L. Holden

Biography

John L. Holden is a nonresident senior fellow in the Carnegie Asia Program. He also advises corporations and other organizations on their operations in China and assists Chinese companies overseas. In addition, Holden is a frequent speaker at academic, policy, and business conferences, and he appears often in television, radio, and print media. Holden most recently served as both managing director and senior counselor for Hill+Knowlton Strategies in Beijing. Before that, he was founding chairman of Shaklee (China) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Shaklee Corporation. From 1998 to 2005, Holden was president of the National Committee on United States–China Relations, a member organization that has been at the forefront of bilateral relations since its founding in 1966. For the twelve prior years, he was employed by Cargill, where he helped establish a wide range of businesses in China and served as chairman of the China holding company. Holden has been active in the American Chambers of Commerce in both Hong Kong and Beijing, and he was chairman of the Board of Governors of the latter organization in 1997. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves as adviser to or director of a number of philanthropic, business, and educational organizations. Since his first trip to Asia in 1972, Holden has studied or worked for a total of twenty-five years in Taipei, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Kyoto.                  

Research Interest

Business and Management