John A. Bohn Commissioner California Public Utility Commission (CPUC)

Ambassador Bohn currently serves as a Commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).  He was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger in May 2005 for a six year term. The Commission’s focus for the State of California is on climate change, energy, and water issues, as well as developments in clean technology solutions. 

In addition to his duties at the CPUC, Commissioner Bohn serves as a Director of the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington DC, and is on the Advisory Board of the Yale Institute for Corporate Governance and Performance.  He is a member of the Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness chartered by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to advise on the reform capital markets for the 21^st Century.  Commissioner Bohn is a principal in GlobalNet Partners, N.A., LLC, a global advisory and consulting firm. 

Prior to his present position, Commissioner Bohn was a co-founder and Executive Chairman of CheMatch.com (now Chemconnect), an Internet based trading exchange for petrochemicals.  He spent 1-1/2 years at Burson-Marsteller, where he served as Managing Director, focusing on international markets, and economic resources issues, and was special advisor to the Government of Korea during the Asian financial crisis.  From 1989-1996, Commissioner Bohn served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Moody’s Investors Service. 

In 1981, Commissioner Bohn joined the President Reagan Administration as Special Assistant to Treasury Secretary Don Regan, and was subsequently appointed by President Reagan as U.S. Ambassador and Executive Director of the Asian Development Bank.  In 1984, President Reagan appointed Commissioner Bohn to the post of Vice Chairman of the Export Import Bank of the United States, and later as chairman and CEO. 

Commissioner Bohn began his career practicing law in California and the Pacific, and subsequently spent 13 years as an international banker with Wells Fargo, which included 4-1/2 years in Tokyo, with responsibility for the bank’s Asian activities.  Later he served as Division Manager for Trade Finance, private banking, and multinational banking.  

A graduate with honors from Stanford University, Commissioner Bohn attended the London School of Economics as a Fulbright scholar, and received his JD from the Harvard Law School.  He is a member of the California State Bar and the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.