About the Author

Patrick Chovanec (程致宇) is an Associate Professor of Practice at Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management in Beijing, China, where he teaches in the school’s International MBA Program.  His insights into Chinese business, economics, politics, and culture have been featured by both Chinese and international media including CNN, BBC, CNBC, Time, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Bloomberg, New York Times, Washington Post, Forbes, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Atlantic, PBS, NPR, and Al Jazeera.  He serves as Chairman of the Public Policy Development Committee for the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

Professor Chovanec has worked for several private equity funds focused on China, and continues to advise numerous fund managers, corporations, and governments.   Previously, he served as director of Institutional Investor’s Asia Pacific Institute, based in Hong Kong, and its Global Fixed Income Institute, based in London.  Prior to that, Chovanec worked in Washington, DC, as an aide to political strategist William Kristol and to Speaker of the House John Boehner.  He also served for nine years as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserves.

Professor Chovanec first visited China in 1986, and has traveled to every one of its 31 provinces, as well as Taiwan.  His travels have taken him to over 45 countries, including India, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Cuba, Vietnam, and Cambodia.  He is one of only a very limited number of U.S. citizens to have visited North Korea.

He holds an BA in Economics from Princeton University and an MBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where he graduated as a Palmer Scholar.  He is a U.S. Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

He can be contacted at prchovanec@gmail.com