Thomas Thomas Riley was the United States Ambassador to Morocco for 5 years. He was sworn in on December 21, 2003, and arrived at his post in January 2004. King Mohammed VI awarded Ambassador Riley the "Grand Croix du Ordre du Ouissam El Alaouite". In January 2009 following the inauguration of a new President, all Ambassadors automatically tender their resignations. Ambassador Riley was selected as the recipient of the State Department's 2009 Sue M. Cobb Award for Exemplary Diplomatic Service, the only award given by the State Department to a political-appointee Ambassador. Thomas Riley was Senior VP and Managing Director International for Savvis, Inc. until 2011. He then joined BrightSource Energy, an Oakland, California-based global provider of utility scale solar technology, as senior adviser for International business development.