Joshua Cooper Ramo
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Through Time (magazine) and Korea under Japanese rule
Early life and education
Rаmo was rаised in Los Ranchos, New Mexico, on the Rio Grande. He began flying in his late teens and later wrote the book No Visible Horizon about his experiences as a competitive aerobatic pilot. Ramo holds a bachelor's degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Chicago and a master's degree in economics from New York University.
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Journalism career
Ramo began his career as a journalist at Newsweek in 1993. He joined Time magazine in 1996 when he was hired by Walter Isaacson. Ramo oversaw the magazine’s digital operations and ran Time's digital magazine while also covering technology. In 1998, he became foreign editor of Time, overseeing the magazine's international coverage. He was the youngest senior editor and foreign editor in the history of Time Magazine. During his tenure at the magazine, he wrote more than 20 domestic and international cover stories.
Business career
Prompted by an interest in business and global affairs, Ramo moved to Beijing in 2002. He worked with John L. Thornton, a former president of Goldman Sachs, in China from 2003-2005, when he joined Kissinger Associates as managing director. In 2011, he became vice chairman of Kissinger Associates. In 2015, he became co-chief executive officer.
Fluent in Mandarin, Ramo currently divides his time between Beijing and New York, and serves as advisor to large corporations and investors with a particular focus on large-scale cross-border transactions. He additionally serves on the Board of Directors of Starbucks and FedEx.`
Television career
In 2008, Ramo served as China analyst for NBC Sports during its coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games. For his work with Bob Costas and Matt Lauer during the Opening Ceremony of the Games he shared in a Peabody and an Emmy award.
In 2018, Ramo rejoined NBC Sports as a contributor and analyst for its coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. However, Ramo was criticized for the insensitive comment he made about Korea-Japan relations and sentiments on Japan among Koreans during NBC's coverage of the game's opening ceremony.
Affiliations
Ramo has been a member of the Leaders 21 project, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a “Young Global Leader” and “Global Leader of Tomorrow” of the World Economic Forum, a Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, and a co-founder of the National Committee on United States–China Relation's US-China Young Leaders Forum.
Key concepts
The World Economic Forum called Ramo “One of China’s leading foreign-born scholars.”
The Beijing Consensus
In 2004 he published "The Beijing Consensus," which contrasted the Chinese model of economics and politics with western, "Washington Consensus" models.
Co-Evolution
In 2011, Ramo proposed a new model of US-China relations based on complexity theory known as “co-evolution.”
Controversy
Comment on Japan–Korea relations
During NBC's coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, Ramo noted that Japan occupied Korea from 1910–45, and then added, "But every Korean will tell you that Japan is a cultural and technological and economic example that has been so important to their own transformation." NBC issued an on-air apology the next morning. NBC later shared that Ramo was hired only for the Opening Ceremony and would have "no further role during the PyeongChang Games." Ramo later issued an apology, stating "I did not intend to minimize or disrespect a part of Korean history that must never be forgotten."
The Korea Times called the comment "incorrect and insensitive." Also, American media outlets were overwhelmingly critical of Ramo's statements, denouncing them as "clueless", and "false".