Dr. Orit Frenkel
/ALI CEO
Dr. Orit Frenkel is the co-founder of the American Leadership Initiative where she leads all aspects of ALI’s programs and policy development. She has 39 years of experience working on Asia, trade, and foreign policy issues, with a special emphasis on the challenges facing U.S. manufacturing companies.
Prior to founding ALI, Orit was a senior executive with General Electric Company for 26 years. In that position, she was responsible for supporting GE’s international sales, policy objectives, government relations, and corporate social responsibility initiatives. Orit’s extensive work with US and foreign governments, as well as with a variety of stakeholders, resulted in billions of dollars of GE sales.
Orit worked to support GE’s global transactions, advising on investment and sourcing decisions, and working with U.S. and multilateral financing institutions to obtain financing for GE’s transactions.
She led GE’s policy and transactions in China over 26 years, working to develop a response to challenges such as China’s indigenous innovation policies, and its Belt and Road strategy.
She led GE’s advocacy on a range of trade policy issues, including TPP, KORUS, WTO, and coordinated GE’s policy, strategy development, coordination and consensus building among stakeholders in GE, the broader business community and external stakeholders.
Orit worked to develop policy positions for GE on issues such as renewable energy and digital trade.
Dr. Frenkel started her career in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative where she was the Director for Trade in High Technology Products and Deputy Director for Trade with Japan, and spent a detail working for Congressman Lee Hamilton during his time as Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Dr. Frenkel is also the President of Frenkel Strategies, a consulting firm specializing in Asia policy, market access issues and international trade. She is a member of APCO’s International Advisory Committee, and a Senior Advisor with Asia Group Advisors.
She is the author of numerous published articles on trade and foreign policy issues, as well as a book on the negotiation of the US-Israel Free Trade Area. She is an Adjunct Fellow with the Center on Strategic and International Studies, and has served on the board of numerous trade associations and on Department of Commerce and State Advisory panels.
Ms. Frenkel received a Ph.D.in International Economics from The Johns Hopkins University, an M.P.P. from the University of Michigan, and a B.A. in Economics with honors from University of Maryland (Phi Beta Kappa).
