On December 11th, Thomas Bruns, Regional Senior Commercial Officer for the Gulf, hosted a dinner in Abu Dhabi in honor of Stephen Renna, Director of the Advocacy Center, a unit of the Global Markets/Commercial Service Bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration.

The dinner also included Steven Bondy, Chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, AmCham Abu Dhabi, and key Abu Dhabi-based U.S. business leaders interested in learning more about the Advocacy Center, its mission, and its ability to help U.S. companies in the U.A.E. and the broader Gulf region.

The U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi hosts a private dinner in Abu Dhabi in honor of Stephen Renna, Director of the Advocacy Center, U.S. Department of Commerce

The following day, the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, in partnership with AmCham Dubai, hosted Mr. Renna for a roundtable luncheon and discussion in Dubai. Mr. Renna engaged senior U.S. executives representing a range of industries about the Advocacy Center and its services. Mr. Renna also had the opportunity to hear from stakeholders regarding the economic climate and business opportunities in the U.A.E.

The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council and AmCham Dubai host a roundtable luncheon and discussion in honor of Stephen Renna, Director of the Advocacy Center, U.S. Department of Commerce

About Stephen Renna

Stephen Renna is currently Director of the Advocacy Center at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Mr. Renna has over 30 years of experience working in the legal, policy and trade association professions.

He previously served as a trade association executive having led two trade associations and been a senior executive in a third.  Mr. Renna also is a subject matter expert in complex real estate equity and finance structures and capital markets.

Prior to the Advocacy Center, Mr. Renna held the position of Managing Director and Co-Founder of Source Association Strategies, a strategic consulting firm to trade associations.

He served for five years as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC). CREFC is the premier trade association of the $3.2 trillion commercial real estate finance industry worldwide.

Prior to joining CREFC, Mr. Renna was President of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers (NAREIM). NAREIM is the leading association of companies engaged in the real estate investment management business with over $1 trillion of assets.

Mr. Renna also was Senior Vice President and Counsel at The Real Estate Roundtable, a Washington, DC based national public policy organization representing the commercial and multifamily real estate industry.  His tenure with the Roundtable centered on tax policy.

Mr. Renna practiced law and specialized in real estate taxation, partnerships and public and privately placed investment syndications.

He received his Juris Doctor degree from Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law in Washington, DC and his BA with honors from Fairfield University. He is admitted to the District of Columbia and Connecticut bar associations.

About the Advocacy Center

Created in 1993, the Advocacy Center coordinates U.S. government inter agency advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. exporters bidding on public-sector contracts with overseas governments and government agencies. The Advocacy Center’s mission is to help ensure that sales of U.S. products and services have the best possible chance competing abroad. Advocacy assistance is wide and varied but often involves companies that want the U.S. Government to communicate a message to foreign governments or government-owned corporations on behalf of their commercial interest, typically in a competitive bid contest.