Ambassador Michael DeSombre

Ambassador Michael George DeSombre is a partner at the international law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell where he heads up their Asia M&A practice as well as the Korea and Southeast Asia practices. Ambassador DeSombre served as the United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand from 2020-2021.  While serving as Ambassador to Thailand, Ambassador DeSombre worked closely with the Royal Thai Government on economic reforms to encourage the relocation of supply chains and manufacturing to Thailand.  Ambassador DeSombre is recognized as one of the preeminent mergers & acquisitions and private equity lawyers in the world and is a frequent speaker on the art of negotiations. Ambassador DeSombre has been representing technology companies, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, for over 20 years in some of their most important transactions.  From 2015-2020 Ambassador DeSombre served as the Chairman of the Board of Save the Children Hong Kong.  Ambassador DeSombre has a Bachelor’s degree in Quantitative Economics and a Masters degree in East Asian Studies from Stanford University and has a JD degree (magna cum laude) from Harvard Law School.  He speaks Mandarin Chinese fluently and has some ability in Korean and Japanese.