Gutman, Howard William, 1956-

<p>Howard Gutman was nominated by President Barack Obama to be U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 24, 2009.</p>

<p>Before being named Ambassador, Mr. Gutman was a partner with the Washington D.C. law firm of Williams & Connolly LLP.</p>

<p>In his over twenty-six years with the firm, Mr. Gutman handled the full gamut of litigation, investigation, and counseling matters. Identified as one of "Washington's Top Lawyers" by Washingtonian magazine (December 2004, December 2007) and selected to numerous "Superlawyers" and similar attorney award lists, Mr. Gutman's areas of practice focused on the complete range of complex commercial litigation, including securities, contracts, antitrust, labor, banking, real estate, intellectual property, insurance coverage, international law and partnership disputes; the representation of some of the nation's leading law firms and accounting firms in malpractice actions and partnership disputes; the representation of corporations, labor unions, and individuals in a variety of high-profile white collar criminal investigations and prosecutions; and many types of tort actions. Such cases were located in various federal and state courts throughout the United States, before various regulatory agencies, and in foreign tribunals.</p>

<p>Earlier in his career, Mr. Gutman served as a Special Assistant to F.B.I Director William H. Webster, focusing on counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence; as a law clerk to Justice Potter Stewart (retd.) on the United States Supreme Court; and as a law clerk to Judge Irving L. Goldberg on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He is a 1980 graduate of Harvard Law School and a 1977 graduate of Columbia University.</p>

<p>Mr. Gutman served as an adviser to a variety of Democratic candidates, including assisting in races for President, Governor, Senate, and Congress. He assisted the 2008 Obama campaign on constituency work, media and fundraising and was a Trustee on the Obama Presidential Inauguration Committee. He assisted the Gore campaign in the post-election litigation in 2000. Mr. Gutman has been a contributor to numerous television and radio programs, including frequent appearances on the Fox News Network during the 2008 Presidential campaign. Mr. Gutman appeared in several episodes of the HBO series "K Street," playing (not surprisingly) a Washington attorney and has made other movie and media appearances, including playing Tim Robbins' lawyer in "Noise" and a high school parent in the 2009 release of "Fame." Mr. Gutman has been an Editor of Litigation Magazine for over 24 years and an active participant in the ABA's Litigation Section. He is a member of the Board of the Washington Hebrew Home in Rockville, Maryland.</p>

<p>Ambassador (Rtd) Howard Gutman is the Managing Director of The Gutman Group. His career has spanned the public and private sectors, both sides of the Atlantic and both sides of the political aisle, from K Street, to Silicon Valley, to Wall Street, to Hollywood, then to Brussels, the heart of the European Union and NATO, and now across the globe.. Dubbed by European press as “The Ambassador Who Makes Us Love America Again “ and “the most popular ambassador ever in Belgium,” Ambassador Gutman in mid-2013 completed four years of service as the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium, the third longest serving such ambassador in over 100 years. According to the May 2012 Gallup International Poll, Belgium in this period finished first in the world with the highest increase in its favorability towards U.S. leadership. Ambassador Gutman has long become one of the most well-known and admired public figures in the heart of Europe, having appeared on European television well over 100 times, ranging from Sunday news shows to late night entertainment programs to awarding the final award for “Song of the Year” on the equivalent of the Belgian Grammy awards. In May 2017, Ambassador (Rtd) Howard Gutman was presented The Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown. It is the highest medal bestowed by Belgium, and was awarded by the King on the recommendation of the Foreign Minister and presented by the Vice Prime Minister of Belgium.</p>

<p>Ambassador (Rtd) Howard Gutman brought a rich and diverse background to both The Gutman Group and the diplomatic corps. He previously was a senior partner with the Washington D.C. law firm of Williams & Connolly LLP. Identified as one of “Washington’s Top Lawyers” by Washingtonian magazine (December 2004, December 2007) and selected to numerous “Superlawyers” and similar attorney award lists, Mr. Gutman’s areas of practice spanned the full gamut of litigation, investigation, and counseling matters. Earlier in his career, during the Reagan administration, Ambassador Gutman served as a Special Assistant to F.B.I Director William H. Webster, focusing on counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence; as a law clerk to Justice Potter Stewart (Rtd.) on the United States Supreme Court; and as a law clerk to Judge Irving L. Goldberg on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He is a 1980 graduate of Harvard Law School and a 1977 graduate of Columbia University. Ambassador Gutman has served as an adviser to a variety of candidates, including assisting in races for President, Governor, Senate, and Congress.</p>

<p>Ambassador (Rtd) Gutman also is a widely-featured commentator and media guest. In the United States, he appears regularly on Fox News and Fox Business News (though a Democrat) speaking on such issues as American and global politics, terrorism, foreign affairs, the Holocaust, and geopolitical events. Ambassador (Rtd) Gutman is a frequent contributor to the Washington Post, Politico and Huffington Post. In Europe, Ambassador (Rtd) Howard Gutman appears regularly on Belgian television, including on the leading Flemish programs De Zevende Dag, Van Gils & Gasten, and Terzake. He was the in-studio election commentator on VTM television throughout Election night 2016, the election of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton.</p>

