(Virtual) AAP Briefing The New Administration: Focus on Asia Pacific

Patrick Costello

Senior Vice President, Mercury (Washington DC)

Patrick C. Costello joined Mercury Public Affairs as a Senior Vice President in the fall of 2022 as part of Mercury's bipartisan government relations practice and lead of the think tank/NGO engagement practice. Costello is a recognized expert in U.S. foreign policy, trade policy, business diplomacy and the domestic politics of American foreign policy. Costello also regularly consults with the policymaking community and stakeholders on a wide range of foreign policy and economic issues, he is frequently sought out by individuals, institutions and companies to advise them on how to maximize their influence and impact in Washington, and writes a monthly column for the international business community in Italy.

Costello previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of the American Security Project (ASP), a non-partisan national security think tank in Washington, DC, where he provided day-to-day management of organizational strategy, internal policy formation, and stakeholder engagement and served as the public face of ASP to outside constituencies. Prior to joining ASP, Costello spent over a decade at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in Washington where he held a number of senior roles and directed CFR'

s interactions with Washington policymakers and the diplomatic community, most recently as director of Washington External Affairs.

Upon coming to Washington, Costello worked in Congress for former Representative Jon Porter (R-NV) fulfilling a variety of policy and communications roles. After leaving Capitol Hill, Costello was a government relations counsellor with International Business-Government Counsellors where he directed congressional relations, and provided strategic advice and direct representation assisting businesses in international government relations activities affecting their global operations. Costello also served as a senior associate at The Whitaker Group, a consultancy and project development firm specializing in Africa.

Peter Kucik

Managing Director, Mercury (Washington DC)

Peter Kucik is a Managing Director in Mercury's Washington, D.C. office. He is a trade and economic sanctions expert, providing clients with strategic advice and handling complex legislative, administrative, and regulatory matters before the federal government.

Peter worked for seven years at the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), where he was a Senior Sanctions Policy Advisor. During this time, he worked with the OFAC Director, the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI), and other senior U.S. government officials to develop and implement sanctions policies and establish new regulatory schemes across OFAC programs. He supported all aspects of OFAC's work to craft new Executive Orders, sanctions regulations, license authorizations, and policy guidance in coordination with the National Security Council, Department of State, and Department of Commerce, and engaged with the Department of Homeland Security and Office of the United States Trade Representative. Peter played a key role in the implementation of U.S. sanctions policies for Libya and Myanmar, as well as President Obama's changes to ease restrictions on travel and remittances to Cuba.

Peter has assisted companies around the world to understand and navigate U.S. trade restrictions and sanctions, to fulfill international standards for transparency, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering, and labor rights, and to formulate effective corporate social responsibility programs. Peter also has extensive experience with the delisting process for individuals and entities that meet the standards for removal from the list of sanctioned Specially Designated Nationals (SDN List).

Peter has advised and briefed Congress on legislation and other sanctions matters, as well as engaged with foreign governments, international organizations, and the United Nations to provide information and technical advice regarding sanctions. He has appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box and CNN's World Business Today and is a go-to resource for The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, Reuters, and Associated Press.

April Palmerlee

CEO of AmCham Australia

Chair of AmChams of Asia Pacific

Danny Kyaw

Executive Director of AMCHAM Myanmar