IMR: People: Bob

Lees, Robert G. Aliases: Unknown E-Mail: None Web: None

Bob was my first "official" boss. After nine years as Secretary General and President of the Pacific Basin Economic Council, he stepped down in December 2001. (I worked at PBEC from October 1998 to February 2003.) He subsequently took a position at the Honolulu office of KPMG Consulting. The following is from his old biography: Robert Lees has served as Secretary General of the Pacific Basin Economic Council since 1992, acting as the organization's chief operating officer and spokesman. He travels extensively throughout the region, consulting with senior business and government officials and maintaining regular contact with regional leaders and key international organizations such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), World Bank, World Trade Organization (WTO), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Lees has worked tirelessly to establish PBEC as the voice of business in the Pacific. Under his stewardship, PBEC has added member committees in China, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, boosting its distinguished senior business membership by 30 percent. Lees is responsible for the organization of PBEC's two annual meetings, including the International General Meeting (IGM), widely considered the region's premier business conference. The IGM includes heads of government, high-ranking government ministers, senior officials from prominent international organizations, and as many as 800 of the region's most senior corporate executives. In addition to his activities and responsibilities in the international arena, he serves on the boards of Bank of Hawaii International, Oceanic Institute, Japan America Society of Hawaii, Pacific Asian Affairs Council, Honolulu Committee on Foreign Relations, Pacific Center for International Business Education and Research, Dr. Sun Yat Sen Foundation, and University of Hawaii Foundation. Lees joined PBEC with over twenty years of experience in the private sector. In the first part of his career, Lees built international operations for companies such as Security Pacific Corp. and Corning, Inc. as part of the senior management team. He helped expand the business base of these firms for more than a decade and a half through the strategic growth of international operations - timing the launch of new businesses to seize emerging opportunities, accurately assessing key foreign partners and distributors, and developing new markets and new products for specific markets. A frequent lecturer on Asia-Pacific topics, Lees is often quoted by the international business media, including the Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg, CNN, CNBC and Japan's NHK. He has conducted business in over 30 countries and has lived and worked in Japan, Singapore, and the Caribbean. He earned his master's degree in international management from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management; he also holds a Certificate of Management Studies from the Institute for International Studies and Training of Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). He is a summa cum laude/Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Cincinnati.

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Born Feb. 13 and raised in rural Kentucky. Served as Secretary General from 1992 to 2001.

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