Kenneth I. Juster

About Kenneth I. Juster

Ambassador Juster has over 40 years of experience as a senior government official, senior law partner, and senior business executive. He advises on cross-border and regulatory matters, with a particular focus on the United States and India.

Juster served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the Republic of India from November 2017 to January 2021, leading the third largest U.S. Mission in the world. As part of his responsibilities, he also oversaw the U.S. relationship with the Kingdom of Bhutan.

As Ambassador, Juster participated in the development of the U.S. government’s Indo-Pacific strategy and the relaunching of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue involving the United States, Australia, India, and Japan. He also participated in three 2+2 U.S.-India Ministerial Dialogues, involving the top diplomatic and defense officials from the two countries, as well as the 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Summit, co-sponsored by the United States and India.

Prior to serving as Ambassador, Juster was the Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. He was a senior member of both the National Security Council and the National Economic Council. He helped establish the U.S.-Japan Economic Dialogue and the U.S.-U.K. Economic Dialogue. He also served as the President’s representative and lead U.S. negotiator (Sherpa) in the run-up to the 2017 G7 Summit in Taormina, Italy.

From 2010 to 2017, Juster was a Partner and Managing Director at the global investment firm Warburg Pincus, where he focused on geopolitical risk, global public policy, regulatory matters, and environmental, social, and governance issues.

From 2005 to 2010, Juster was Executive Vice President of Law, Policy, and Corporate Strategy at Salesforce. He oversaw corporate development, legal affairs, global public policy, enterprise risk management, human resources, internal audit, real estate, and procurement.

Juster served as U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce from 2001 to 2005, in charge of the Bureau of Industry and Security. In that capacity, he oversaw issues at the intersection of business and national security, including strategic trade controls, imports and foreign investments that affect U.S. security (CFIUS), and enforcement of anti-boycott laws. Juster co-founded and served as the U.S. Chair of the U.S.-India High Technology Cooperation Group. He was also one of the architects of the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership initiative between the United States and India, which provided the foundation for the historic civil nuclear agreement between the two countries.

From 1992 to 1993, Juster served as the Counselor (Acting) of the U.S. Department of State, and from 1989 to 1992 as the Deputy and Senior Adviser to Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger. He was one of the key officials involved in establishing and managing U.S. assistance programs to Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

From 1981 to 1989 and 1993 to 2001, Juster practiced law at the firm Arnold & Porter, where he became a senior partner. His work involved international arbitration and litigation, corporate counseling, regulatory matters, and international trade and transactions.