Amb. C. Lawrence Greenwood

Larry advises clients on government relations and international economic policy, with expertise in trade, finance, development and Asia. In addition to supporting clients in the San Francisco Bay Area, Larry draws on his experience over the past four decades to help clients address business issues in Japan.

Until July 2015, Larry was senior managing director for government relations in Asia for MetLife. He was responsible for working with governments, legislatures and industry associations to shape financial policies and regulations in Asia. His achievements at MetLife included building a new government relations team in Asia, helping the company open new businesses in Vietnam, Malaysia and Myanmar and supporting U.S. negotiators in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.

Larry served from 2006 to 2011 as vice president at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila, Philippines, where he oversaw the ADB’s loan and grant operations in East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific Island countries. He played a leading role in helping the bank triple both its lending and capital, increase its budget after a long period of austerity and enhance its development effectiveness.

Larry was a career diplomat from 1976 to 2006 serving in a variety of positions in the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C., and at U.S. embassies in Manila, Dakar, Tokyo and Singapore. He served twice in the embassy in Tokyo from 1986-91 and from 1996-2000 working on a broad range of trade and investment issues, including insurance, telecommunications, retail, air and maritime transport, competition policy, deregulation and corporate governance.

Larry served as U.S. ambassador to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group from 2000 to 2003 and led the team supporting presidential participation in APEC summits in Brunei, Shanghai and Los Cabos. He retired in 2006 as principal deputy assistant secretary in the Economic Bureau of the U.S. State Department where he was responsible for international financial and development matters, including leading the restructuring of Iraqi debt in 2005.

Larry holds a Bachelor of Arts from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, and a Master of Arts from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Medford, Massachusetts. He speaks and reads Japanese and French.

• Prior Professional Experience
  • President, Japan Scoiety of Northern California (Mar 2016 – Jan 2020)
  • Senior Managing Director, MetLife (May 2011 – Aug 2015)
  • Vice President of Operations, Asian Development Bank (Mar 2006 – May 2011)
  • Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State (Sept 1976 – 2006)
• Areas of Expertise

  Geographic

  • APEC
  • Japan

  Industries

  • Government Affairs
  • ICT
  • Insurance
  • Travel & Transportation

  Functional Expertise

  • Government Affairs
  • Policy
  • Trade
• Education
  • Tufts University, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (1974-1976)—Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy
  • Eckerd College (1970-1974)—Bachelor of Arts in East Asian Studies
• Professional Affiliations
  • Member of the Board of Directors, Japan Society of Northern California
  • Member, American Academy of Diplomacy
  • Member of the Board of Directors, Capital Sisters International
• Honors and Awards
  • US Department of State Secretary’s Career Achievement Award (2006)
• Selected Publications and Presentations
  • "Covid-19 and Asia’s Infrastructure Imperative" - CSIS, 6 October 2020
  • "Disrupting Development Finance: An Opportunity for the Asian Development Bank" - CSIS, 1 February 2017
  • "AIIB: Now Comes the Hard Part" - CSIS, 18 February 2016