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Richard Cantor
Chair US-PECC and Vice Chairman at Moody’s Investors ServiceRichard Cantor is Vice Chairman of Moody’s Investors Service (MIS) and a key external spokesperson for the credit rating agency on market developments with investors, regulators, academics and other market participants. He is particularly focused on shaping the methodological approaches employed by the company in ESG- and climate-related markets. Mr. Cantor also serves as Chair of the U.S. National Committee of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), and International
Co-Chair of PECC.
Prior to his current role, from 2008-2022, Mr. Cantor served as MIS’ Chief Credit Officer and was responsible for the rating agency’s global credit strategy and thematic research, the quality and consistency of its ratings across regions and sectors, and the
procedures, methodologies, models, and tools used in the determination of ratings.
Concurrently, from 2009 to 2019, Mr. Cantor also served as Moody’s Corporation’s Chief Risk Officer and in this role, led the firm’s global risk management function.
Mr. Cantor was appointed in 2015 by the U.S. State Department to a three-year term on the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC), during which he chaired ABAC’s Financial and Economic Working Group.
Prior to joining Moody’s, Mr. Cantor held a variety of positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, including in the Capital Markets Group and the Discount Window, and was an adjunct professor at New York University’s and Columbia University’s
business schools. He has also taught Economics at UCLA and The Ohio State University. Mr. Cantor holds BA degrees in English and Economics from Tufts University and a PhD in Economics from Johns Hopkins University.
Adina Renee Adler
Deputy Executive Director of Silverado Policy AcceleratorAdina joined Silverado Policy Accelerator in February 2022 as Deputy Executive Director to lead Silverado’s work on Trade & the Circular Economy, among other key trade and environmental policy issues, while also executing Silverado’s growth to effectively lead accelerated policy that advances American prosperity and global competitiveness in the 21st century.
Prior to Silverado, Adina was Vice President of Advocacy at the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), a trade association, overseeing government relations efforts at the State, Federal and International levels, advocacy with law enforcement and ISRI’s commodities and market analysis on behalf of the recycling industry. Prior to ISRI, Adina was Director of Global Government Affairs for Alcoa and Arconic and International Government Relations Advisor for Shell Oil Company, advising business leaders on trends in U.S. trade and international policy. Adina also served in the U.S. Government as Director for South Asia in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and International Trade Specialist at the U.S. Department of Commerce, both assignments responsible for U.S. commercial and trade policy with the countries of South Asia. Adina has a B.A. in International Affairs from The George Washington University and M.A. in International Economics and International Law from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and has lived in and traveled to more than 75 countries for business and pleasure.
Manu Bhalla
Director, Office of Economic Policy, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at U.S. Department of StateManu Bhalla is the Director of the Office of Economic Policy at the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. During his tenure as the Acting APEC Senior Official from July 2021-January 2022, he presented and secured consensus on the U.S. offer to host APEC in 2023. Mr. Bhalla served from 2018-2020 as the Deputy-Director of the Office of Maritime Southeast Asia. Mr. Bhalla served from 2015-2018 as the Director of the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) Regional Office in Rabat, Morocco working with U.S. Missions in North Africa and Levant in implementing MEPI Grants with civil society organizations. Mr. Bhalla also served for six-months as the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission in Morocco.
Mr. Bhalla came to Rabat from his previous assignment as the MEPI Regional Director in Abu Dhabi supporting MEPI implementation in the Arabian Gulf and Levant. Prior to that he served as the Economic Section Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore. Since joining the Foreign Service in 2003, Mr. Bhalla has also served as a vice-consul and Political Officer in Philippines (2003-2005), as the U.S. representative at the APEC Counter-Terrorism Task Force (2005-2006), as Staff Assistant to the East Asia and Pacific Affairs Assistant Secretary (2006-2007), as the Environment and Science Hub Officer for the MENA region based in Amman, Jordan (2007-2010) and as a Political Unit Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul (2010-2011).
Prior to joining the State Department, Mr. Bhalla served in the private sector for 12 years and was responsible for consulting engagements and business development in over 20 countries. His positions have included the Vice President for Professional Services at Internet Commerce Services in New Hampshire, and the Vice President for International Operations for a subsidiary of Marshall and Ilsley Bank. He also worked for seven years for a New York start-up SEER Technologies which included tenures as Consulting Manager for Asia (based in Singapore) and Consulting Manager for Scandinavia (based in Copenhagen) providing consulting services to the financial services industry.
Mr. Bhalla has a B. Sc in Electrical Engineering from the Danish Engineering Academy, and an MBA from Boston College. He completed a National Security Strategy Master’s degree at the National War College in 2021. He speaks Danish, Hindi, and some Spanish. He is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service.
