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Michael Masserman
Michael Masserman
Executive Director for Export Policy, Promotion, and Strategy
U.S. Department of Commerce
International Trade Administration
Michael Masserman serves as the Presidentially appointed Executive Director for Export Policy, Promotion, and Strategy at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Michael is charged with leading Commerce and government-wide efforts to implement the National Export Initiative (NEI), which President Obama laid out in his 2010 State of the Union Address with the goal of doubling exports by the end of 2014.
In addition to helping drive a “whole of government” approach to the NEI, Michael coordinates closely with private-sector companies, trade associations, chambers of commerce, and institutions such as Brookings, on advancing global trade and export policies and priorities.
Prior to his current role, Michael served as the Director of the Office of Advisory Committees within the Department of Commerce, where he managed over 20 different committees, including the President’s Export Council, that advise the President, Secretary of Commerce and the USTR on the formulation and implementation of trade policies.
Michael began his career practicing international corporate law at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York, where his focus was primarily on domestic and cross-border capital markets and securities transactions. After a number of years at Simpson Thacher, he moved to Sydney, Australia, where he worked at the law firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques and specialized in international mergers and acquisitions as well as international corporate finance.
Michael took a leave of absence from Mallesons to join the Obama campaign in 2008, where he worked on the political, field and constituency teams in a number of states. After the campaign, he worked as a business development consultant for a start-up company where he primarily worked on enhancing their global supply chain strategy.
Michael received his B.A. with distinction from the University of Michigan and his J.D. cum laude from University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
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