AmCham President & CEO Andrew B. Somers

Andrew Somers has served as head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia since November 2000. Under his leadership, the Chamber has become the largest and most impactful foreign business advocacy organization in Russia, with over 700 member companies. The Chamber has a lead role in providing business input into the Russian-American Presidential Bilateral Commission established by Presidents Obama and Medvedev to stimulate solutions to obstacles to trade and to spur investment in both countries. Mr. Somers played a key role in the July 2009 Moscow Business Summit of 40 global U.S. and Russian CEOs, with participation by President Obama and President Medvedev. In April 2010, the Chamber submitted to the Bilateral Commission its recommendations, see the AmCham website www.amcham.ru. AmCham’s staff and 17 policy and sector committees play a major role in advocating member company interests in a wide range of industry sectors, as well as business issues such as customs, visas, taxation, intellectual property rights, corporate governance and financial reform.

Mr. Somers brings with him more than 25 years of corporate, entrepreneurial, legal and political experience in Russia and the United States. He was executive vice president, general counsel and member of the board of American Express TRS Company, which has operations in more than 70 countries and serves as the primary revenue contributor to the American Express Group of Companies. He was also special advisor on the Russian market to the American Express Company's chairman of the board. Prior to his career at American Express, he prosecuted white-collar crime as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan for four years.

Mr. Somers received his law degree from Columbia University and a master’s degree in Russian history from Columbia University’s Harriman Institute. His wife, Marina, operates her own consulting company in Moscow. They have one daughter, Tatiana, who lives with her husband, Hunter, and son, Austin, in New York.