About Mitchell A. Silk

 

Mitchell A. Silk is an author, lawyer, public servant, and community leader whose career spans Wall Street, Washington, Asia and Latin America. He is the former Assistant Secretary for International Markets at the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Trump 45) and the first Hassidic Jew to ever serve in a Presidentially nominated and Senate-confirmed role.

With Chassidic roots in the shtetl of Nadvorna, Ukraine, Mitch grew up with the values of perseverance, service, and faith. As a teenager, he went from scrubbing dishes in a Chinese restaurant to mastering both Cantonese and Mandarin—later becoming one of the few Wall Street lawyers fluent in both. This unusual skill shaped a career that would carry him from Hong Kong boardrooms to Beijing negotiating tables and ultimately to the highest levels of U.S. government.

For over 30 years, Mitch practiced law at leading Wall Street firms, including Allen & Overy (now AO Shearman), Hughes Hubbard & Reed, and Chadbourne & Parke. He became a recognized expert in large, complex, cross-border energy and infrastructure projects, as well as finance and financial regulation, and asset management. He advised on many landmark projects in in the U.S., Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa. Known for combining technical mastery with cultural fluency, he earned a reputation as a trusted adviser able to bridge divides—most times with a well-placed Yiddish proverb and a shared meal.

At Treasury, Mitch advanced U.S. interests on financial stability, trade, development, and regulatory issues, while promoting growth, particularly through global energy and infrastructure financing agreements. Mitch led the three-year effort to craft a major new trade agreement with China, which was finalized in late 2019. He designed the global infrastructure financing initiative, through which the United States helped dozens of Latin American and Asian countries unleash value in their energy and infrastructure sectors. He also built and implemented the $94 billion program (under the CARES Act) to assist American aviation during the pandemic, saving more than 700,000 American jobs. 

Mitch is a regular speaker on trade, infrastructure and energy, and financial regulation and fintech throughout the world, and a leader in the orthodox Jewish community. He has served in many leadership roles in Jewish organizations around the globe, and is currently active in pro bono legal work for Jewish families and organizations in the US. 

Mitch lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Yocheved Rivka. They are the proud parents of eight children and a growing big bunch of grandchildren.

Fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese and his favorite language Yiddish, Mitch is a connoisseur of the fine art of food diplomacy.