REPORT FOR THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service Act, Section 304(a)(4)
POST: Japan
CANDIDATE: William F. Hagerty IV
William F. Hagerty IV currently serves as an active board member of three public company and two private company boards. During his career, he has been a government servant, private equity investor and management consultant. In both the private sector and state government he has been a leader on job creation, trade and economic growth. A member of President George H.W. Bush’s staff, he served on the President’s Council on Competitiveness with a portfolio that included International Trade. Mr. Hagerty’s in-depth experience with international economics and trade, his long-standing engagement and understanding of Japan, and his broad range of international connections make him well-qualified to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Japan.
Early in his career, he was a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group and senior expatriate in that firm’s Japan office (1988-1991). At that time, he was also a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. Presently, Mr. Hagerty serves on the boards of Ryman Hospitality (2016 – present), Pinnacle Bank (2015 – present), and RJ O’Brien (2010 – present) among others. He was a member of the Governor’s Cabinet and Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development for the State of Tennessee (2011-2015) during that time, Tennessee was rated as the top state in the nation for economic development and Number 1 for job creation through foreign direct investment.
Mr. Hagerty graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. degree from Vanderbilt University in 1981. In 1984 he received a J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School, where was an Associate Editor of the Law Review and a Wilson Scholar. He has worked extensively on behalf of the Boy Scouts of America, including as Chairman of the Executive Board of the National Capital Council and Board member of the Far East Council while he lived in Japan.