Anthony Gardner

  • Former United States Ambassador to the European Union
  • Director for European Affairs on the National Security Council (1994-1995)
  • Negotiated the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
  • Senior Advisor, the Brunswick Group; Senior Counsel, Sidley Austin LLP

Tony Gardner, former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, has devoted more than 27 years of his distinguished career to U.S.-European affairs as a government official and lawyer. During his service as U.S. Ambassador until 2017, he played a pivotal role in some of the most challenging issues in the U.S.-EU relationship, including the negotiations to conclude a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP), the Privacy Shield Agreement facilitating the transatlantic transfer of personal data by companies based in Europe and the Umbrella Agreement facilitating the transatlantic transfer of data between law enforcement authorities. He was also closely involved in aspects of the EU Digital Single Market and in U.S.-EU coordination of sanctions against Russia following its annexation of Crimea.

Ambassador Gardner is a board member of Iberdrola and Brookfield Business Partners, a non-resident fellow of the German Marshall Fund and a member of the advisory boards of the Centre on European Reform and the European Policy Centre.  He also serves as Senior Advisor to the Brunswick Group, and as Senior Counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Prior to his role as U.S. Ambassador to the EU, Tony served as managing director of a London-based private equity firm and as an Executive Director at GE Capital. He also served as Director for European Affairs on the U.S. National Security Council, where he was responsible for U.S. relations with the EU.

 


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Past Hosts Include:
  • European Family Businesses
  • Capital Creation
  • Credit Suisse
  • Middle East Investor Institute
  • HSBC
  • Bank of Montreal
Rave Reviews About Anthony Gardner as a Speaker
Thanks to his deep personal and professional roots in Europe, Ambassador Gardner displayed a rare understanding of European affairs and improved US-EU commercial and political ties at a critical time in the relationship. During his tenure he made relations with the European Parliament a priority on important issues relating to trade, data privacy and the digital economy.

News Commentary - U.S. Can Play Russia's Game, Says Gardner | Bloomberg Markets & Finance [5:47] - Get Sharable Link
Talks & Conversations with Anthony Gardner

The US-China Trade War: Populist Opportunism or Lessons for a New World Order?

Geopolitical Risks: Identifying the Greatest Global Risks to Portfolios Now

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Biography

Ambassador Gardner is a board member of Iberdrola and Brookfield Business Partners, a non-resident fellow of the German Marshall Fund and a member of the advisory boards of the Centre on European Reform and the European Policy Centre. He also serves as Senior Advisor to the Brunswick Group, and as Senior Counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

On February 18, 2014, he was sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador to the European Union and held this position until January 2017. He presented his credentials to European Council President Van Rompuy and European Commission President Barroso on March 18.

Prior to assuming his role as Ambassador to the EU, Ambassador Gardner was Managing Director for six years at Palamon Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in London, that focuses on providing growth capital to fast growing businesses in a wide variety of service sectors throughout Western Europe. In that capacity he managed financing, legal and tax structuring issues related to the firm’s acquisitions and divestitures.

Previously, Ambassador Anthony Gardner served as an Executive Director in the leveraged finance departments of Bank of America and GE Capital and as a Director in the international acquisitions group of GE International, all based in London. He has also worked as a Senior Associate at international law firms in London, Paris, New York, and Brussels.

Ambassador Gardner has dedicated more than twenty years of his career to U.S.-European affairs, as a government official, lawyer and investor. He served as Director for European Affairs on the National Security Council in 1994-95. During that period, he worked closely with the U.S. Mission to the European Union to launch the New Transatlantic Agenda, a joint commitment to promoting peace and stability, democracy, and development around the world; responding to global challenges; contributing to the expansion of world trade and closer economic relations; and building bridges across the Atlantic. Ambassador Gardner also participated in the launch of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue, an advisory group bringing together executives from leading American and European companies to advocate for a barrier-free transatlantic market.

Prior to his government service, Ambassador Gardner worked with the Treuhandanstalt (German Privatization Ministry) in Berlin, with the Commission des Operations de Bourse in Paris, and as an intern at the Directorate General for Competition Policy at the European Commission in Brussels. He is the author of A New Era in U.S.-EU Relations?: The Clinton Administration and the New Transatlantic Agenda and numerous articles on EU affairs.

Anthony Gardner has been warning of trade war since May 2017, and businesses often laughed. He has recently been proved right.

Anthony Gardner holds a BA in Government from Harvard University, an MPhil in International Relations from Oxford University, a JD from Columbia Law School, and a Masters in Finance from London Business School. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, has served as Trustee of the Guggenheim UK Charitable Trust, and a Board Member for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. Ambassador Gardner is fluent in French, Italian, and Spanish, and also speaks German.