foley's opponents’ primary messaging switched to Foley's wealth and that he was out of touch with workers. The campaign rhetoric between the two candidates was acrimonious. Foley lost the general election to incumbent Dannel Malloy, 507,544 (48.1%) to 537,017 (50.9%).
After 2014 Foley endorsed
Chris Christie in the
2016 Republican primaries. ==Personal life==