Ziad Haider

Ziad Haider is head of geopolitical risk and director of risk, Asia at McKinsey & Company. He previously served in the Obama administration as special representative for commercial and business affairs at the U.S. Department of State. In this capacity, he led a 30-person team in helping U.S. businesses build partnerships and promote entrepreneurship and economic growth across Asia. He also served as a member of the policy planning staff in the Office of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and helped co-develop President Obama's signature economic initiative for Southeast Asia (U.S.-ASEAN Connect); the inaugural U.S.-China Development Dialogue and U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue; and the strategic communications plan to advance the passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Prior to government service, he practiced international law in India, Singapore, and Washington, D.C. and worked with human rights nongovernmental organizations in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan. His writings on Asian affairs have appeared in CNN, CNBC, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy. Haider received his undergraduate degree from Yale, M.P.A. from Harvard, and J.D. from Georgetown. He was also a Fulbright Scholar in Malaysia. Proficient in Mandarin and fluent in Urdu, Haider grew up in Pakistan.