Promoting Los Angeles to the World
L.A. has a global reputation for being at the forefront of cutting-edge industries. Our people and businesses set trends, anticipate economic opportunities, infuse innovation and creativity into everything they build, and call L.A. home, because Angelenos ask ‘how big are your dreams and how can I help?’.
The mission of Global LA is to attract international businesses, entrepreneurs, students, and nonprofits to fortify Greater L.A.’s communities, create jobs, and contribute to a resilient economy. Together with our partners and members, Global LA will enable a more equitable, vibrant, generative economy that grows and thrives as a result of an increasingly international and diverse population.
As the host of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, LA28, Global LA, and a broad network of partners are ready to support new businesses that will help deliver the games and secure LA’s Olympic legacy for the 21st Century.
Global LA is a public-private partnership established by the Office of the Mayor of Los Angeles and supported by L.A.’s most dynamic businesses, dedicated civic leaders, and economic development organizations. We are a not-for-profit 501(c)3 and a project of Community Partners.
Debbie is Global LA’s first President and CEO. She is responsible for the leadership, strategy, membership, and delivery of GLOBAL LA, working closely with the board and its partners. Previously, Debbie worked for the British government as the North America Sector Director for the Creative, Media and Sports Economy team with the UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT).
Jaime L. Lee was appointed to the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners by Mayor Eric Garcetti and confirmed by the Los Angeles City Council on April 13, 2018. She was elected president of the Los Angeles Harbor Commission on April 19, 2018. Commissioner Lee served as board president and commissioner on the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System (LACERS) Board of Administration from 2014 to 2018. Previously, she was a commissioner on the Los Angeles City Industrial Development Authority, Los Angeles City Quality and Productivity Commission, and State of California’s Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology & Hearing Aid Dispensers Board. She was appointed to the California Film Commission by Speaker Anthony Rendon in April 2018.
Crystal Nix-Hines is a Partner in the Los Angeles Office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan where she focuses on complex litigation, including shareholder derivative actions, contractual and unfair business practice disputes, and intellectual property litigation. Since returning to the firm in 2017 after her tenure in Paris as U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO, Ambassador Nix-Hines has also spearheaded the firm’s Crisis Law & Strategy Group, which helps companies with crisis management, as well as longer-term strategic issues including diversity and inclusion, compliance and corporate governance issues. She began her career as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justices Thurgood Marshall and Sandra Day O’Connor, and to William Norris of the Ninth Circuit.
Mayor Eric Garcetti appointed Ambassador Nina Hachigian to be the first Deputy Mayor of International Affairs. From 2014 to 2017, Ambassador Hachigian served as the second U.S. Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). During her tenure, the United States established a strategic partnership with ASEAN, held the first Leaders’ Summit in the United States, launched a Presidential initiative on economic cooperation, established the U.S.-ASEAN Women’s Leadership Academy and grew the youth program to over 100,000 members. She was awarded the State Department’s Superior Honor Award for her service. She is also a founder of WASA, Women Ambassadors Serving America, a group of some 200 current and former Ambassadors.
Jason Woo is a serial entrepreneur and executive that has been fortunate to lead and scale organizations in the ecommerce, SaaS, digital media, entertainment and consumer technology spaces to successful exits. Throughout his career, Jason leverages his strategic global network with cross border expansion and strategic partnerships. Jason currently serves as President at Evite, Inc, the world’s innovator, and leader in online digital invitations connecting over 3 billion people to celebrate life’s most important moments.
Hernán Díaz Alonso assumed the role of SCI-Arc director beginning in the 2015 academic year. He has been a distinguished faculty member since 2001, serving in several leadership roles, including coordinator of the graduate thesis program from 2007–10, and graduate programs chair from 2010–15. Díaz Alonso is principal of the Los Angeles–based architecture office HDA-x (formerly Xefirotarch).
Dr. Sanjeev Khagram is currently Foundation Professor of Global Leadership and CEO, Director-General and Dean of the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, with Global Headquarters in Phoenix and Regional Centers of Excellence in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Nairobi, Mexico City, Tokyo, Jakarta, Geneva, Dubai, Moscow and elsewhere around the world. Dr. Khagram is widely known as the founder and architect of global, multi-stakeholder partnerships from the Global Initiative on Fiscal Transparency to the International Open Data Charter to the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data.
Previously, Neilson served as Co-founder and CEO of i(x) Net Zero, a leading sustainable investing platform which is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange (IX.). In 2006, Neilson co-founded advisory firm Global Philanthropy Group. In that capacity, he has been involved in the creation and implementation of many of the world’s most respected philanthropic initiatives and has worked with over fifty major philanthropists. Neilson’s leadership in business and social change includes time as the Executive Director of the Global Business Coalition (GBC), and founding member of the team that created and launched the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where he served as the Director of Public Affairs.
Mr. Lawson retired as a partner after 31 years with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. During his tenure with the firm, he was appointed to the Los Angeles Airport Commission, and served as its President. In addition, Mr. Lawson has been a board member of several charitable organizations, Loyola Marymount University and Morehouse College. He served as a U.S. Ambassador in the Obama administration prior to joining the Los Angeles Urban League as its President and CEO in February, 2018.
Danny Acosta has built a career that brings together global public and private sector experience, working on policy and strategic growth initiatives, and organizational transformations, with corporate and government leaders across a range of industries. Now based in his hometown of Los Angeles, Danny has worked heavily in industries ranging from Media & Entertainment to Infrastructure and Economic Development. Building on his background in international development – and having worked across the U.S., Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Middle East, and Southeast Asia – Danny also works with BCG’s Social Impact and Global Advantage Practices, helping companies and governments bridge the gaps between developing and developed markets.
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