V. Manuel Rocha serves as senior advisor on international business at Foley & Lardner LLP, and is a member of the firm's Government & Public Policy, International and Labor & Employment Practices. He is a former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia.
Prior to joining the firm, Ambassador Rocha was the director of government relations for the company that owns and manages most of the McDonald's restaurants in Latin America. Before that, he was the managing director for The Globis Group, a business development firm in Miami specializing in Latin America. Previously, he was senior counselor for international trade and government affairs at another Florida law firm.
He has had a distinguished career in the U.S. Foreign Service, having served in numerous positions in both the Department of State in Washington, D.C., and abroad. Until August 2002, he was the U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia. Prior to his arrival in La Paz, he served for three years as Charge d' Affaires running the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires. Preceding his assignment in Argentina, he was deputy principal officer at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba. Ambassador Rocha served in the White House as director for inter-American affairs at the National Security Council in 1994 - 1995. His other posts include the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Honduras and Italy.
In 2000, the president of Argentina bestowed upon him the Order of San Martin for his successful promotion of closer U.S.-Argentine relations. Similarly in 2002, the president of Bolivia honored him with the Condor de los Andes award for his contributions to U.S.-Bolivian relations. In 2001, he received the U.S. President's Award for "Sustained Superior Accomplishment in the Conduct of the Foreign Policy of the United States Government."
Ambassador Rocha is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. The University of Miami has appointed him to its International Advisory Board. He has also been a member of Dr. Henry Kissinger's International Council on Terrorism and has served on the advisory board of the Cuba Transition Project of the University of Miami. He is a special advisor to the U.S. military commander of SOUTHCOM.
After graduating, cum laude, from Yale University with a major in Latin American studies, Ambassador Rocha obtained a masters in public administration from Harvard University and a masters in international relations from Georgetown University.
A recognized expert on Latin America and on U.S. policy to the region, Ambassador Rocha is a favorite speaker with worldwide audiences interested in doing business in the Americas.