Kellie Meiman Hock, Senior Counselor, founded the firm’s trade and Brazil/Southern Cone practices, helping over one-hundred companies to pursue global opportunities and troubleshoot obstacles to market access since joining McLarty in March 2000.

Prior to joining McLarty, she served for almost a decade as a US Foreign Service Officer at the Department of State, serving in Bogota, Colombia, and throughout Brazil in Porto Alegre, São Paulo, and Recife, as well as at the Office of the US Trade Representative in the Executive Office of the President.

For over three decades, Kellie has worked on Latin America and on various aspects of trade, investment, and technology policy, helping companies to manage geopolitical uncertainty and industrial policy, from local content requirements to data localization and trade remedies. Kellie has been deeply engaged in stakeholder efforts to manage a dynamic global trade agenda and increased economic nationalism. She has also helped many companies to internationalize their public policy operations and to develop global expansion plans. She has lived and studied in Central America and Japan.

Kellie is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Women’s Foreign Policy Group Leadership Council, and the Bretton Woods Committee. She is also on the Board of Directors for the Inter-American Dialogue. She often writes and speaks on policy matters related to trade/investment/industrial policy, Brazil, and Latin America. A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Kellie is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She fluently speaks Spanish and Portuguese.

Barbara Weisel is a Managing Director at Rock Creek Global Advisors, where she focuses on international trade and investment policy and negotiations as well as market access and regulatory matters.

Ms. Weisel has more than 25 years of experience advancing international trade and investment initiatives, expanding market access in Asia-Pacific markets, and resolving specific issues faced by businesses in the Asia-Pacific.

Ms. Weisel served most recently as Assistant US Trade Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. She was the US chief negotiator for the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) from its inception in 2008 through its signing in 2016. She was responsible for developing US positions in coordination with other government agencies, Congress and the US private sector.

In addition to TPP, Ms. Weisel led efforts to expand US market access and promote US economic interests in the Asia Pacific, working with foreign government officials at all levels on intellectual property, digital trade, services, financial services, agriculture, customs, and product standards.

As Deputy Assistant US Trade Representative for Bilateral Asian Affairs (Korea, Southeast Asia, and South Asia), Ms. Weisel served as negotiator of FTAs with Malaysia, Thailand, Australia and Singapore. She also was charged with monitoring and enforcing Asian countries’ compliance with their World Trade Organization commitments and working with US companies to resolve specific issues in these markets.

Earlier, Ms. Weisel served as the official responsible for managing global pharmaceutical regulatory issues and as Director for Japan Affairs.

Before joining USTR, she worked at the State Department from 1984-1994, serving in a variety of positions, including as international economist on Japan, the Persian Gulf, and North Africa.

Ms. Weisel earned two Masters Degrees from Harvard University in 1983 in Public Policy with a focus on international development, and Religious Studies, with a focus on Islamic civilization. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Connecticut College (Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude).

Steven Okun, Founder and CEO of APAC Advisors and Senior Advisor to McLarty Associates, is a leader on corporate public affairs, ESG, sustainability, and stakeholder engagement. A 21-year resident of Singapore, he spent the first twelve years of his career in Washington, DC, including in the Administration of President Bill Clinton as Deputy General Counsel at the US Department of Transportation. As KKR’s first Director of Asia Public Affairs from 2011-2017, he was one of the first people in the region working on ESG in private capital. From 2003-2010, he created and led Public Affair for UPS Asia. An in-demand speaker in the corporate and the financial services sector, Steve also appears frequently across global media, provides the weekly International News Review for MONEY FM (Singapore) and contributes commentary to Nikkei Asia, The Straits Times, The Business Times, Eco-Business and Asia Times.