About Us

 

Advisors

Partners

Christopher Coughlin
Managing Director
FDI, LLC

 

For over 20 years, Christopher Coughlin has been at the nexus of business, government and international affairs, creating tangible success for companies and organizations. He has assisted both start ups and Fortune 500 companies in understanding the dynamic political and regulatory issues in Washington, DC, creating integrated advocacy strategies, and  managing select government, regulatory, trade, and investment initiatives to build external awarness and promote private sector expansion.

Before founding FDI in 2009, Mr. Coughlin served as Vice President of External Affairs at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a US government agency that finances and insures US private sector projects in over 150 countries.

In this role, Mr. Coughlin was responsible for the agency’s congressional affairs, public policy coordination, grassroots outreach, issues management and media affairs. Under his leadership, OPIC received its first unanimous reauthorization from the US Congress in over a decade. During his tenure the agency received legislative approval for pivotal business investment initiatives designed to support US foreign policy on three continents.

Before OPIC, Mr. Coughlin was Managing Director of VATICO, Inc.,  the first US company licensed to operate in Vietnam, VATICO created integrated market entry strategies for American Fortune 500 companies seeking investment and trade channels in Vietnam. Mr. Coughlin also served as a founding member and Director of the American Chamber of Commerce of Vietnam.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Coughlin worked in the US Department of Defense, serving as senior negotiator to multilateral negotiations regulating commercial high technology exports. In this role, Mr. Coughlin was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service.

Since founding FDI in 2009, Mr. Coughlin has worked to build success with clients in sectors such as transportation, power generation, clean technology and Information Communications Technology (ICT).

A former presidential appointee in two Administrations, Mr. Coughlin has also served as a guest lecturer at the George Mason University, School of Public Policy, speaking on international development and trade. A graduate of the State University of New York, Mr. Coughlin resides in Arlington, Virginia.