Andrew Wylegala

Andrew Wylegala is the President of the National Association of Japan-American Societies.

Mr. Wylegala brings unique experience in international trade and investment promotion and policy, notably as a U.S. Senior Foreign Service Officer, where he reached the rank of Minister-Counselor for Commercial Affairs. His work commencement date will be announced upon his relocation to Taiwan in the coming weeks.

Mr. Wylegala has represented the U.S. Department of Commerce on four continents and over several decades, energetically supporting U.S. firms and advancing U.S. economic interests. He began his career as a trade analyst and Congressional staff member, progressing into client service work and senior management roles with postings to U.S. embassies and missions in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Baghdad, among others. As a visiting professor at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. he taught business analytics and led a competitiveness study of the U.S. microelectronics sector with field research in Taiwan. From July 2020 he coordinated life sciences trade and investment for the UK government, covering ten markets across Asia Pacific from Japan. During his tenure, London signed an economic partnership agreement with Japan, its first major trade deal as an autonomous trading nation.

Mr. Wylegala holds a B.A. with Honors from Cornell University and an M.A. in International Relations from John Hopkins University/S.A.I.S. (Bologna and D.C.). He speaks Japanese and Spanish and looks forward to resuming his study of Mandarin.