Robert Lawrence Kuhn

Robert Lawrence Kuhn (born 1944) is an international corporate strategist, investment banker, and public intellectual. He has a doctorate in brain research and is the author or editor of over 25 books, he is a long-time adviser to China's leaders and the Chinese government; adviser to multinational corporations on China strategies and transactions; and a frequent commentator on business, finance, and China (he is a columnist for China Daily and South China Morning Post and he appears regularly on the BBC, China Central Television and other major media). For over 20 years, he has worked with China’s senior leaders, advising on economic policy, science and technology, media and culture, Sino-American relations, and international communications. Kuhn is the creator, writer, and host of the public television series Closer to Truth, which presents leading scientists and philosophers discussing fundamental issues, particularly cosmos, consciousness, and philosophy of religion.^[1]

Education

Kuhn received a bachelor’s degree in human biology from Johns Hopkins University (where he was Phi Beta Kappa) in 1964, a PhD in anatomy and brain research from the University of California at Los Angeles' Brain Research Institute in 1968; and a master of science in management as a Sloan fellow from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1980.^[2]

Career

Early career

Kuhn first came to prominence in 1972 when "Why the Vast Difference between Animal Brain and Human Mind?" appeared in The Plain Truth magazine published by Ambassador College, an institution of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG). The WCG’s Systematic Theology Project^[3] was coordinated by Kuhn, but later banned by WCG Founder Herbert W. Armstrong. Kuhn severed his connection to the WCG and its affiliates, including the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation (classical music concerts, featuring musicians like Vladimir Horowitz and Luciano Pavarotti), which Kuhn had created and managed.

During the 1980s, Kuhn represented American and Japanese companies in M&A. He advised the governments of China, the United States, Germany, and Israel on the commercialization of high technology.

China

For the 18th CPC National Congress in Nov. 2012 and China’s new leaders, especially CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping (Paramount leader), Kuhn provided commentary for the BBC, CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, Bloomberg, CNBC, AP, Reuters, Euronews, etc. He was the featured foreign commentator daily on China Central Television (CCTV News). His special essays introduced China's new leaders and China's new government: “The seven who will run China” (China Daily, Nov. 19, 2012) offers personal insights into China’s new leaders, the seven members of the new Standing Committee of the Politburo, and "New challenges for new leaders" (China Daily, March 19, 2013) presents the multiple problems that China's new government must address. Since 1989, when he was invited to China by the State Science and Technology Commission (under Song Jian), Robert Lawrence Kuhn has worked with China’s senior leaders and advised the Chinese government on a variety of international, policy and business matters.

Robert Lawrence Kuhn is the author of How China’s Leaders Think: The Inside Story of China's Past, Current and Future Leaders, featuring exclusive discussions with more than 100 Chinese leaders and officials and introducing China’s next generation of senior leaders including CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping. ^[4]

Robert Kuhn wrote The Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin. It was the first biography of a living Chinese leader and was a best-seller in China in 2005.^[5][6] Kuhn is co-editor-in-chief of China’s Banking & Financial Markets: The Internal Research Report of the Chinese Government.

Kuhn advises and works with China leaders on special projects. For then Vice President Xi Jinping’s US visit in Feb. 2012, Kuhn advised and gave commentaries / interviews about Xi. He advised then Zhejiang Party Secretary Xi Jinping on his prior U.S. visit (2006). Kuhn has worked with CPC Politburo Members Xi Jinping, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Zhang Gaoli, Li Yuanchao and Wang Yang.

Kuhn is creator, writer and host of the five-part PBS TV series "China's Challenges", presented by PBS SoCaL (2013), which focuses on critical issues confronting China’s new leaders and government (social problems like healthcare, economic transformation and pollution, political reform and transparency, science and innovation, beliefs and values).