<p>Ambassador (Rtd) Howard Gutman is also a sought-after and widely-booked speaker throughout Europe and the United States, having given literally hundreds of speeches in Belgium and the United States, as well as in Denmark and the United Kingdom. A leading thinker and speaker of our time, Ambassador Gutman speaks often to business and investment gatherings, civic groups, universities, government gatherings and more. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Exmar, a publicly-traded Belgian-U.S. liquefied natural gas shipper and liquefactor, see http://www.exmar.be/en and DTH Capital, a large holder of New York apartments formed by the partnership of a large insurance company and high net worth family interests. See http://www.dthcapital.com/.</p>

<p>In addition to being a contributor to numerous television and radio programs, Ambassador (Rtd) Gutman is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild, having appeared in several episodes of the HBO series “K Street,” playing (not surprisingly) a Washington attorney and has made other movie and media appearances, including playing Tim Robbins’ lawyer in “Noise” and a high school parent in the 2009 release of “Fame.” Ambassador Gutman is a 1977 graduate of Columbia University and a 1980 graduate from Harvard Law School. He is married to Dr. Michelle Loewinger, a dentist turned consultant, and has two grown sons.</p>

<p>Howard William Gutman (born July 8, 1956) is a lawyer, actor and former United States Ambassador to Belgium. After being nominated as Ambassador by United States President Barack Obama, Gutman was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 29, 2009, and sworn in as Ambassador on August 14, 2009.</p>

<p>Gutman is the son of Polish immigrant and Holocaust survivor Max Gutman, who worked in New York's garment district. He attended public elementary schools and then the Bronx High School of Science in New York. Gutman is a summa cum laude graduate of Columbia University (1977) and a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School (1980).</p>

<p>Gutman clerked for Judge Irving Loeb Goldberg on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (1980–1981). After that, he joined the law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He left the firm to clerk for Justice Potter Stewart on the United States Supreme Court.</p>

<p>After clerking, in 1982, Gutman joined the Washington, D.C., law firm of Williams & Connolly LLP. He left the firm in 1985 to become Special Assistant to F.B.I. Director William H. Webster, focusing on counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism. Gutman rejoined Williams & Connolly in 1986, and in 1988, Gutman became a partner at the firm, where he focused on commercial litigation, including securities, contracts, antitrust, labor, banking, real estate, intellectual property, insurance coverage, international law, and partnership disputes.</p>

<p>Gutman represented a wide variety of clients during his 25-year career, including acting Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger and many states' attorneys general in suits against Microsoft Corporation. Gutman also once represented Susan Rosenberg, a former member of the Weather Underground accused, but never indicted or convicted, in the 1981 Brinks robbery in post-conviction, constitutional litigation. Gutman also provided representation to Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, a former Bolivian president, and José Carlos Sánchez Berzain, a defense minister, who were sued in American courts by Bolivians following an attempted coup in Bolivia. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently dismissed the case against Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzain.</p>

<p>Gutman has been dubbed by one Belgian newspaper as "the most popular ambassador ever in Belgium" and is the second longest serving U.S. Ambassador to Belgium in the last 35 years. The Flemish municipality of Buggenhout erected a monument marking the Ambassador's visit to the municipality. U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) placed Gutman's poem, given on Memorial Day at Flanders Field, into the Congressional Record. Among his 100+ television appearances in Belgium, Gutman was chosen to present the final award at the Belgian Music Industry Awards. On September 7, 2011, Le Soir, a leading Belgian newspaper, ran a major profile entitled: "The Ambassador Who Makes Us Love America Again." Noting the change in Belgian-American relations, one Belgian newspaper stated that "there is no doubt that [Ambassador Gutman] would be elected if he were to run at a [Belgian] election."</p>

<p>He also had the goal of visiting each of the 589 municipalities in Belgium. His intention was not only to visit managers and politicians, but also ordinary citizens and employees. On May 5, 2013, he completed his tour when he visited the last municipality on his list, Voeren. Gutman left his post as ambassador on July 23, 2013.</p>

<p>Gutman is currently the Managing Director of The Gutman Group, a consulting, advisory and investment firm focused on resolving corporate issues, fostering cross-border investment, market access, venture capital, international relations and more. The Gutman Group focuses largely on the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Ambassador Gutman also serves on the boards of several companies, including Exmar, a publicly traded LNG/LPG shipper and liquefactor, a DTH Capital, a NY real estate company largely owned by Ageas Insurance as well as several senior advisor positions for both US and European based companies. Ambassador Gutman is a frequent speaker including at recent investor conferences in London and Copenhagen; delivered the keynote speech at the Brussels Sustainable Development Summit in October 2015 and speaks often at annual foundation and organization meetings. He has appeared several times recently on the Fox Network and on Belgian television providing commentary about the 2016 election. Gutman has been awarded the "Grand-Cross in the Order of the Crown", the second highest civilian medal awarded by Belgium.</p>