Meet the Director, Herb Cochran
Herb Cochran
Executive Director, Ho Chi Minh City
American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam
Herb Cochran is Executive Director of AmCham Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City, where he has helped AmCham members develop an influential organization to promote trade and investment between Vietnam and the United States, with a focus on improving the business environment and developing information and outreach activities.
He mobilized AmCham Vietnam members’ substantial efforts to conclude negotiations on the Vietnam-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement in 2000 and Vietnam’s WTO Accession, and to have these two agreements approved by the U.S. Congress.
Herb helped AmCham Vietnam develop its information and outreach activities such as organizing trade and investment missions to the U.S. by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and the Dong Nai People’s Committee, hosting the 40th Annual Meeting of the Asia Pacific Council of AmChams, and developing the AmCham web site at www.amchamvietnam.com, which welcomes over 100,000 visitors and nearly 200,000 page views per month.
With Herb’s leadership, AmCham Vietnam’s committees and industry sector experts have helped improve mutual understanding on key issues in U.S.-Vietnam trade and investment, including implementation of trade agreements, preserving Vietnam-U.S. apparel trade, strengthening governance and anticorruption efforts, developing infrastructure, education and work-force development, and other issues.
In addition, Herb helped develop an AmCham partnership with United Way International to support member companies in their corporate social responsibility and community development. Moreover, AmCham is active in the Asia Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce.
Organizationally, AmCham never been stronger. As noted in the Annual Report for 2006, the number of company and associate members and representatives has quadrupled and the annual revenues have nearly quintupled
Prior to joining AmCham, Herb was Commercial Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi and Principal Commercial Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City. He helped establish the commercial office of the U.S. Embassy, hiring staff and establishing trade and finance programs, including the U.S. Ex-Im Bank, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). In 1998-99 he established the commercial office of the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City.
Herb also served as Regional Director, East Asia and Pacific, U.S. Commercial Service, based in Washington DC. His responsibilities included program, personnel, and budget support for the commercial departments of 15 United States Embassies in the Asia/Pacific region, from Tokyo, Seoul, and Beijing in Northeast Asia, to all the countries of Southeast Asia, and down to Australia and New Zealand, with a total staff of 200 and annual budget of $20 million.
Other international assignments were: Commercial Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, Commercial Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, and at the U.S. Consulate General in Osaka, Japan. Prior assignments were at the Office of Japanese Affairs in the Department of State, in Tokyo, Yokahama, and Okinawa, Japan.
Born in North Carolina, Herb earned a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (History), and a Certificat from the Institut d’Études Politiques (Sciences Po) in Paris. He is also a graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington DC (National Defense Strategy).
He is a member of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives, the
American Foreign Service Association, and the Army and Navy Club in Washington DC.
Contact Points:
AmCham Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City
New World Hotel Business Center #323
76 Le Lai Street, District 1
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
T: +84 8 824 3562
F: +84 8 824 3572
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