Business, finance, M&A

Kuhn advises leading multinational companies, CEOs and C-Suite executives, on formulating and implementing China strategies in a variety of sectors, including science and technology, information technology, energy and resources, industrial, media and entertainment, healthcare / medical / pharmaceuticals, consumer products, financial services. He works with major Chinese companies on capital markets and M&A activities. Kuhn is Senior Advisor to Ernst & Young (Office of the Chairman).

Kuhn has more than 30 years of experience in M&A. He was president and co-owner of The Geneva Companies, the largest M&A firm in the US representing middle-market companies (which he sold to Citigroup in 2000). Under his leadership, more than 1,400 M&A transactions were completed, and more than 10,000 corporate evaluations were conducted.

Media and publications

Kuhn is the author or editor of 25 books on business strategy/finance and science/philosophy, including Dow-Jones Irwin’s seven-volume Library of Investment Banking. He is a frequent commentator on the BBC (BBC World News / BBC World Service), Bloomberg, CNBC, Euronews, Associated Press, Reuters, others. Kuhn is senior advisor to China Central Television (CCTV), and appears as senior international commentator for political, economic, social and business matters on CCTV News (broadcast worldwide and across China). He writes for Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Forbes and Chief Executive. Robert Kuhn is a regular columnist for China Daily on China politics/economics and international affairs ("Knowing how China's leaders think" and "Telling China's true story" ).

Robert L. Kuhn was profiled in Barron’s He is one of the China Visionaries in the TV series produced for China’s 60th anniversary by Shanghai Media Group (one of two Americans selected, along with Henry Kissinger), and he was featured on CCTV Channel 1’s Focus Talk. Kuhn created, wrote, and presented a six-episode series on Expo 2010 Shanghai, “Expo’s Meaning, Shanghai’s Mission,” broadcast on CCTV. For the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, Kuhn co-produced (with Shanghai Media Group), wrote, and presented a five-episode TV series, China's Challenges, on China's key domestic issues and problems that China's new leaders face. Kuhn was selected by Oriental Outlook magazine (published by Xinhua News Agency) as one of the all-time top-ten influential supporters of China’s ruling party/CPC (he is the only one living).

Robert Kuhn's articles on China’s economic future (“What Will China Look Like in 2035” and “China’s Elite Aims for Stability”) and China’s political future (“Building ‘Intra-Party Democracy’ in China” and “China’s New Roadmap for Political Reform”) are in BusinessWeek.

Kuhn has written many articles. His “Science as Democratizer”, featured in American Scientist magazine, argued how the scientific way of thinking can influence global society. His scientific / philosophical article "Why This Universe? Toward a Taxonomy of Possible Explanations" is published in the Vol. 13 No. 2 2007 issue of Skeptic Magazine.

Kuhn's new book, edited with John Leslie, is The Mystery of Existence: Why is there Anything At All?

Other affiliations

CCTV-IMG Sports Management Company

Kuhn is a partner in CCTV-IMG Sports Management Company, a joint venture between China Central Television, the state broadcaster in China, and IMG, the global sports and media company.

The Kuhn Foundation

Kuhn is chairman of the Kuhn Foundation, which disseminates understanding in science and philosophy, supports cultural endeavors, and promotes good relations between America and China. The Foundation produces the Closer to Truth TV series. It also produced the documentary of his wife Dora Serviarian-Kuhn, Khachaturian, which won the Best Documentary award at the 2003 Hollywood Film Festival, and (with China Central Television) In Search of China for PBS.

The Geneva Companies

From 1991 to 2001, Kuhn was president and co-owner of the Geneva Companies, a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) firm representing privately owned, middle-market companies. In 2000 Kuhn sold the Geneva Companies to Citigroup.^[7]

