Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering is vice chairman of Hills & Company, an international consulting firm providing advice to U.S. businesses on investment, trade and risk assessment issues abroad, particularly in emerging market economies. He retired in 2006 as senior vice president of international relations at Boeing International.

Ambassador Pickering’s career as a U.S. diplomat has spanned five decades, having served as undersecretary of state for political affairs, ambassador to the United Nations, and ambassador to Russia, India, Israel, Nigeria, Jordan, and El Salvador. He also served on assignments in Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He holds the personal rank of Career Ambassador, the highest in the U.S. Foreign Service. He has held numerous other positions at the State Department, including executive secretary and special assistant to Secretaries of State Rogers and Kissinger, and assistant secretary for the Bureau of Oceans, Environmental and Scientific Affairs.

Ambassador Pickering is based in Washington, DC.