Professional Affiliation

Former Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade; CEO and founder of Export Now

Expert Bio

Frank Lavin is the CEO and founder of Export Now, which helps companies sell on-line in China from their home offices. 

In Government, Lavin served as Under Secretary for International Trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 2005-2007.  In that capacity, Lavin served as lead U.S. trade negotiator for both China and India and was the senior policy official in the Commerce Department responsible for commercial policy, export promotion, and trade negotiations across the globe.  Lavin was U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore from 2001-05, where his duties included helping negotiate the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.

In the private sector, Lavin served in senior finance and management positions in Hong Kong and Singapore with Bank of America, and Citibank.

Earlier in his career, Lavin served in the George H.W. Bush and Reagan Administrations, working in the Department of Commerce, Department of State, National Security Council, and White House.  Lavin served as Director of the Office of Political Affairs in the White House 1987-89.

Lavin earned a B.S. from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University; an M.S. in Chinese Language from Georgetown University; an M.A. in International Relations and International Economics from the School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University; and an M.B.A. in Finance at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

He has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and other periodicals.

Lavin is the co-author of “Export Now” (2011), a featured title by John Wiley & Sons.  He was Editor of “Rising to the Challenge” (EDM 2010), the official book of the USA Pavilion at the Shanghai 2010 Expo.

Lavin serves on the Board of Directors of Globe Specialty Metals, the world’s largest producer of silicon metal alloys, Consistel, the largest telecommunications firm for in-building services in Southeast Asia, and UOB Bank, a Singapore-based regional bank.  He also served as Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Shanghai 2010 World Expo USA Pavilion.