Business Intelligence Briefing: U.S.-Vietnam Policy Outlook

Senior Advisor

McLarty Associates

Steven Okun is a renowned expert on US politics, government and trade and an in-demand speaker.

Steve is a Senior Advisor for geostrategic public affairs firm McLarty Associates based in Singapore, where he works with global clients across the Asia Pacific region. Previously, he was  head of public affairs for UPS and then for global investment firm KKR. He serves on the Board of Governors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.

Steve provides analysis on a regular basis for both CNBC and Channel NewsAsia with appearances on other global media, as well as writing regular commentary for Singapore’s The Straits Times.

Formerly Deputy General Counsel in the Clinton Administration at the US Department of Transportation, he worked on each of the presidential campaigns of the Democratic candidates from 1988-2000.

Charles Freeman (Virtual)

Senior Vice President for Asia

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Charles Freeman, senior vice president for Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has been helping companies navigate complex markets in the Asia-Pacific for 25 years. His career included senior stints in government, business, law, and academia, giving him a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities in the world’s most dynamic region.

During his government career, Freeman was assistant U.S. trade representative for China affairs, serving as principal U.S. trade negotiator with China. He also was legislative counsel in the U.S. Senate, where he concentrated on East Asian economic and trade issues.

After leaving government, Freeman consulted on Chinese and other Asia-focused business and policy matters for some of the world’s leading companies during market entry, expansion, and crises phases alike. He also served as PepsiCo’s vice president for global public policy and government affairs for Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

In addition, Freeman was chair of China studies at Washington, D.C.-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Earlier, he was based in Hong Kong with The Asia Foundation and the International Herald Tribune and worked as a securities lawyer and venture capitalist investing in emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and China.

He is on the board of directors of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and Harding Loevner Funds, an internationally focused mutual fund group. He is also a senior adviser to CSIS.

Freeman earned his doctor of law degree from Boston University’s School of Law and his bachelor’s degree in Asian studies and economics from Tufts University.He did postgraduate work at Fudan University in Shanghai and studied Mandarin Chinese at the Taipei Language Institute.

Murray Hiebert (Virtual)

Head of Research

Bower Group Asia

Author of “Under Beijing’s Shadow: How Southeast Asia is responding to China’s Rise“.

Murray is a top Asia expert and skilled researcher with three decades of experience living and working in Asia. His networks in business, media and government circles are deep and wide-ranging.

He is also a senior associate of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. Earlier he served as deputy director of the program for six years. Prior to joining CSIS, Murray served for five years as senior director for Southeast Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce where he worked with leading American companies, the U.S. government and Southeast Asian counterparts to develop trade and investment opportunities between the United States and Asia.

Murray joined the U.S. Chamber from the Wall Street Journal’s China bureau where he covered trade, intellectual property rights and China’s accession to the World Trade Organization. Prior to his posting to Beijing, he worked for the Wall Street Journal Asia and the Far Eastern Economic Review in Washington, reporting on U.S.-Asia relations.

From 1995 to 1999, Murray was based in Malaysia for the Far Eastern Economic Review. He covered the Asian financial crisis and also reported on developments in Singapore. In the early 1990s, he was based in Hanoi for the Review, reporting on Vietnam’s economic reforms and opening to the outside world. Murray joined the Review’s Bangkok bureau in 1986, covering political and economic developments in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. He authored two books on Vietnam, Chasing the Tigers and Vietnam Notebook. His newest book, Under Beijing’s Shadow: Southeast Asia’s China Challenge, is available starting August 2020.

Murray holds a master’s degree in news media studies from American University.

Dr. Le Hong Hiep (Virtual)

Fellow

Regional Strategic and Political Studies Programme

Vietnam Studies Programme

Dr. Le Hong Hiep is a Fellow at the Vietnam Studies Program and the Regional Strategic and Political Studies Program of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore. He is also an editor of the institute’s flagship journal Contemporary Southeast Asia. Hiep holds a BA from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, an MA in International Relations and a Master of Diplomacy from the Australian National University. In 2015, Hiep earned his PhD in Political and International Studies from the University of New South Wales, funded by the Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Award. Before joining ISEAS, Hiep worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and taught at the Faculty of International Relations, Vietnam National University-HCMC. Hiep’s scholarly works and analyses have been widely published, including two books: Living next to the Giant: The Political Economy of Vietnam’s Relations with China under Doi Moi (2016) and Vietnam’s Foreign Policy under Doi Moi (2018, co-edited with Anton Tsvetov).

Lecturer of Public Policy

Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management

Nguyen Xuan Thanh has twenty years of experience in teaching, designing, and implementing development policies in finance and public investment. At Fulbright University Vietnam, Thanh teaches at the Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management. Nguyen Xuan Thanh also is a senior fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). Prior to joining the Fulbright School, Thanh served as an official in the municipal government of Ho Chi Minh City.

Thanh’s research interests are banking, public investment, and infrastructure development. His recent and ongoing research projects include financing infrastructure development and cross-ownership in Vietnam’s banking sector.

At the Fulbright School, Thanh teaches courses on Introduction to Public Policy, Local and Regional Development, Appraisal of Public Investment, and Leadership in the Public Sector. He also teaches regularly in the Fulbright School’s executive education and participate in policy dialogues with public sector agencies in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

Thanh earned a B.A. (hons) in economics from the University of New Delhi, an M.S. in economics in finance from the University of Warwick, and an M.P.A. from Harvard University.