The Aspen Institute

Susan Schwab is Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Foreign Trade Council, Strategic Advisor at Mayer Brown LLP, and Professor Emerita at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy. She served as U.S. Trade Representative (2006–09) and as deputy (2005–06). As USTR, she concluded multiple free trade agreements and launched the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. She pursued and/or settled trade disputes with China, Canada, and the EU, and engaged in negotiations at the WTO, APEC, and various bilateral and plurilateral forums. In academia, she served as dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland and as CEO of the University System of Maryland Foundation. She still teaches classes in international trade. In the private sector, Ambassador Schwab was director of corporate business development for Motorola, Inc., where she engaged in M&A and JV negotiations in Asia, including in China. Earlier in government, she served as assistant secretary of commerce and director-general of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service, as chief economist and legislative director for Senator John Danforth (R-MO), and as a foreign service officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. She began her career as an agricultural trade negotiator at USTR. Ambassador Schwab serves on the boards of Caterpillar, FedEx, and Marriott. In addition to the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), she is on the boards of The Conference Board, Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), and Signature Theatre. She holds a B.A. from Williams College; a master’s from Stanford University; and a Ph.D. from The George Washington University.