Robert Holleyman served as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative in the Executive Office of the President from 2014-2017. He was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate in 2014, with the rank of ambassador. Holleyman was responsible for U.S. trade policy development and negotiations with Asia and Asia-Pacific regional institutions (APEC, ASEAN). He led USTR’s negotiations with China including the work of the annual Joint Committee on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) and with India through the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF). In addition, he was responsible for development and oversight of global trade policy in the areas of trade in services, investment, innovation and intellectual property.
Ambassador Holleyman led the creation of a new Digital Trade Working Group within the Office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to focus on trade policy and the digital economy and advance U.S. priorities in bilateral, regional and plurilateral negotiations to secure market access and eliminate barriers to digital trade. In that role, he developed and advanced USTR’s “Digital 2 Dozen”, a series of groundbreaking measures secured in the Asia-Pacific region that established rules promoting a free and open Internet, e-commerce, cross-border data transfers, cyber-security, privacy, use of encryption, competition in telecommunications networks and prohibiting discrimination against digital products and access; plus, disciplines to eliminate and prohibit barriers to new digital products and services.
Ambassador Holleyman served as a board member of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s global development financing institution and represented USTR on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), reviewing foreign acquisitions of U.S. commercial entities for their impact on national security.
While in the private sector, Holleyman was appointed by President Obama to serve as a member of the U.S. Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN). In the private sector, Holleyman launched Cloud4Growth, a policy and market-development consultancy focused on the scalable and efficient resources of cloud architecture and the needs of growing populations.
For over two decades, Holleyman served as President and CEO of BSA/The Software Alliance, the leading technology industry association addressing software issues on a global basis. He led the expansion of that organization from early stage operations to global operations in 65 countries with 16 foreign offices in addition to its U.S. headquarters in Washington, D.C. He frequently testified before Congress and international bodies, and appeared in major media outlets on matters of innovation, intellectual property, international trade, export controls, cybersecurity, e-commerce and cloud computing. Previously, Holleyman was an attorney in the law firm of Margraves, Kennerly and Schueler in Houston, Texas.
In earlier public sector service, Holleyman served as Senior Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; Legislative Director and Assistant to U.S. Senator Russell B. Long (D-LA); and as Judicial Clerk to U.S. District Judge Jack M. Gordon of the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Holleyman received his J.D. from Louisiana State University Law School and his B.A. from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, where he was named its 2012 Distinguished Alumnus. He has studied at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.