Asia Society Southern California
China Economy: Macro Trends and
Business Strategies

Speakers Bio

James McGregor
Senior Counselor, APCO Worldwide
Beijing

James McGregor is an American author, journalist and businessman who has lived in China for more than 20 years. He is a senior counselor for APCO Worldwide and a member of the firm's international advisory council. A professional speaker and CNBC commentator who specializes in China's business, politics and society, he regularly appears in the media to discuss China-related topics. He is the author of the book One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China (Simon & Schuster, 2005) and the 2010 report China's Drive for 'Indigenous Innovation' - A Web of Industrial Policies.

He is former CEO of Dow Jones & Company in China and The Wall Street Journal bureau chief in China and Taiwan.

McGregor was born September 18, 1953 in Duluth, Minnesota. He is one of nine children. Upon graduating from high school he enlisted in the US Army and was sent to Vietnam as an infantry soldier. That experience sparked his interest in Asia and led to him becoming a journalist. After returning from Vietnam, he graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in journalism and began his career as a police reporter in Los Angeles for Copley Newspapers. In 1985, while he was covering Capitol Hill for Knight-Ridder Newspapers, he took a six-week backpacking trip through China, after which he began Mandarin lessons. In 1987, he and his wife Catherine Grady McGregor sold most of their possessions and moved to Taiwan.

From 1987 to 1990 McGregor served as The Wall Street Journal's bureau chief in Taiwan, and from 1990 to 1994 as the paper's bureau chief in Mainland China. From 1994 to 2000, he was chief executive of Dow Jones & Company in China, and he also became a vice-president in the Dow Jones International Group. After leaving Dow Jones, he was China managing partner for GIV Venture Partners, a $140 million venture capital fund specializing in the Chinese Internet and technology outsourcing.

In 1996, McGregor was elected as chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China. He also served for a decade as a governor of that organization. In 2005, he published the book "One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China." The book has been published in seven languages.

He is a member of the Atlantic Council, Council on Foreign Relations, National Committee on US-China Relations and International Council of the Asia Society. He serves on a variety of China-related advisory boards. He and his family live in Beijing.

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