Michael W. Michalak

The Honorable Michael W. Michalak, former U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, will join the Council as Senior Vice President and Regional Managing Director effective September 1, 2015. He will oversee the Council’s 6 offices in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from the Council’s regional headquarters in Singapore.  Ambassador Michalak will lead the Council’s regional advocacy efforts, and engage regularly with key ASEAN policymakers and thought leaders to offer his unique perspective on the key role U.S. businesses can play in ASEAN.

Ambassador Michalak most recently worked as an independent business consultant focused on Asia and particularly Vietnam. He also served as Senior Advisor to the private sector host committee of the U.S. APEC Year (2011).  Ambassador Michalak’s diplomatic career with the State Department spanned more 30 years.  It included: postings to Tokyo, Japan; Sydney, Australia; Islamabad, Pakistan; Beijing, China; as well as Washington, D.C. He served as United States Ambassador to Vietnam from August 2007 to February 2011.  Prior to his position in Vietnam, Ambassador Michalak served as Ambassador and Senior U.S. Official to APEC.   He also served as Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo and the second highest ranking diplomat in Japan.  In addition, he received a group award for valor for his actions in time of crisis when the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad was burned down.  Ambassador Michalak began his career as a research physicist at NASA.

He holds Bachelor of Science in Physics from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan and Master of Science in Applied Physics degrees from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He received a second Master's degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He speaks Japanese, Chinese and French.