James Heller is a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service and Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai.  His previous assignment was Director of the Office of Japanese Affairs at the State Department. In Washington, Mr. Heller has also served in the Office of Taiwan Coordination, Office of Korean Affairs, the State Department’s 24/7 Operations Center, the Office of Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus Affairs, and the Office of Multilateral Trade Affairs.  Overseas, Mr. Heller has served twice at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing as well at the U.S. Embassies in Seoul and Kyiv and with Regional Reconstruction Team Erbil in Iraq.

Mr. Heller has a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Michigan and is a Hopkins-Nanjing Center graduate. His wife Lisa is also a U.S. Senior Foreign Service Officer. They have an adult daughter and son.

Kent has lived and worked in China since the late 1980s and has been in Shanghai since 1994. He is a Senior Partner in Control Risks Asia Pacific and CEO for Control Risks’ Greater China and North Asia region.

Kent has consulted with multinational and local Asian corporations across all industries on a diverse range of complex risk and strategy issues: geopolitics and regulatory issues, M&A and organic growth strategy, crisis management and operational business controls, and strategic and organizational development programs.

Prior to joining Control Risks, Kent was general manager and co-owner of Technomic Asia, a market strategy consulting firm providing mergers and acquisitions advice, deal structuring and negotiations, market research and strategy planning. His work included target selection, investigations of companies prior to a deal (acquisitions, joint ventures, licensing, franchising, etc.,) and deal negotiations.

Kent has worked as a journalist and radio broadcaster, is a frequent contributor to Asia-based media outlets and is co- author of The China Ready Company. In his spare time, Kent writes and performs stand-up comedy in China and across Asia. Kent is fluent in Chinese, with a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in East Asian studies from the University of Minnesota. He also completed graduate studies in journalism and mass communication as a scholar at the China Times Centre for Mass Media and Social Studies.

Sean Stein is a senior advisor in Covington’s Public Policy Practice Group. Prior to joining Covington, Sean served as the U.S. Consul General in Shanghai. He has over twenty years of diplomatic experience in Asia and has served in leadership positions in China, Washington, and the region. His insights informed policy making at the highest levels in Washington and he assisted dozens of U.S., Chinese, and international firms to develop strategies, manage risk, and identify opportunities for growth in response to the changing U.S.-China relationship.

Sean, a non-lawyer, is a key resource to businesses on issues related to political risk, public affairs, problem solving, and communications. He regularly assists companies facing acute or long-term issues to resolve them, often through discussions with U.S. and Chinese government officials. He is well placed to provide strategic advice to U.S. and international clients on issues relating to securing market access and protecting investments in China, assessing risk, navigating trade controls, sanctions, and supply chain restrictions, and resolving disputes and regulatory investigations.

Eric Zheng became the President of AmCham Shanghai in 2022. He has been involved in the Chamber for over 15 years as a member, committee leader, Board member, Board treasurer, Board secretary, and Board vice chair, and Board chair (2018 and 2019).
Eric brings a unique combination of private and public sector experiences to the presidency. He worked in management consulting with PwC in the U.S. and later served for the U.S. Department of Commerce as the principal commercial officer at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou. Eric had a long career with AIG in Greater China and held a series of positions that culminated in his service as CEO of AIG China. He then chaired the board of Heng An Standard Life Insurance Company.
In volunteer roles, Eric serves as the Greater China regional chair of the Committee of 100 and as a board director of Shanghai Make-A-Wish Charity Foundation. The Shanghai municipal government has granted Eric its Magnolia Gold Award in recognition of his significant contributions to the city. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Fudan University and an MBA from Georgetown University.