Yale-China Association Names Former General Electric and Panasonic Exec Laurence Bates ‘80 as Chair of the Board of Trustees
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Jennifer Walus
Big Voice Communications/Yale-China Association
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Four new members join the board representing healthcare, education, and financial services.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (June 17, 2024) – The Yale-China Association announced Laurence Bates, former director, managing executive officer, and general counsel of Panasonic Corporation, will serve as its new chair of the board of trustees effective today. Bates, who was a Yale-China Fellow at Wuhan University from 1980 to 1982, takes the helm from R. Drake Pike, former managing director at Goldman Sachs. In addition, four new members have joined the board: Independence Foundation Professor of Nursing Dr. LaRon E. Nelson, associate dean for Global Affairs & Planetary Health at Yale School of Nursing; Drew Nuland, principal of Meyerson Quest Limited; Dr. Dongshu Ou, associate professor of Educational Administration & Policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong; and Dr. Jennifer Weyburn, Head of School, Packer Collegiate Institute.
“I am excited to leverage Yale-China’s unique position of having 120 years of solid partnerships and accumulated alumni networks to deepen and expand our existing people-to-people relationships and cultural exchanges between the U.S. and China,” said Bates. “Thanks to Yale-China’s leadership efforts and the generosity of our donors, we have strengthened our organization, which better enables us to grow our programs in healthcare, education, and the arts while deepening our impact, especially at a time when relations between the two countries are complex and fraught with tension.”
Bates was among the first group of teaching fellows dispatched to the People’s Republic of China, on Yale-China’s re-establishment of English teaching programs there, in 1980 at Wuhan University. He graduated that year from Yale with a B.A. in Chinese studies and economics. On returning to the U.S. in 1982, he obtained a J.D. from Harvard Law School and spent 35 years as a corporate lawyer, general counsel, corporate director, and advocate for the international business community, based in Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Osaka.
Fluent in Mandarin and Japanese, Bates has been engaged in cross-border business investment and rule of law issues in China and Japan throughout his career—most notably at General Electric Company, where he spent 22 years in various roles including general counsel for GE Medical Systems Asia, GE Capital Japan, and GE Corporate Japan business divisions. While in Tokyo, he served several years as vice president, and in 2013, as president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
Following his retirement from GE at the end of 2013, Larry took on global executive officer responsibilities with LIXIL Corporation, where he was appointed its chief legal officer, and then with Panasonic Corporation, where he was named general counsel and served as the first non-Japanese member of their board of directors.
Bates retired from Panasonic in 2022 and relocated to his hometown in Stonington, Connecticut with his husband and their two young children.
“It’s always compelling when former Yale-China fellows return to serve and help grow the organization that had such a profound impact on their lives—both professionally and personally,” said John Frisbie, president of Yale-China. “Larry joined the board of trustees last year and brought such vision, passion, and energy to the role. I look forward to his leadership and working with him and our board of trustees to strengthen Yale-China and expand our footprint.”