Paul Boesen

Paul specializes in serving clients in the finance and education sectors, with a focus on geopolitical and Asia-Pacific risk management, engaging with stakeholders across those sectors in both the U.S. and in the region to support client interests. Additionally, Paul provides strategic leadership to client teams and supports Ankura’s Greater China regional operations, driving strategic planning, financial management, and compliance.

Paul has held positions at Goldman Sachs in New York, Frankfurt, and Singapore, working in investment banking and private equity.  He has also worked in private higher education, with general management and China business development responsibilities for U.S. education companies. Additionally, Paul worked with the World Economic Forum in Geneva, serving as a Representative in Beijing, China.

As former Executive Director of the U.S.-China Education Trust (USCET), he was engaged in U.S.-China people-to-people exchange activities and led multiple initiatives, including the development and implementation of programs supported by the Ford Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, the Starr Foundation, and the U.S. Department of State, as well as general administration of the organization. He also oversaw USCET’s formal institutional relationships with over 60 Chinese universities as well as its day-to-day relationships with the Ministry of Education and the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC. He directed USCET’s implementation of a scholarship program that was the first to be publicly recognized as part of the Obama Administration’s 100,000 Strong Initiative to promote U.S. study abroad in China. He later served as Senior Advisor to the U.S.-China Strong Foundation and on the Steering Committee of the U.S.-China Strong Foundation’s One Million Strong Initiative to promote Chinese language education in the U.S. K-12 schools.

Paul is a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and co-founder and board member of non-profit organizations supporting immigrants and refugees.

Paul’s background in Asian and Chinese studies commenced when he was awarded a Henry Luce Foundation Fellowship to support graduate-level studies in Asian Studies at the University of Michigan. He started Chinese language studies in the Princeton in Beijing program and continued his studies at Beijing Normal University. Later, he conducted research on China rule of law issues and continued language studies while a student at Harvard Law School.

Paul is proficient in Mandarin Chinese and speaks some Bahasa Indonesia.