Adviser
John Holden has been doing business in China since 1986 when he was appointed Chairman of Cargill’s China holding company. He was responsible for Cargill’s development in China until 1998, during which time he established several businesses and joint ventures, including two US$15 million animal nutrition businesses and a US$300 million corn trading programme. In 1998, John was appointed President of the National Committee on US-China relations by Bill Clinton, a role he held until 2005. Subsequently John has been Chairman of Shaklee China Ltd., which he established as wholly-owned subsidiary in 2005 in Beijing.
He is currently Senior Consultant to Hill & Knowlton China and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Governors, American Chamber of Commerce in China.
John first visited China in 1974. He is a fluent Chinese speaker. John graduated magna cum laude in Chinese Language & Literature from the University of Minnesota and gained an M.A. in the same field from Stanford University. Widely recognised as an authority on U.S.-China business relations he is a featured speaker at leading universities and has appeared on television, radio and in print media. He lives in Beijing.