The American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham, 美僑商會) has successfully appointed its First Vice President, Thomas McGowan, as interim president to replace outgoing president Richard Henson, the organization's executive director Richard Vuylsteke said yesterday.
According to Vuylsteke, Henson, elected last November, is returning to the US for extended education purposes and, therefore, won't be able to complete his term, which ends late this year. At AmCham's board meeting on June 4, McGowan automatically succeeded in the vacancy in accordance with the organization's constitution. McGowan will serve as the president through the remainder of Henson's term until November, when fresh elections will be held for the Board of Governors and a new president will be chosen, Vuylsteke said.
McGowan, 52, currently works as a foreign legal consultant at the international law firm of Russin & Vecchi in Taipei, doubling as director of the US-Taiwan Business Council. He is a US licensed attorney with 24 years of Asia-based experience, having worked in Korea for five years before coming to Taiwan.
"He has more than 20 years of experience in Taiwan and has [legal] expertise in the financial service sector and, therefore, is very qualified for the job," Vuylsteke said yesterday, adding no changes will be made to the organization and a smooth transition is foreseeable.
Having worked closely with AmCham as an active member, McGowan also said that he hoped to be able to steer the chamber steadily throughout the transition, according to the organization's written statement.
Henson will leave for the US in two weeks to pursue further studies with a full scholarship at Thunderbird's Graduate School of International Management in the state of Arizona -- the No. 1 graduate program in international business as ranked by US News and World Report magazine.
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