Susan C. Schwab

Susan C. Schwab is Professor of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, and a strategic advisor to the law firm of Mayer Brown LLP. Ambassador Schwab served as United States Trade Representative (2006-09), and as Deputy USTR from 2005-06. Her career has spanned the public, private and non-profit sectors, with an emphasis on international trade and competitiveness. As USTR, she concluded free trade agreements with Peru, Colombia, Panama and South Korea and helped achieve Congressional approval of FTAs with Peru, Bahrain and Oman. Schwab launched the initial Trans Pacific Partnership trade negotiations and worked to close the WTO Doha Round negotiations. She was able to settle a two-decade long dispute with Canada over softwood lumber; initiated and resolved multiple trade disputes with China and others; and concluded the United States’ bilateral WTO accession agreement with Russia, as well as seeing the admission to the WTO of Vietnam and Ukraine. Previously, in academia, Schwab had served as dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, president of the University System of Maryland Foundation.

In the private sector, she was director of corporate business development for Motorola, Inc., negotiating joint venture agreements in China and elsewhere in Asia. And in government, Ambassador Schwab served as assistant secretary of commerce and director-general of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service, responsible for the global network of export promotionprofessionals who work with small, medium and large U.S. firms interested in doingbusiness internationally. Prior to that, she had been legislative director for Senator John C. Danforth (R-MO), a trade policy officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, and an agricultural trade negotiator. Schwab serves on the boards of FedEx, Caterpillar, Boeing, and the Signature Theatre, and Chairs the U.S. Air Force Academy Board of Visitors.

She is also on the board of advisors of Miller Buckfire and is a member of the Aspen Strategy Group. She holds a B.A. from Williams College, a master’s from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. from The George Washington University.