Orit Frenkel
Chief Executive Officer at American Leadership InitiativeDr. Orit Frenkel is the co-founder of the American Leadership Initiative where she leads all aspects of ALI’s programs and policy development. She has 39 years of experience working on Asia, trade, and foreign policy issues, with a special emphasis on the challenges facing U.S. manufacturing companies.
Prior to founding ALI, Orit was a senior executive with General Electric Company for 26 years. In that position, she was responsible for supporting GE’s international sales, policy objectives, government relations, and corporate social responsibility initiatives. Orit’s extensive work with US and foreign governments, as well as with a variety of stakeholders, resulted in billions of dollars of GE sales.
Orit worked to support GE’s global transactions, advising on investment and sourcing decisions, and working with U.S. and multilateral financing institutions to obtain financing for GE’s transactions.
She led GE’s policy and transactions in China over 26 years, working to develop a response to challenges such as China’s indigenous innovation policies, and its Belt and Road strategy.
She led GE’s advocacy on a range of trade policy issues, including TPP, KORUS, WTO, and coordinated GE’s policy, strategy development, coordination and consensus building among stakeholders in GE, the broader business community and external stakeholders.
Orit worked to develop policy positions for GE on issues such as renewable energy and digital trade.
Dr. Frenkel started her career in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative where she was the Director for Trade in High Technology Products and Deputy Director for Trade with Japan, and spent a detail working for Congressman Lee Hamilton during his time as Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Dr. Frenkel is also the President of Frenkel Strategies, a consulting firm specializing in Asia policy, market access issues and international trade. She is a member of APCO’s International Advisory Committee, and a Senior Advisor with Asia Group Advisors.
She is the author of numerous published articles on trade and foreign policy issues, as well as a book on the negotiation of the US-Israel Free Trade Area. She is an Adjunct Fellow with the Center on Strategic and International Studies, and has served on the board of numerous trade associations and on Department of Commerce and State Advisory panels.
Ms. Frenkel received a Ph.D.in International Economics from The Johns Hopkins University, an M.P.P. from the University of Michigan, and a B.A. in Economics with honors from University of Maryland (Phi Beta Kappa).
Ed Gresser
VP and Director of Trade and Global Markets at Progressive Policy InstituteEd Gresser is Vice President and Director for Trade and Global Markets at PPI.
Ed returns to PPI after working for the think tank from 2001-2011. He most recently served as the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Trade Policy and Economics at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). In this position, he led USTR’s economic research unit from 2015-2021, and chaired the 21-agency Trade Policy Staff Committee.
Ed began his career on Capitol Hill before serving USTR as Policy Advisor to USTR Charlene Barshefsky from 1998 to 2001. He then led PPI’s Trade and Global Markets Project from 2001 to 2011. After PPI, he co-founded and directed the independent think tank ProgressiveEconomy until rejoining USTR in 2015. In 2013, the Washington International Trade Association presented him with its Lighthouse Award, awarded annually to an individual or group for significant contributions to trade policy.
Ed is the author of Freedom from Want: American Liberalism and the Global Economy (2007). He has published in a variety of journals and newspapers, and his research has been cited by leading academics and international organizations including the WTO, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund. He is a graduate of Stanford University and holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Columbia Universities and a certificate from the Averell Harriman Institute for Advanced Study of the Soviet Union.
Edon Hoppener
Second Secretary Trade and Economic at Embassy of New ZealandEdon Hoppener is the Second Secretary (Trade and Economic) at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington DC. Prior to this he spent five years working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Wellington.
Edon has held previous roles in the North Asia, Economic, and Pacific Regional divisions, mostly recently covering New Zealand’s attendance at the Pacific Islands Forum in Samoa (2017), Nauru (2018), and Tuvalu (2019).
He holds a Law Degree and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in History and International Relations from Te Whare Wānanga o te Ūpoko o te Ika a Māui – Victoria University of Wellington.
Ambassador Sarah Bianchi
Deputy United States Trade RepresentativeAmbassador Sarah Bianchi currently serves as Deputy United States Trade Representative, overseeing Asia, Africa, Investment, Services, Textiles, and Industrial Competitiveness. Ms. Bianchi has spent nearly a decade in government roles in economic and domestic policy including in the Office of the Vice President, the White House Domestic Policy Council, the Office of Management and Budget and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
In 2011, Ms. Bianchi was appointed by then Vice President Biden as his head of economic and domestic policy where she coordinated all policy initiatives ranging from workforce competitiveness to manufacturing to budget negotiations. She also served as Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. Ms. Bianchi has also served as a senior advisor to the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware where she worked on a variety of economic policies and served as Chair of the Institute's Policy Advisory Board.
Ms. Bianchi has served in a number of private sector roles as well. Most recently, she worked at Evercore ISI as a senior managing director in the macroeconomic research group where she led United States public policy research. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1995 and served on the Senior Advisory Committee at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University from 2004 to 2021. Bianchi and her husband have a thirteen-year-old daughter and an eleven-year-old son and live in Arlington, Virginia.