John Frisbie

John Frisbie joined Yale-China as President in 2021. Prior to that, he worked at Hills and Company, established by Yale alumna and former US Trade Representative Carla Hills, where he was one of five principals advising corporate clients on global trade issues. Before that, for fourteen years John was President of the US-China Business Council (USCBC), America’s premier trade association for assisting American companies who trade with or invest in China. In that role John was responsible for USCBC’s overall strategic direction and its operations in Washington, Beijing, and Shanghai while reporting to a board of directors composed of Fortune 500 CEOs.

John’s relationship with China long predates his leadership of USCBC. He first visited China as a student in 1981 and has traveled widely throughout the country. He lived in Beijing from 1988 to 1996, first directing USCBC’s China operations and then joining General Electric. He subsequently moved to Singapore for GE for four years, covering China and the Asia-Pacific region before returning to the United States in 2000. 

John graduated magna cum laude/Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Texas at Austin, from which he also received his MBA with concentrations in finance and international business. John is proficient in Mandarin Chinese and has many years of experience managing and working with American and Chinese partners and staff. John met his wife, Tricia, in Beijing, where she had also been a student and then worked in sales and marketing roles for American companies. They have two teenage children and are happy with the move to the New Haven area and being closer to Tricia’s family in New England.