J. Robinson West

Senior Adviser (Non-resident), Energy Security and Climate Change Program
Image
J. Robinson West

J. Robinson West is a senior adviser with CSIS Energy and National Security Program. The former chairman and founder of PFC Energy (1984-2013), he has advised chief executives of leading national and international oil and gas companies on corporate strategy, portfolio management, acquisitions, divestitures, and investor relations. Before founding PFC Energy in 1984, Mr. West served in the Reagan administration as assistant secretary of the interior for policy, budget, and administration (1981-1983), with responsibility for U.S. offshore oil policy. His duties included preparation of the department's $6-billion budget and general administrative oversight of its 75,000 employees. He conceived and implemented the five-year Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leasing schedule and managed the $14-billion per year OCS policy, the largest nonfinancial auction in the world at that time. Between 1977 and 1980, Mr. West was a first vice president of Blyth, Eastman, Dillon & Co., Inc., an investment banking firm. Prior to that, he served in the Ford administration as deputy assistant secretary of defense for international economic affairs (1976-1977) and on the White House staff (1974-1976). In 1976, he received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Civilian Service.
 
Mr. West has served on many government boards and commissions in several administrations. In 2003 and again in 2008, he was nominated by the president to be a director of the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) and was confirmed by the Senate. In 2004, he was elected chairman of the USIP Board. He has served as vice chairman of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board, as a trustee of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Liability Fund, and as a member of the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel, the Industry Policy Advisory Committee on Multilateral Trade Negotiations, and the National Advisory Committee on Handicapped Children. Currently, he is cochairman of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a board member of the Center for the National Interest, and on the Board of Advisors of the National Interest Magazine. He is also a member of the National Petroleum Council and the Council on Foreign Relations. In addition, he is president of the Wyeth Foundation for American Art. Mr. West received a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a J.D. from Temple University, and was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar.