Photograph of Robert Holleyman

Government Experience

  • Office of the U.S. Trade Representative—Ambassador, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (2014-2017); Member, U.S. Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations (2010-2014)
  • United States Senate—Senior Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (1987-1990); Legislative Director and Assistant, U.S. Senator Russell B. Long (1982-1987)

Education

  • Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, B.A. (1976) 2012 Distinguished Alumnus
  • Louisiana State University Law School, J.D. (1979)
  • Stanford Graduate School of Business, Certificate (1998)

Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • Texas
  • Louisiana

Trade Winds: How Global Businesses Are Navigating Trade, Tariffs, and the Uncharted Waters Ahead


Click to read this article from
Crowell & Moring's Regulatory Forecast 2019.
Regulatory Forecast 2019

Robert Holleyman

Partner
Washington, D.C.
rholleyman@crowell.com
Phone: +1 202.624.2505
1001 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20004-2595

Ambassador Robert Holleyman is the president and CEO of Crowell & Moring International and a partner in Crowell & Moring’s International Trade, and Privacy and Security groups. He advises clients on a range of trade and investment issues, including market access, global trade negotiations, tariffs, cross-border data flows, and privacy/cybersecurity, among other things.

Ambassador Holleyman has significant trade, international business, economic policy, and legal experience from his service as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, as CEO of a highly successful information technology advocacy association, and work as counsel in the U.S. Senate. He served as Deputy United States Trade Representative from 2014-2017, with the rank of Ambassador. 
 
In his most recent position, Ambassador Holleyman was responsible for U.S. trade and investment relations with Asia and with regional institutions, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. He led USTR’s negotiations with China, including the work of the annual Joint Committee on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) and with India through the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF). In addition, Ambassador Holleyman was responsible for global trade policy in the areas of services, investment, intellectual property (IP), and innovation. 
 
Ambassador Holleyman led the creation of a new Digital Trade Working Group within USTR to focus on trade policy and the digital economy and to advance U.S. negotiating priorities around digital trade. He developed and advanced USTR’s “Digital2Dozen,” a series of groundbreaking measures secured in the Asia-Pacific region that established rules promoting a free and open internet; expanded e-commerce; led to the free flow of cross-border data transfers; and enhanced cybersecurity, consumer privacy, competition in telecommunications networks, and disciplines to eliminate and prohibit barriers to new digital products and services. 

Ambassador Holleyman served as a board member of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s global development financing institution. He represented USTR on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), reviewing foreign acquisitions of U.S. commercial entities for their impact on national security.  

While in the private sector, Ambassador Holleyman was appointed by President Obama to serve as a member of the U.S. Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN). He previously served as a member of the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Services for the U.S. Department of Commerce and USTR. In earlier public service, Ambassador Holleyman was Senior Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; Legislative Director and Assistant to U.S. Senator Russell B. Long (D-LA); and Judicial Clerk to U.S. District Judge Jack M. Gordon of the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans.  

Ambassador Holleyman was President and CEO of BSA/The Software Alliance from 1990–2013, where he transformed an early stage enterprise into a global association representing the world’s software powerhouses across 65 countries with 16 foreign offices. At BSA, he positioned companies to address emerging standards, competition, IP, and innovation issues. Ambassador Holleyman has testified frequently before Congress and international bodies, and appeared in major media outlets in the U.S. and internationally on the topics of innovation, IP, emerging markets, export controls, encryption, cybersecurity, digital transformation, and cloud computing. He was named by Managing IP magazine as one of the “50 Most Influential People” in the intellectual property world, by the The Washington Post as a key private sector player in cybersecurity policy, and by Computer Reseller News as one of “20 To Watch” in the software industry. Previously, Ambassador Holleyman worked in commercial litigation with a law firm in Houston, Texas. 

Ambassador Holleyman received his Juris Doctor degree from Louisiana State University Law School and his Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, where he was named its 2012 Distinguished Alumnus. He has studied at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Georgia O’Keefe Museum in Santa Fe, NM,an Honorary Trustee of the National Building Museum and has previously served as a board member of the Stephen Decatur House Museum and Food & Friends in Washington, DC.   He is also a Distinguished Fellow at the EastWest Institute and member of the Advisory Council at the Center for Democracy and Technology.

Affiliations

Admitted to practice: District of Columbia, Texas, Louisiana

Professional Activities and Memberships

  • Georgia O’Keefe Museum, Santa Fe NM, Board of Trustees
  • National Building Museum, Honorary Trustee
  • Stephen Decatur House Museum, Former Board Member
  • Bryce Harlow Foundation, Former Board Member
  • Food & Friends, Former Board Member

