Don N. De Marino is the president of De Marino Associates, a business advisory and consulting firm with clients and investments principally in the developing markets. Since 1991, he has served as chairman of the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, the pre-eminent organization in the U.S. promoting trade and investment with the Arab world. In January 2004, Mr. De Marino was asked to serve on the Personnel Evaluation Team to assess various operations in Iraq for the U.S. Secretary of Defense. One of his recommendations, to establish a U.S.-Iraq Joint Economic Commission, was implemented in September 2004.
During 1989-1990, Mr. De Marino served in the Bush Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Africa, the Near East and South Africa. He was responsible for America’s commercial relations with the countries in these three regions. He frequently represented the U.S. in trade talks, concluded bilateral commerce agreements and successfully resolved major commercial disputes on behalf of American companies. He was selected into the U.S. Senior Executive Service and received an outstanding performance rating. During 1988-1989, he was a consultant to international companies specializing in project development and design and advice on offsets and countertrade transactions.
From 1985-1987, Mr. De Marino served in the Reagan Administration as Director of the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Joint Economic Commission. The Joint Commission was the largest and oldest technical cooperation program between the two countries, providing expertise to key Saudi ministries, financial institutions and universities. He managed a budget of $150.0 million and a team of 150 professionals. He was the only director to receive the Saudi government’s outstanding service award.
Prior to 1985, Mr. De Marino held the position of Manager of Litton Industries’ Offset Investment Program. He successfully identified and brought to approval over $1.0 billion in industrial and services ventures.
Mr. De Marino has served as a lecturer at the Wharton School Advanced Management Program, an advisor at the Wharton School Huntsman Center for Global Competitiveness and Leadership. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
