Paul Haenle has served as the director of the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center in Beijing since 2010. In addition to running the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center, he is also a senior advisor at Teneo Strategy, a global business-consulting firm that provides strategy and counsel to CEOs of Fortune 500 companies as well as Chinese firms involved in international investment.
Prior to joining Carnegie, Haenle served from June 2007 to June 2009 as the director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolian Affairs on the National Security Council staffs of former president George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. From June 2007 to January 2009, he also played a key role as the White House representative to the US negotiating team at the six-party-talks nuclear negotiations. From May 2004 to June 2007, he served as the executive assistant to the US national security adviser.
Trained as a China foreign area officer in the US Army, Haenle has been assigned twice to the US Embassy in Beijing, served as a US Army company commander during a two-year tour to the Republic of Korea, and worked in the Pentagon as an adviser on China, Taiwan, and Mongolia Affairs on the staff of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Early assignments in the US Army included postings in Germany, Desert Storm, Korea, and Kuwait. He retired from the US Army as a lieutenant colonel in October 2009.