In this episode of the Global:SF podcast, the third in a series on the New Economy, we speak with Mark Chandler, Director of Global Engagement for the City of San Francisco, on the evolving role of subnational actors in international trade and diplomacy. Mark discusses opportunities for a deepening of economic, cultural, and social ties among the world’s leading cities in the aftermath of the pandemic and isolationist foreign policy of the previous administration.

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About our speaker: Mark J. Chandler

Mark Chandler is the Director of the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of International Trade and Commerce (Global Engagement).  Mark has been part of the City and County government for over thirty-two years and has served eight mayors. Mark is responsible for managing the international programs of the City of San Francisco including innovation and technology exchange, international aviation development, Smart City dialogue, trade missions, investment and trade promotion, sister city partnerships, diplomatic relations for trade and investment and global trade/investment policy formation.  Mark has assisted with and been part of over thirty overseas missions to locations diverse as Mexico, China, India, France, Israel, Vietnam, Ireland, Australia, The Philippines, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada and Japan. He has a BA in Economics from U.C. Davis and an MBA in International Marketing from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and studied at the Tokyo Academy of Japanese.