The Business Roundtable (BRT) is a nonprofit lobbyist association based in Washington, D.C. whose members are chief executive officers of major U.S. companies. Unlike the United States Chamber of Commerce, whose members are entire businesses, BRT members are exclusively CEOs. The BRT lobbies for public policy that is favorable to business interests, such as lowering corporate taxes in the U.S. and internationally, as well as international trade policy like the North American Free Trade Agreement.

In 2019, the BRT redefined its definition of the purpose of a corporation as participating in stakeholder capitalism, putting the interests of employees, customers, suppliers, and communities on par with shareholders. The BRT's board members include, as of 2024, chair Chuck Robbins of Cisco (CEO); former White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten; Mary Barra of General Motors; Tim Cook of Apple; and Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase.

On October 13, 1972, the March Group, co-founded by Alcoa chairman John D. Harper and General Electric CEO Fred Borch, the Construction Users Anti-Inflation Roundtable, founded by retired United States Steel CEO Roger Blough, and the Labor Law Study Group (LLSG) merged to form the Business Roundtable. Politically conservative and originated to resist the growing power of unions in the 1960s, especially construction unions.

The March Group consisted of chief executive officers who met informally to consider public policy issues; the Construction Users Anti-Inflation Roundtable was devoted to containing construction costs; and the Labor Law Study Committee was largely made up of labor relations executives of major companies. Harper was the newly founded group's first president, followed by Thomas Murphy of General Motors, Irving Shapiro of DuPont, then Clifford Garvin of Exxon.

In 2010, The Washington Post characterized the group as President Barack Obama's "closest ally in the business community."

On August 19, 2019, the BRT redefined its decades-old definition of the purpose of a corporation, replacing its bedrock principle that shareholder interests must be placed above all else, as defined in 1970 by conservative economist and Nobel economics laureate Milton Friedman and promoted during the 1980s in the teachings and writings of economist Alfred Rappaport; the shareholder value theory was widely adopted in 20th century North American boardrooms. The BRT statement, signed by nearly 200 chief executive officers from major U.S. corporations in 2019, makes a "fundamental commitment to all of our stakeholders", including customers, employees, suppliers and local communities.

The Business Roundtable played a key role in defeating an anti-trust bill in 1975 and a Ralph Nader plan for a consumer protection agency in 1977. It also helped dilute the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act. But the Roundtable's most significant victory was in blocking labor law reform that sought to strengthen labor law to make it more difficult for companies to intimidate workers who wanted to form unions. The AFL-CIO produced a bill in 1977 that passed the House. But the Roundtable voted to oppose the bill, and through its aggressive lobbying, it prevented the bill's Senate supporters from rounding up the 60 votes in the Senate necessary to withstand a filibuster.

In fiscal policy, the Roundtable was responsible for broadening the 1985 tax cuts signed into law by Ronald Reagan, lobbying successfully for sharp reductions in corporate taxes. In trade policy, it argued for opening foreign markets to American trade and investment. In 1990, the Roundtable urged George Bush to initiate a free trade agreement with Mexico. In 1993, the Roundtable lobbied for NAFTA and against any strong side agreements on labor and the environment. The Roundtable also supported the new NAFTA deal in 2019.