Kissinger Associates
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Kissinger Associates, Inc., founded in 1982, is a New York City-based international consulting firm, founded and run by Henry Kissinger. The firm assists its clients in identifying strategic partners and investment opportunities, and advises clients on government relations throughout the world.
Kissinger Associates does not disclose its list of corporate clients, and reportedly bars clients from acknowledging the relationship.[1] However, over time details from proxy statements and the tendency of senior businessmen to talk about their relationship with Kissinger have leaked out and a number of major corporate clients have been identified (see list below).[2]
The secrecy of their corporate client list has caused problems where Kissinger or a member of his staff were called to public service. In 1989, George Bush nominated Lawrence Eagleburger as his Deputy Secretary of State. Congress required that Eagleburger disclose the names of 16 clients, some of which were his through his Kissinger Associates affiliation.[3]. More recently, Kissinger himself was appointed chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States by George W. Bush. Congressional Democrats insisted that Kissinger disclose the names of clients. Kissinger and President Bush claimed that such disclosures were not necessary, but Kissinger ultimately stepped down, citing conflicts of interest.
In 1999, Mack McLarty joined Kissinger to open Kissinger McLarty Associates, the firm's office on Eighteenth and K streets in Washington, D.C.[4]. McLarty was White House Chief of Staff under Bill Clinton. Kissinger McLarty is a corporate member of the Council of the Americas, the New York-based business organization established by David Rockefeller in 1965.[4]
Kissinger Associates is located in River House on Park Avenue at Fifty-first Street, in a building also occupied by Peter Peterson's Blackstone Group. It was established in July, 1982 after loans had been secured from Goldman Sachs and a consortium of three other banks. These loans were paid out in two years; by 1987 annual revenues had reached $5 million.[5]
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[edit] Associated organizations and individuals
Kissinger Associates has strategic alliances with several firms, including:
- APCO Worldwide, formed October 12, 2004 [6]
- The Blackstone Group[7], an investment and advisory firm
- Hakluyt & Company[8], a corporate investigation firm
- Covington & Burling, the international law firm, since 2003.[9]
Prominent staff have included:
- L. Paul Bremer, former managing director. Former Iraq Director of Reconstruction.
- Nelson Cunningham, managing partner at Kissinger McLarty
- Lawrence Eagleburger, former partner[10]
- Richard W. Fisher - President, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas [1]
- Timothy F. Geithner - president, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
- J. Stapleton Roy, vice-chairman. Senior U.S. diplomat.
- Brent Scowcroft, former vice-chairman. Former United States National Security Advisor.
- Bill Richardson, former Senior managing director. Former U.S diplomat and current Governor of New mexico.
Directors have included:
- Lord Carrington, from 1982.[11] Secretary-General of NATO
- Pehr G. Gyllenhammar, from 1982.[11] Chairman, Volvo
- William D. Rogers, from 1982.[11] Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs under Nixon
- Eric Roll, from 1984[12]. Chairman S. G. Warburg & Co
- William E. Simon, from 1984[12]. Secretary of the Treasury under Nixon
- Saburo Okita[1], former Japanese Foreign Minister
- Étienne Davignon[13] Former European Commissioner.
- Gary Falle, Falle Strategies
[edit] Known corporate clients
A selected list of the more notable companies (from over two dozen in total) since 1982; his directorships where applicable; and some countries where known advice/contacts were used:
- American Express - Director (Hungary, Japan)
- American International Group - Director, International Advisory Committee (Argentina, China, South Korea)
- Atlantic Richfield
- Chase Manhattan Bank (now JPMorgan Chase) - Chairman, International Advisory Committee
- Coca-Cola (Malaysia)
- Fiat
- Freeport-McMoRan - Director (Burma, Indonesia, Panama)
- Heinz (Ivory Coast, Turkey, Zimbabwe)
- Hollinger, Inc. - Director
- Merck
- Volvo
- Warburg
[edit] Further reading
- Isaacson, Walter, Kissinger: A Biography, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992, updated 2005.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Gelb, Leslie H. (April 20th 1986). Kissinger Means Business. New York Times.
- ^ Corporate clients identified - see Walter Isaacson, Kissinger: A Biography, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992, (updated 2005). (pp.730-51)
- ^ Gerth, Jeff. "Disclosure Sought From Policy Group", New York Times, May 20th, 1989.
- ^ a b Council of the Americas Member: Kissinger McLarty Associates. Council of the Americas.
- ^ Location and revenues - see Isaacson, Kissinger, op.cit. (p.732)
- ^ Kissinger Associates, APCO Join in Strategic Alliance. APCO Worldwide (October 12th, 2004).
- ^ Strategic alliances. the Blackstone Group.
- ^ Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson (April 10th, 2001). Survey - Corporate Security: The top players in intelligence industry. Financial Times.
- ^ Sarasohn, Judy. "Making an Alliance Official", Washington Post, October 2nd, 2003.
- ^ John Kerry & Hank Brown. BCCI and Kissinger Associates. The BCCI Affair. United States Congress.
- ^ a b c Oberdorfer, Don. "Kissinger's New Team", Washington Post, August 24th, 1982.
- ^ a b Gilpin, Kenneth N.. "Eagleburger Is Joining Kissinger Associates", New York Times, June 1st, 1984.
- ^ Etienne Davignon delivers the plenary address on the third day of EITC 97. European Union Publications Office.
