Robert O. Blake, Jr. is a Senior Managing Director at McLarty Associates, and leads the Southeast Asia and Climate & Sustainability practices. Ambassador Blake served for 31 years in the State Department in a wide range of leadership positions. From 2013 to 2016, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, where he focused on building stronger business and educational ties between the U.S. and Indonesia, while also developing cooperation to help Indonesia reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In 2009, he was nominated by President Obama to be Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, serving from 2009 to 2013, for which he was awarded the State Department’s Distinguished Service Award. From 2006 to 2009, he served concurrently as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Prior to that, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission in India from 2003 to 2006, where he was named the worldwide DCM of the Year by the State Department. Most recently, Ambassador Blake served as Senior Advisor to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry to help conclude the $20 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership with Indonesia. He is currently the U.S. Co-Chair of the Board of the U.S.-Indonesia Society, is a member of the board of the Asia Foundation, and serves on the Global Leadership Council of the World Resources Institute and the National Committee of the World Wildlife Fund. Ambassador Blake holds a BA from Harvard College, and an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC.