Christopher A. Padilla

Christopher A. "Chris" Padilla is Vice President for the Government and Regulatory Affairs at the IBM Corporation. He is a former Under Secretary for International Trade within the United States Department of Commerce. He was nominated to this position on September 4 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 19, 2007. From 2002-2008, Christopher Padilla worked within the Bush administration with a focus on international trade and economic issues. On September 29, 2006, he was confirmed as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration by the U.S. Senate.
From 2005 to 2006, he had served as Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick, with a particular focus on U.S.-China policy, Latin America, Sudan, and international economic matters. From 2002 to 2005, Padilla was Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison, and he was heavily involved in building support for the Central American Free Trade Agreement, the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement, and several other trade agreements and initiatives.
Before working for the American government, Under Secretary Padilla held several international positions at AT&T and Lucent Technologies, including marketing, business development, and government affairs. Later, he was Director of International Trade Relations at Eastman Kodak Company. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Information Technology Industry Council, the Council of the Americas, and the U.S.-India Business Council, and is a member of the Economic Club of Washington.

Commerce Department Positions

As Under Secretary, Christopher Padilla advocated for passage of Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea, and for conclusion of the Doha Round of negotiations in the World Trade Organization. He traveled to Central America, China, Southeast Asia, Korea, and South America in support of trade initiatives. In January 2008, he gave a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies calling for continued U.S. economic engagement with China.