A Briefing on the Crisis in Myanmar by AMCHAM Myanmar

Event Details

Join leaders in AMCHAM Myanmar for a special briefing designed for members of AMCHAM Thailand and AMCHAM Singapore to hear from business leaders on the ground about the political crisis and its impact on business operations. This is the opportunity to connect with our Chamber leaders in Myanmar with direct experience within the current political and economic landscape of Myanmar. There will be plenty of time for your Q+As so please come ready to share them with us.

We will cover the US government response to the coup, security and operational concerns, and the evolving landscape of the new sanctions regime. Please join us for a candid conversation to learn about what's going on in Myanmar with AMCHAM Myanmar.

We look forward to hosting our guests from Thailand and Singapore at AMCHAM Myanmar for this virtual presentation.

This session will be conducted under Chatham House Rule, is off-the-record, and will not be recorded.

Date and Time

May 18, 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm (Myanmar Time)

May 18, 7 pm to 8 pm (Thailand Time)

May 18, 8 pm to 9 pm (Singapore Time)

Venue

Zoom Webinar. A webinar link will be sent to you in advance.

Tickets

FREE for members of AMCHAM Myanmar, AMCHAM Thailand and AMCHAM Singapore

Booking deadline

May 14, 12 pm (Myanmar Time)

May 14, 12:30 pm (Thailand Time)

May 14, 1:30 pm (Singapore Time)

Capacity is limited and tickets are on a first-come-first-serve basis
Prior booking is required and no walk-ins accepted
Tickets are non-transferable
This event is open to members of AMCHAM Myanmar, AMCHAM Thailand and AMCHAM Singapore only

Speakers

John D. Breidenstine

Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs & ASEAN Regional Senior Commercial Officer at U.S. Embassy Bangkok

Tatum Albertine

Executive Director of The American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar

Adam Castillo

Managing Director of Atalian Global Services Myanmar

Jay Martin

Managing Director of Access Resources Asia Co., Ltd.

William D. Greenlee, Jr.

Partner, Managing Director, Myanmar of DFDL Myanmar Limited

Thomas Chan

Partner (Head of Tax and Regulatory) at KPMG Advisory (Myanmar) Ltd.

John Breidenstine began his assignment as Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs and ASEAN Regional Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok in August 2019.

A career Senior Foreign Service Officer, Mr. Breidenstine was previously the Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs and Senior Commercial Officer for Europe at the U.S. Mission to the European Union (2015- 2019). Before serving in Brussels, John served as Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs in London (2011-15), U.S. Consul General in Hermosillo, Mexico (2008-11), Regional Director for Europe and Eurasia (2006-08), and Commercial Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City (2003-06). Prior to a 2002 reconstruction-related assignment at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, John’s postings included: Ankara, Turkey (1997-2002); Tashkent, Uzbekistan (1994-97); Kuwait City, Kuwait (1991-93) and Munich, Germany (1990-91).

Before joining the Foreign Service in 1990, John studied international relations at the University of Miami in Florida (1987-88) and at the Free University of Berlin in Germany (1988-89) and worked as an Account Executive for International Paper in New York City and Atlanta (1984-87). A 1984 graduate of Davidson College in North Carolina, John is married to Judith Valdes of Sinaloa, Mexico. They have three children, Victor Manuel, SofiaGrace and JohnDavid.

Tatum Albertine is an international business advisor with six years of global leadership experience involving government relations, policy advocacy, developing international business partnerships, and supporting strategic business initiatives. She connects people to resources and translates vision and strategy into operations.

Tatum serves as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar, where she helps U.S.-based organizations to connect with valuable opportunities in Myanmar and advocates on behalf of AMCHAM members to promote economic prosperity for communities within Myanmar and the U.S. She oversees the operational and programmatic aspects of AMCHAM.

Her background as a professional researcher with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University and the Access to Knowledge for Development Center at The American University in Cairo has enabled her to excel at navigating and managing governmental affairs and policy advocacy work. She also worked for the U.S. Department of State at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Myanmar, and at the Smithsonian Institution after graduating cum laude from Mount Holyoke College with her B.A. in Gender Studies and Philosophy. She is a U.S. citizen based in Yangon full-time.

In 2020, she was awarded the Executive of the Year award at the 2020 APAC Chamber of Commerce Awards for leading AMCHAM Myanmar in her first year as Executive Director.

Jay Martin is Managing Director of Access Resources Asia Co. Ltd. (ARA) based in Yangon. He is responsible for all aspects of ARA’s mineral exploration program in Myanmar, including Exploration Operations, Permitting, Government Relations, Community Engagement, Environmental Management, Site Support and Business Development.

Prior to joining ARA, Mr. Martin was Director at PanAust Services (Myanmar) Co. Ltd., where he guided PanAust’s market entry into Myanmar, securing one of the largest tenement holdings by a foreign mining company in Myanmar and overseeing all non-technical aspects of the company’s exploration program. Mr. Martin has also acted as Director at John Hancock Associates in Yangon, a consulting firm which handled all aspects of Myanmar market entry, with a specific emphasis on political risk assessment.

In addition to serving on the AmCham Board of Governors, Mr. Martin also serves as Chairman of the International Investors for Minerals Development Association. Mr. Martin holds a B.S. in Geography from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and an M.A. in Philosophy (Mathematical Logic) from University of Colorado Boulder. He also served as a pilot in Alaska, having logged over 7,000 hours of commercial flight experience, mostly in single-engine aircraft on floats, wheels and skis.

Before moving to Myanmar to head the tax and regulatory practice, Thomas has had an extensive experience in advising multinational clients.

Thomas was one of the first to serve clients on-site in Myanmar. There he has put his experience to good use in assisting clients to deal with the practical issues with inbound and outbound investments, group restructurings including as part of an M&A process.

His clients are involved in a broad range of industries including banking, insurance, consumer goods, wholesale, agriculture, shipping, oil and gas, transportation and mining.

Thomas also works closely with regulators and provide direct feedback on how their policies would impact business and society. He also through his work provides training to the relevant departments to help them improve their internal capabilities which will improve business conditions in Myanmar.

Before COVID-19, Thomas was often invited to speak at various forums in Singapore, Hong Kong, China and across the region. His travels has seen Thomas speaking in public and client forums to promote investment into Myanmar and advising clients on how best to enter into the Myanmar market.