Media and Publications

• Interview by Christiane Amanpour, AMANPOUR / CNN, May 29, 2103
• "Xi Jinping's Chinese Dream," The New York Times (Global Edition / International Herald Tribune), June 5, 2013, p. 6
• "Xi Jinping, a nationalist and a reformer," South China Morning Post, June 6, p. A15
• "China's Challenges" - five-part PBS series presented by PBS SoCaL
• "New challenges for new leaders," China Daily, March 19, 2013
• "The seven who will run China," China Daily, November 19, 2012
• CNN: Global Exchange, "Chinese Leadership Transition Explained," November 15, 2012
• Bloomberg: "Xi Jinping Knows China has to reform," November 15, 2012
• CNBC: "China: The Next Decade," November 15, 2012
• Euronews: "China: the straining giant's new leaders," November 15, 2012
• Australia Network News: "Inside China's Leadership," November 14, 2012
• "Doing Business in China," The Economic Times (India), November 16, 2012
• China Central Television (CCTV): commentaries during the 18th CPC National Congress

• China Central Television (CCTV): Dialogue with Ambassador Wu Jianmin
• China Central Television (CCTV): Special Series for the 18th CPC National Congress

• “China still has much to do in promoting cultural influence: U.S. banker,” Xinhua News Agency, October 26, 2012
• "Economic model must change," China Daily, September 14, 2012
• "The 'big four' concerns of Chinese," China Daily, September 25, 2012
• “China can produce. Can China Create?” China Daily, October 18, 2012
• "New media increases transparency," China Daily, October 23, 2012
• "What do the Chinese people believe," China Daily, October 12, 2012
• "Knowing how China's leaders think," China Daily, July 26, 2012
• "How China's Next Leader Will Guide," International Herald Tribune, March 23, 2012
• "On a mission to explain 'real' China," Shanghai Daily, November 25, 2012
• "Telling China's true story," China Daily, June 15, 2012
• "A New Theory for China’s Next Generation of Leaders: The Three Blurs?" Wall Street Journal, November 4, 2011
• "Is China Really Changing," Interview with Robert Lawrence Kuhn, Barron's, June 19, 2010
• BBC World Service, "China Communists Meet," October 15, 2010
• CNBC: "China Under Pressure," August 12, 2010 ; "China’s Future Lies in China," May 2, 2010 ; "Getting Serious on the Yuan," October 23, 2009 ; "How China’s Leaders Think," September 22, 2009 ; "Xi Jinping vs. Hu Jintao," January 18, 2011
• Euronews: "US and China to press reset button," January 18, 2011 ; "Nobel Peace Prize: China's Anger," December 10, 2010 ; "North Korea 'embarrasses' China, says expert," November 10, 2010
• China Central Television (CCTV), “Expo’s Meaning, Shanghai’s Mission” (2010)
• Closer to Truth: Cosmos, Consciousness, God
• Closer to Truth: Science, Meaning and the Future -- (hosted at PBS)
• The Mystery of Existence: Why is there Anything At All?, co-edited with John Leslie, Wiley-Blackwell (April 2013)
• "Why This Universe? Toward a Taxonomy of Possible Explanations," Skeptic Vol. 13 No. 2 2007
• "Science as Democratizer", American Scientist, September–October, 2003
• Articles on investment banking, M&A in Chief Executive magazine.
• "A Problem of Perception: Why China and the U.S. aren't on the same page," BusinessWeek, April 24, 2006, page 33
• "Mastering the Art of Doing Business in China," Chief Executive Magazine, December 2005.
• Commentary on The Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin -
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Wall Street Journal
• People’s Daily - Scientific Perspective on Development - March 21, 2005
  • (English)
  • (Chinese)
• "Part I: Guangdong Visions: A Talk with Wang Yang", BusinessWeek, June 5, 2009
• "Does God Exist," China Daily.
• "CCTV Channel 1’s Focus Talk"
• "Foreign 'China Visionaries' speak", Shanghai Daily
• "China Visionaries", Robert Kuhn, Shanghai Media Group (International Channel Shanghai)
• "China's Next First Lady Moves to a Bigger Stage," Newsweek, January 17, 2011
• "CPC helps build confident nation," China Daily, June 24, 2011, published as a China Daily supplement in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune
• "Telling It Like It Is," China Daily, September 2, 2011
• "Is China Really Changing," Kuhn interview, Barrons, June 21, 2010

References