Campaign Statement
I am Kenneth Zhou, a partner in the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP. I am running for election to AmCham’s Board of Governors 2019 and would like your support.
Many of you may already know me. I have served AmCham China in various roles over the past 7-8 years, including Associate General Counsel, then General Counsel and Chair of the Outbound Investment Forum, in addition to my full-time job as a law firm partner. I am very familiar with AmCham China’s mission and work for its members.
During my tenure as General Counsel, I handled many internal and external legal matters for AmCham, including trademark litigation, amendments to the charter documents, anti-corruption guidelines, code of conduct, employee handbook, and relations with the cooperative programs and chapters, commercial contracts, meetings with different ministries including MOFCOM and the Ministry of Civil Affairs to advocate for AmCham and its members, compliance training for staff and other employment-related matters. Even after my term as General Counsel expired, I continued to volunteer on many AmCham matters, including employment, restructuring and NGO compliance.
As Chair of the Outbound Investment Forum, I have actively worked with AmCham staff on organizing various programs and seminars for its members. Recent events include seminars on US/China trade frictions, CFIUS reforms and regulatory developments, and their impact on bilateral investments between the US and China.
As an officer of AmCham, I also took a lead role and actively participated in many events and programs, including commenting on policies and regulations affecting US companies’ business interests, meetings with Chinese and US government delegations, trips, presentations and seminars to promote investment and trade between the US and China.
I have law degrees from both the US and China and was AmCham’s first General Counsel to be duly qualified in both countries. My practice focuses on US and China direct investments, mergers and acquisitions, and regulatory and policy matters. I have devoted myself to promoting bilateral investment, trade, business and culture exchanges between the US and China over the past 20 years.
If elected to the Board of Governors, I will continue to help AmCham advance its mission to help American companies succeed in China through advocacy, information, networking and business support services. I expect to contribute to AmCham’s success in the following respects:
- Continue to use my knowledge and expertise on US/China bilateral investment and regulatory matters to advance AmCham’s mission and advocate for the best interests of its members.
- Continue to lead and take initiatives on running the Outbound Investment Forum and organize more quality events and seminars to benefit the members and the US/China bilateral investment environment.
- Assist the Policy and Legal Committees to formulate policies and publications, including annual White Paper.
- Continue to advocate for AmCham to expand its membership base by using my professional contacts and networks.
I have lived in Beijing for more than 15 years and am a married father of two. I speak English, Mandarin and Shanghainese.
Biography
Kenneth Zhou is a partner in the firm's Asia Corporate Practice Group. He joined the firm in 2004.
Practice
Mr. Zhou's practice focuses on foreign direct investment, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliance, general corporate, anti-trust and regulatory matters, FCPA and investigations, and international dispute resolution. He has advised foreign companies in high-tech, media and entertainment, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, banking and financial services, publishing, consumer product and services industries with respect to their strategic expansion in China. Mr. Zhou has also advised leading Chinese companies on their outbound investments, M&A and strategic expansion in the U.S. and Europe. In addition, he is also experienced in private equity and venture capital transactions, capital market, foreign trade and WTO matters.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Zhou was a corporate attorney and a member of the China Practice Group at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, where he worked in New York, Hong Kong and Beijing.
Before Paul Weiss, Mr. Zhou participated in the establishment of AllBright Law Offices, a leading law firm in China. He also served as general counsel of Shanghai Alliance Investment Limited, the investment arm of the Shanghai Municipal Government.
Professional Activities
Mr. Zhou served as former General Counsel of the American Chamber of Commerce in the People’s Republic of China.
Publications
Mr. Zhou is the author of the Business Organization Chapter published in Business Law in China: Trade, Investment, Operations and Finance. ICC Publ. No. 672, 2d rev. ed. He is also one of the authors of China’s Anti-Monopoly Law – The First Five Years, published by Wolters Kluwer in 2012. He has written articles in such periodicals as China Law & Practice, Asia Pacific Antitrust and Trade Review, Capital and others on a wide range of topics including M&A, corporate restructuring, private equity/venture capital investment, foreign direct investment in China, tax and regulatory matters.
Mr. Zhou was interviewed and spoke at events organized by CNN, Bloomberg, CCTV, The American Lawyer, Cai Jin Magazine, South China Morning Post, American Chamber of Commerce China, 21st Century, Top Capital, Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors (AIRA), Asia Risk, and others on a variety of topics including cross-border M&A, anti-monopoly filings in China, equity financing, outbound investments of Chinese companies, dispute resolution, PE/VC investments, Internet law, SOE restructuring, qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII), qualified foreign limited partnership (QFLP), VIE structures, anti-monopoly law and national security review.