Anja Manuel
Anja Manuel is a founding partner of The RiceHadley Group, formed with former U.S. Secretary Condoleezza Rice and former U.S. National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley. The firm assists CEOs and senior executives at major corporations in expanding their businesses in key emerging markets such as China, India, Latin America and the Middle East.
Prior to joining RiceHadley, Ms. Manuel was special assistant to Nicholas Burns, undersecretary for political affairs at the U.S. Department of State, where she was responsible for South and Central Asia policy, congressional outreach and legal matters. Ms. Manuel served on the negotiating team for the U.S.-India civilian nuclear accord and helped secure its passage in the U.S. Congress. She also played an influential role in developing U.S. policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Previously, Ms. Manuel was an attorney at international law firm WilmerHale, where she specialized in international litigation and arbitration, anti-corruption matters and congressional investigations. In her legal practice, Ms. Manuel advised clients on anti-corruption and other business matters around the world. During her tenure, she participated in international arbitrations in Colombia and Poland and worked on matters of public-policy interest, including representing Senators John McCain (R-A.Z.) and Russ Feingold (D-W.I.) in their defense of the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act before the Supreme Court. She also represented the German Economy Foundation Initiative in its efforts to set up a foundation to compensate forced-labor victims of World War II.
Ms. Manuel began her career in the investment banking division of Salomon Brothers, a Wall Street investment bank now part of Citigroup, where she worked on German and Eastern European mergers and privatizations.
Ms. Manuel is a visiting scholar at the Stanford University International Policy Studies Program. She is a member of the Aspen Strategy Group and the Center for a New American Security’s India Policy Group and serves on the board of the San Francisco-Bangalore Sister City Initiative. She graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and holds both a master’s and bachelor’s degree with distinction from Stanford University.