The Leaderboard: Robert Holleyman

The Leaderboard profiles the people behind the policies of the Asia-Pacific.Who is he?

Robert Holleyman is currently the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cloud4Growth, a cloud technology development company. He previously headed the Washington -based lobby group Business Software Alliance for 23 years. He has worked as senior counsel at the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and as a member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, the principal trade advisory committee to the U.S. government.

Why has he been in the news?

President Barack Obama in February nominated Holleyman as the new deputy U.S. trade representative responsible for Asia and Africa, a position being temporarily filled by Wendy Cutler. His nomination hearing at the Senate Finance Committee took place on July 16.

What can we expect from him?

Holleyman’s experience in technology will stand him in good stead for his position. If confirmed, he will take up the position during a critical phase of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations and amid tense trade relations with China, especially given his responsibility for intellectual property and cyber/digital trade issues.

During his nomination testimony, Holleyman indicated he plans to address China’s retaliation against U.S. companies that raise problems about what they see as Beijing’s unfair trade and investment policies. Another issue that will weigh heavily on him is the TPP negotiations, which President Obama and other leaders have said they hope to wrap up by November.

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