As chair, corporate and managing director of APCO Worldwide’s New York office and North Region lead, Pamela Passman works with clients on organizational purpose and impact, managing risk in global operations and the intersection of technology and policy. Ms. Passman advises across the APCO Impact areas of focus: equity & justice, climate & sustainability, ESG, CSR and philanthropy and other ways clients can be catalysts for progress.
Ms. Passman is the former president of the Center for Responsible Enterprise and Trade (CREATe.org) and vice chair of the Ethisphere Institute, distinct entities that promote leading practices and provide solutions to manage governance, compliance and risks for companies and their global value chains. Ms. Passman advised companies on protection of IP and data, cybersecurity and integrity.
Prior to founding CREATe.org, Ms. Passman was the corporate vice president and deputy general counsel, Global Corporate and Regulatory Affairs at Microsoft Corporation. From 2002 to 2011, Ms. Passman led Microsoft’s regulatory compliance work across a range of issues, including privacy, security, law enforcement, national security, telecommunications and other issues related to cloud computing. She also led Microsoft’s global government relations and public policy work and philanthropic programs and had leadership responsibilities for its cross-company global corporate citizenship efforts. Ms. Passman first joined Microsoft in 1996 and until 2002 led the Legal and Corporate Affairs organization in Asia, based in Tokyo, with a focus on Japan, Korea and the People’s Republic of China. Prior to joining Microsoft, she practiced law with Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. and Nagashima & Ohno in Tokyo, Japan.
Ms. Passman is a senior associate (non-resident) of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) with the Political Economy Program and Human Rights Initiative. Ms. Passman serves on the Board of Kinaxis Inc., a Toronto-listed SAAS supply chain management company. She serves as Vice-Chair of the Board of Kids In Need of Defense (KIND) and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on its Nominating and Governance Committee. Ms. Passman is a graduate of Lafayette College and the University of Virginia School of Law.
She was recognized by Security Magazine as one of the Most Influential People in Security.