Pamela K. Hamamoto is an accomplished diplomat and visionary
leader with an impressive record in driving substantial progress on a wide
range of complex global issues. Most recently, she served as a Government
Fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, an international foundation
dedicated to fostering peace, security and stability. In August 2013, she was
appointed by President Barack Obama as Ambassador/Permanent
Representative and Chief of Mission to lead the U.S. Mission to the United
Nations (UN) and other International Organizations in Geneva, overseeing the
U.S.’s largest overseas multilateral operation until January 20, 2017.
Ambassador Hamamoto actively supported President Obama’s deep
commitment to multilateral diplomacy as a critical tool to achieving foreign
policy objectives by strengthening the U.S.’s engagement with the UN, more
than 100 International Organizations and Ambassadors from more than 150
countries who were based in Geneva.
In addition to coordinating strategy and policy positions with top
government officials, Ambassador Hamamoto engaged regularly with high-level
diplomats and experts from around the world in a wide variety of critical areas
including global health, humanitarian affairs, sustainable/economic
development, internet governance, information and communication
technologies (ICTs), human rights, peace and security, women’s empowerment,
climate change and environment, and UN reform. She oversaw a U.S. Mission
team consisting of three other U.S Ambassadors and approximately 250
diplomats and locally employed staff representing 15 different U.S.
government agencies.
Ambassador Hamamoto successfully leveraged International Geneva’s
unique multi-stakeholder platform by fostering practical solutions and
innovative opportunities for collaboration leading to tangible results and lasting
partnerships. In 2015, Ambassador Hamamoto co-founded International
Gender Champions (IGC) (www.genderchampions.com), a leadership network
uniting key decision-makers in Geneva committed to promoting gender
equality through specific actions and policy changes. In 2017, the network was
expanded with the launch of IGC chapters in New York, Vienna and Bonn-
Berlin, and further expansion to other multilateral hubs is underway. As of
October 2017, more than 200 Ambassadors, heads of UN and International
Organizations, and civil society and private sector leaders had signed on as
Gender Champions.
Ambassador Hamamoto began her career working as a civil engineer
in the clean energy sector developing computer models to analyze and
optimize hydroelectric operations in Northern California for PG&E. She then
worked in the telecommunications industry, providing strategic guidance to
GTE Hawaiian Tel regarding new products and new markets during a period of
rapid industry deregulation. Throughout the 1990s, Ambassador Hamamoto
worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, where
she developed expertise across multiple sectors including media and
telecommunications, retail/consumer products, financial services,
environmental services and energy. She has also served as a valued trustee and
advisor to prominent educational institutions in California, and as co-chair of
President Obama’s National Finance Committee in Northern California.
In December 2015, the International Telecommunication Union and
UN Women honored Ambassador Hamamoto as a GEM-TECH Global Achiever
for her exceptional efforts to boost women’s empowerment through ICTs. In
November 2016, the U.S. Department of State nominated Ambassador
Hamamoto for the Sue M. Cobb Award for Exemplary Diplomatic Service. And
in March 2017, she was recognized by the United Nations Environment
Programme’s Gender and Environment Network for her visionary and inspiring
leadership during her tenure as head of the U.S. Mission in Geneva.
Ambassador Hamamoto received both undergraduate and graduate
degrees in Civil Engineering from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the
UCLA Anderson School of Management with a focus on Finance and
Entrepreneurial Studies.