Ned Cloonan
As the Managing Director of the Liberty Square Group’s New York office, Ned Cloonan provides strategic planning, business development and international business consulting to a variety of clients. He also serves as the Chairman of Liberty Square’s Board of Advisors, where he leads a team of experts in government and business to guide LSG’s organizational development and client service strategies. He has over thirty years of experience in international business as an executive for one of the world’s largest corporations and has held a leading role in managing successful market access and business development strategies in markets throughout the world, including in China, India, Vietnam.
Prior to joining the Liberty Square Group, Mr. Cloonan served as Vice President of Corporate and International Affairs for American International Group (AIG). Based in AIG’s New York headquarters, Mr. Cloonan reinvigorated the office as a center of political and international activity, built what is considered one of the most effective and respected global relations and political management capabilities in corporate America and drove strategies that secured AIG’s presence in China (the first 100% foreign licensee in the country), India and Vietnam—all firsts for a U.S. insurance company. Additionally, he built one of the most effective global political and commercial information networks in the corporate sector – an asset considered by analysts and clients to be one of the company’s most important and unique competitive advantages. This network, made up of informed sources, including government officials, academics, corporate and philanthropic executives and analysts spanning every industry, provide timely and relevant insights vital for advancing strategic initiatives and risk management.
Throughout his career, Mr. Cloonan has played key roles in the non-profit and philanthropic sectors, both at AIG and as a Chairman and Board Member to numerous organizations. At AIG, he created and led a highly regarded $100 million dollar corporate philanthropy program that encouraged early innovations in women’s initiatives, microfinance and disaster relief. He also led strategic planning efforts to restructure and revitalize the brand of non-profit organizations resulting in both improved financial and program delivery performance.
Mr. Cloonan is currently affiliated with a number of professional and business organizations: He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the Boards of the Americas Society / Council of the Americas, the Business Council of the Asia Society, the Center for Contemporary German Studies, the International Center in Washington, D.C. and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia. Mr. Cloonan has previously served on the Advisory Boards of the School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the American Turkish Society.
Mr. Cloonan graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and holds a Master of Arts from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. He is married to Linda Sherry-Cloonan, Deputy Director of Human Resources at the United Nations Population Fund.
