E37/ William Overholt

Dr. William H. Overholt is a distinguished Asia Expert with five decades of experience in research, analysis, and advisory for leading investment banks, think tanks, government and educational institutions. He is a prolific author with a broad set of knowledge and experience he leverages to bring insights into Asia’s complex social and political context. Overholt’s assessment of US-China relations is very sober. At the same time, he believes China’s growth trajectory is declining and its long-term political structure is not guaranteed. In many ways, the cycle of history continues, something which Overholt has personally witnessed first hand.

Dr. William H. Overholt holds a research position at Harvard’s Kennedy School and is Principal of AsiaStrat LLC, a consulting firm. Previously he held the Asia Policy Distinguished Research Chair at RAND’s California headquarters and was Director of RAND’s Center for Asia Pacific Policy.

During his time at RAND he held concurrent appointments as Distinguished Visiting Professor at Yonsei University in South Korea Visiting Professor at Shanghai Jiaotung University. In 2002 Dr. Overholt was Joint Senior Fellow at Harvard University.

During 21 previous years in investment banking, he served as Head of Strategy and Economics at Nomura’s regional headquarters in Hong Kong from 1998 to 2001, and as Managing Director and Head of Research at Bank Boston’s regional headquarters in Singapore. At Bankers Trust, he ran a country risk team in New York from 1980 to 1984, then was regional strategist and Asia research head based in Hong Kong from 1985 to 1998.

At Hudson Institute 1971 to 1979, Dr. Overholt directed planning studies for the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of State, National Security Council, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Council on International Economic Policy. As Director of Hudson Research Services, he did strategic planning for corporations.

Dr. Overholt is the author of six books, including Asia, America and the Transformation of Geopolitics (Cambridge University Press and RAND, 2007) The others are: The Rise of China (W.W. Norton, 1993), which won the Mainichi News/Asian Affairs Research Center Special Book Prize; Political Risk (Euromoney, 1982); and (with William Ascher) Strategic Planning and Forecasting (John Wiley, 1983). He is principal co-author of: Asia’s Nuclear Future (Westview Press, 1976) and The Future of Brazil (Westview Press, 1978). With Zbigniew Brzezinski, he founded the semi-annual Global Assessment in 1976 and edited it until 1988.

Dr. Overholt serves on the Board of the Korea Society and the International Center for Conciliation. He was a Governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Executive Committee member of the Business and Professionals Federation of Hong Kong, both for six years. He has served on advisory boards for Harvard University’s Asia Center; the US-China Institute of the University of Southern California; the Asia Society of Southern California; the Hang Lung Center for Organizational Research at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; and Chinavest Ltd.

He has been a consultant on strategic planning and foreign affairs to the Conference Board, the U.S. Army Strategic Studies Institute, the Foreign Service Institute, Dean Witter Reynolds, A.G. Becker, and numerous corporations. He has served as political advisor to several of Asia’s major political figures and has done consulting projects for the Korea Development Institute, Korea’s National Defense College, the Philippine Ministry of Agrarian Reform, and Thailand’s Ministry of Universities.

Dr. Overholt received his B.A. (magna, 1968) from Harvard and his Master of Philosophy (1970) and Ph.D. (1972) from Yale.