Robert A. Rice
- Bob Rice is a Co-Founder and Principal of Trans-Pacific Management Partners. He has over 25 years Asia-based experience in partnership / alliance management, strategy development & implementation, M&A & joint ventures, and project management
- Before founding Trans-Pacific Management Partners, Mr. Rice held numerous line and general management positions in the I.T., automotive and metals industries.
- Bob began his career as Regional Business Development Manager – Asia Pacific for ALCOA Asia, based in Tokyo and among his other accomplishments he: led that company’s entry into China working with China’s non-ferrous metals industry & China’s central government gaining approval for investment in two industrial sectors where investment had been banned; achieved a 60% ownership position for ALCOA in a joint venture with both the chairman and general manager appointed by ALCOA; led contract negotiations and construction of a $200 million green field facility & establishment of a new ALCOA / Kobe Steel JV business unit; led development of the China and S.E. Asian markets for aluminum can sheet.
- He departed ALCOA after 7 years to join General Motors China, in Beijing, where he initiated a successful turn-around in that company’s China operations leading to establishment of its most successful JV ever, a US$1.6 billion investment, with Shanghai Automotive Industries Corporation. He subsequently held executive positions at GM Japan and GM Asia Pacific where his contributions included reorganization of GM Japan, M&A work, and successful joint vehicle programs with FHI-Subaru and Isuzu Truck Company.
- Mr. Rice earned his MBA from the University of Washington and holds a bachelor’s degree in Japanese Language & Literature from that same institution. He speaks and reads Mandarin Chinese and Japanese. A native of Seattle, Washington, Bob now resides in Beijing, China with his wife and two daughters and maintains a residence in the Tokyo, Japan area.