News Release
For Immediate Release
October 28, 2022
For inquiries:
Izumi Swarts
Associate Communications Manager
iswarts@spfusa.org

Dr. Peter S. Watson, Former President and CEO of OPIC
Joins Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA
as Distinguished Senior Fellow (Non-Resident)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA (Sasakawa USA) is pleased to announce that theHonorable Peter S. Watson has joined our team as a Distinguished Senior Fellow (Non-Resident).
Dr. Watson is President and CEO of the Dwight Group, LLC, which assists
international transactions. He earlier served as President and CEO of the U.S.
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), now the U.S. International
Development Finance Corporation (DFC), under President George W. Bush. Prior tohis OPIC appointment, he served as Chairman of the U.S. International TradeCommission (ITC) under President Bill Clinton. Prior to his five years on the ITC, heserved in the George H.W. Bush administration as the Director of Asian Affairs at theNational Security Council (NSC), later serving as Senior Advisor to Armitage
Associates, LLC. Dr. Watson served on the Board of Directors of the Fluor Corporation, and is Adviser toNuScale Power. For several years he served as Legal Advisor to the Government of Japan in Washington,
D.C. He was most recently appointed by the Biden administration as a member of the Palau Economic
Advisory Group.
With Dr. Watson’s expertise and experience in the U.S.-Japan security alliance, Sasakawa USA willcontinue to play a critical role in strengthening the alliance within the framework of a free and open
Indo-Pacific.
For inquiries, please contact Associate Communications Manager, Ms. Izumi Swarts, at
iswarts@spfusa.org.
About Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA
Sasakawa USA is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to deepening the understanding of andstrengthening the relationship between the United States and Japan for the benefit of a free and open
international community. Its activities primarily focus on security and diplomacy, through exchanges, dialogue,analysis, publications, and networking.

###Dr. Peter S. Watson is President and CEO of the Dwight Group, LLC, which assists internationaltransactions. He earlier served as President and CEO of the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation(OPIC), now the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), under President George W.
Bush. Prior to his OPIC appointment, he served as Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission(ITC) under President Bill Clinton. Prior to his five years on the ITC, he served in the George H.W. Bushadministration as the Director of Asian Affairs at the National Security Council (NSC), later serving as
Senior Advisor to Armitage Associates, LLC.
Dr. Watson served on the Board of Directors of the Fluor Corporation, and is Adviser to NuScale Power.
For several years he served as Legal Advisor to the Government of Japan in Washington, D.C. He wasmost recently appointed by the Biden administration as a member of the Palau Economic Advisory
Group.
Dr. Watson’s academic service has included appointments as Visiting Professor, St. Peter’s College,Oxford University; Distinguished Lecturer, Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business; andas a member of the Board of Visitors, Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management, Claremont
Graduate University.
He has been a long-term co-chair of the American Bar Association's Senior International Appointment’sCommittee. He holds L.L.M. and Doctoral degrees in International Economic Relations from McGill
University, and an L.L.B. from Auckland Law School. He also holds an MBA in International Business.
Dr. Watson’s public service includes appointments to the U.S. Department of State Advisory Committee
on International Economic Policy and the Scientific Advisory Board of the Ras Al Khaimah Centre forAdvanced Materials. He is an awardee of the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service from theWoodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign
Relations.
Dr. Watson has published over 50 articles on international business and trade policy. He is the author of
The Economic Arsenal in the War Against Terror, and the principal author of Completing the World
Trading System: Proposals for a Millennium Round.
On January 1, 2002, Dr. Watson was awarded Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM), byQueen Elizabeth II, and on January 1, 2012, was awarded Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit(CNZM).