McLarty Associates
Southeast Asia
Submitted by admin on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 21:55

Since the firm’s founding in 1998, McLarty Associates has made the Americas – from Canada to the Caribbean to Latin America – the core of our business and expertise. Through our regular and frequent travel to the region, McLarty Associates is uniquely positioned to assist our Americas-focused clients on the ground as well as in Washington.

Over the years, we have helped nearly one hundred U.S. and multinational companies throughout the Americas, in industries as diverse as energy, retail, consumer goods, transportation, technology, media, financial services and investment banking. We have actively assisted clients in their investment and business strategies – helping identify potential partners and targets, evaluating political risk, and developing approaches for winning needed government approvals.

For example, we have successfully helped: a retailer evaluate and pursue expansion opportunities in the Brazilian and Central American markets; a media company confront omnipresent tax challenges in the region; a communications company combat regulatory roadblocks; and a logistics company pursue business facilitation policies to cut down on customs processing times and costs.

Our Americas team:

  • Thomas F. “Mack” McLarty, III, President Clinton's special envoy for the Americas and one of the most prominent voices on policy and business issues between the U.S. and Latin America.
  • John D. Negroponte, a former deputy secretary of state and U.S. ambassador to Mexico and Honduras who spent much of his diplomatic career devoted to Latin America.
  • Nelson W. Cunningham, special advisor to President Clinton for Western Hemisphere affairs who was raised in Latin America and guides our Americas practice.
  • Stephen C. Donehoo, a former military intelligence officer stationed throughout Central America and the Andean region, has managed our northern Latin America practice for over ten years.
  • Kellie Meiman Hock has managed our Brazil and Southern Cone practice for nearly a decade and previously served in the foreign service and the U.S. trade representative's office.
  • Jim Kolbe served in the United States House of Representatives for 22 years and was an active advocate for free trade agreements with Mexico and Central America.
  • Rafael Nieto Loaiza formerly served as vice minister of justice in Colombia.
  • Fernanda Ehrstrom, a native Brazilian in our Washington office, assists MA in our interactions with Brazilian officials and clients.
  • Luiz Felipe Lampreia, one of Brazil's most respected senior statesmen, was foreign and trade minister in the Cardoso administration.
  • Luiz Fernando Furlan served for four years as Brazilian President Lula’s minister of development, industry and foreign trade.
  • Donna J. Hrinak served as U.S. ambassador to Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, and the Dominican Republic.
  • Jeffrey Davidow, a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico and Venezuela and assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, currently serves as president of the Institute of the Americas.
  • Luis Téllez most recently served as Mexico’s secretary of communications and transportation under President Felipe Calderón and is the current chairman of the Mexican Stock Exchange.
  • Gordon Giffin served as U.S. ambassador to Canada and remains a major voice in U.S.-Canadian relations.