James Carouso

Jim has been at the forefront of economic diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific for much of his career. Prior to joining BGA, he was the senior foreign policy advisor to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii. Earlier, Jim served as deputy chief of mission and chargé d’ affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, Australia. He also worked as the chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Mission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, Indonesia, in mid-2019.

Following a 14-year career in international banking and finance, Jim joined the U.S. Department of State in 1995. Since then he has served in a variety of economic and commercial roles in the Dominican Republic, South Africa, Australia, Thailand and Cyprus, including acting as a member of the U.S. teams negotiating free trade agreements with Australia and Thailand.

Jim also served as the counselor for economic affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta and as director of the State Department office responsible for relations with the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and East Timor. In 2019, he received the State Department’s distinguished honor award.

Jim holds a degree in economics from Hamilton College and a master’s degree in international finance from the American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona.

• Prior Professional Experience
  • Foreign Policy Advisor, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (August 2019 – March 2020)
  • Charge’ d’affaires, U.S. Mission to ASEAN (June 2019 – August 2019)
  • Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge’ d’affaires (June 2016 – May 2019)
  • Office Director – Maritime in Southeast Asia, U.S. Department of State (June 2014 – May 2016)
• Areas of Expertise

  Geographic

  • ANZ & The Pacific
  • ASEAN
  • Australia
  • Indonesia
  • Singapore
  • Thailand
  • Timor L’este
  • USA

  Industries

  • American Australian Council
  • Banking
  • Biotechnology
  • Defense
  • Energy
  • Finance
  • Government
  • Government Affairs
  • Venture Capital

  Functional Expertise

  • Government
  • Government Affairs
  • Policy
  • Strategy
  • Trade
• Education
  • Thunderbird School of International Management (1980-1981)— Master in International Management
  • Hamilton College (1974-1978)— Economics and International Relations
• Honors and Awards
  • State Department Distinguished Service Award (2019)
  • Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award (2020)
• Selected Publications and Presentations
  • "US-China rivalry: How companies can adjust to geopolitical shift as decoupling accelerates" - South China Morning Post, 22 July 2020
  • "Regional Firewall can boost defences from China’s Digital Attacks" - Financial Review, 30 June 2020
  • "A Singapore of Greater Certainty are what Businesses are Hoping for" - Today, 8 June 2020
  • "Australia not as Vulnerable to Beijing’s Trade Threats as it Appears" - The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 May 2020