Speeches & Presentations

  • "The Future of Trade," The Asia House, Hong Kong (October 30, 2019). Panelist: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "Insight from Washington – What’s Next After the US-China Partial Trade Deal, and Implications for Business in Asia?" The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong Roundtable, Hong Kong (October 29, 2019). Speaker: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "The ICO Bares its (Sharp) Teeth: What You Need to Know About GDPR One Year On," Crowell & Moring, London (October 17, 2019). Moderator: Jeffrey L. Poston; Panelists: Ambassador Robert Holleyman, Maarten Stassen, and Laurence Winston.
  • "Exporting to the USA," Flanders Investment & Trade, Brussels, Belgium (October 14, 2019). Speaker: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "Embracing the Digital Future in Support of Healthy Aging in APEC," 9th APEC High-Level Meeting on Health and the Economy, Puerto Varas, Chile (August 21, 2019). Moderator: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "Industry Perspectives on Regulatory Convergence & The Future of Health Care," APEC Life Sciences Innovation Forum – Policy Dialogue on Innovation, Regulatory Systems, and Regulatory Convergence, Puerto Varas, Chile (August 18, 2019). Moderator: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "Attracting Capital – Role of Trade, Investment, and Innovation Policies," APEC Life Sciences Innovation Forum – Policy Dialogue on Enabling Investment in the Innovative Life Sciences, Viña del Mar, Chile, and Santiago, Chile (May 15-16, 2019). Speaker: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "Protecting Innovation," US-China Innovation Forum – Setting the Agenda, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC (April 10, 2019). Panelist: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "The APEC Cross Border Privacy Rules," International Privacy Security Forum, Washington, DC (April 4, 2019). Panelist: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "The Future of U.S.-Japan Trade," Washington International Trade Association, Washington, DC (April 3, 2019). Moderator: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "Data Protection & Privacy: A Breakfast Salon," EU@SXSW, Austin, TX (March 9, 2019). Panelist: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "Privacy Police: Polarized Approaches to Global Data," SXSW, Austin, TX (March 9, 2019). Panelist: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "Setting the Scene: Developments in Washington," American Chamber of Commerce in Japan Chief Executives Roundtable, Tokyo, Japan (January 29, 2019). Presenters: Robert Holleyman and Andrew Blasi.
  • "Innovative Health Care Financing Mechanisms," APFF and METI Conference, Tokyo, Japan (January 28, 2019). Moderator: Robert Holleyman; Panelist: Ryan MacFarlane.
  • "Regulatory Impacts on M&A—HSR and CFIUS under the Trump Administration," Western M&A/Private Equity Forum, San Francisco, CA (October 11, 2018). Moderator: Jeffrey C. Selman; Panelist: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "Is Innovation with Chinese Characteristics Fueling a Tech War? What Does the Global Technology Landscape Look Like in 10 Years?" U.S. Chamber/AmCham China 9th annual China Business Conference, Washington, D.C. (May 1, 2018). Presenter: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "Trade policy developments: Section 232, NAFTA renegotiation, and trade remedies," Trade in 2018 - What's Ahead?, Webinar (April 19, 2018). Presenters: Daniel Cannistra and Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "Digital Economy and The Impact on Trade, Taxes and Outsourcing," The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, MA (March 26, 2018). Presenter: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "Free Trade or Protectionism: Are We Going Local? The Renegotiation of Brexit, NAFTA and Others – What Are the Challenges and Opportunities?" Biennial IBA Latin American Regional Forum Conference, Mexico City, Mexico (March 15, 2018). Presenter: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "What is The Future for Domestic Enforcement of IP Activities Occurring Abroad?" The Sedona Conference on International Patent Litigation, Reston, VA (February 2018). Moderator: Monte Cooper; Presenters: Matthew Powers, Brian Busey, Sidney Rosenzweig, Christine Lehman, and Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "IoT Data-Ownership and Licensing – Who Owns the Data?" The 5th Annual Internet of Things Global Summit, Washington, D.C. (October 2017). Moderator: Ambassador Robert Holleyman; Presenters: Patrick Parodi, Stacey Gray, Susan Allen, Mark Eichorn, and Vince Jesaitis.
  • "Dialogue on Regional Trade Agreements and Free Trade Agreements," Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Senior Officials’ Meeting, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam (August 2017). Presenters: Motomu Takahashi, Eduardo Pedrosa, Jeff Schott, and Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "Prioritizing African Trade: Policies & Practices," Citi & George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affair, Washington, D.C. (April 2017). Presenters: Michael Moore, Anabel Gonzalez, Kimberley Claman and Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "NAFTA: Renegotiation," Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy and Arent Fox, Washington, D.C. (April 2017). Keynote: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "Trump, China and Trade Wars: Tech in the Trenches," South by Southwest, Austin, Texas (March 2017). Presenters: Laura Sallstrom and Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "International Trade and Cybersecurity," Global Cyberspace Cooperation Summit VII, East-West Institute, Berkeley, California (March 2017). Discussants: Admiral David Simpson, Del Christensen, Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "The U.S. Trade Landscape," Austin Chamber of Commerce Federal Advocacy Council, Austin, Texas (February 2017). Presenter: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.
  • "Keynote Speech on Trade," International Bar Association Annual Conference 2016, Washington, D.C. (September 20, 2016). Keynote Speaker and Presenter: Ambassador Robert Holleyman.

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Firm News & Announcements

Mar.11.2019 Crowell & Moring Expands International Trade and Global Employment Practices with Four Senior Lawyers; CMI Breaks New Ground in Shanghai
Jul.10.2017 Former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Robert Holleyman Joins C&M International as President & CEO and Crowell & Moring as Partner