Menu
About
Mark E. Foster
Mark E. Foster is a successful corporate leader and highly experienced C-Level officer and company counsel operating domestically and internationally. He helps businesses globally resolve business and legal challenges through innovative solutions. Clients rely on Mark’s vast business and legal knowledge, diverse skill set, and extensive experience to help them achieve their goals.
Mark understands that finding the right solution for a legal or business problem takes patience, persistence, and a healthy dose of creativity. He has a proven track record as a successful manager of businesses, investors, and employees.
He served as President, General Counsel, and Chief Financial Officer of Volumetrics Medical Imaging LLC, inventor of 3D real-time ultrasound medical imaging, for a decade. He also advised the Board of Directors and handled securities offerings, producing a substantial return to investors including Duke University.
Mark’s accomplishments are recognized at the highest levels of business, government, and the law by clients and peers worldwide.
For a more expanded look at Mark’s career, download his full CV.
Education
Education
- J.D., University of California Hastings College of Law of Law
- Japanese Language, University of California –Berkeley, California
- Japanese Language Studies, Waseda University, Tokyo
- Fellowship Recipient, Rockefeller Foundation/National Council of Churches. Geneva, Switzerland; Berlin, Germany; and Tokyo, Japan
- B.A., Alma College – Alma, Michigan
Accolades
Selected Accolades
- Appointed by U.S. Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative (Bush & Obama Administrations) to the Industry Trade Advisory Committee (ITAC) representing the high-tech sector, advising them in formulating U.S. international trade policy. Read here.
- Silicon Valley Association of General Counsel, Award for Exceptional Support, Inspiration and Leadership by more than 100 GC’s of Silicon Valley public companies.
- American Law Institute Member. Nominated by former U. S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and U.C. Hastings Chancellor and Dean Mary Kay Kane. Read here.
- Special Counsel to the U. S. Embassy in Japan, appointed to Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige’s team (Reagan Administration). Trade lawyer in Japan for U.S. telecom, electronics, food products, medical device sectors. Read here.
- President of Trustees, U.C. Hastings School of Law 1066 Foundation from 2005-07.
- Letters of Commendation from Secretary of Commerce Malcolm Baldrige for work as Special Counsel advancing U. S. exports & eliminating trade barriers in Japan. Read here.
- Deloitte & Touche Northwest Real Estate Conference award for FDI.
- Distinguished Alumnus 2006, Alma College. Highest alumnus award given by undergraduate college in Alma, Michigan. Read here.
- Senior Fellow, Conference of World Regions, a forum for public and private sector leaders to exchange ideas on market-based economic development issues. CWR is endorsed by the OECD, the U.S. Council for International Business, the World Bank, the U.S. Council of State Governments, and the European Commission.
- Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Japan: former member, RCR Council (Radio Wave Regulations Council). First ever non-Japanese member.
- Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Japan: former member, INSTAC (Information Network Standardization Council). First ever non-Japanese member.
Publications
Select Publications
- A Guide to Mandatory Technical Standards and Product Certification Procedures under Japan’s Electrical Appliance Law, 1985, published by the U.S. Department of Commerce
- Japanese Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Certification and Procedures, 1984, published by the U.S. Department of Commerce
- Medical Device Certification in Japan: A Guidebook, 1985, published by U.S. Department of Commerce
- The Japanese Industrial Standards System: An American’s Viewpoint, 1994, published in the Meeting Notes of the Annual Quality Congress by the American Society for Quality Control.
- Mark Edward Foster, Analysis of the Newly Amended Commercial Code of Japan, 15 Case W. Res. J. Int’l L. 587 (1983).
- Numerous articles and treatises concerning Japan’s government regulatory system, technical standards and certification system, industrial policy, and various market sectors; published in East Asian Executive Reports; Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law; etc.
- Mark Foster’s research is cited extensively in academic literature and books by his teacher and mentor Professor Chalmers Johnson, including: MITI, MPT, and the Telecom Wars: How Japan Makes Policy for High Technology; and Politics and Productivity: The Real Story of Why Japan Works, by Chalmers Johnson and Laura Tyson, University of California Press.
Lectures
Selected Lectures and Presentations
- Republican National Lawyers Association 2007 Election Law School: Initiatives and Judicial Elections. Plenary Session Moderator, New Orleans, Louisana
- U.S. Department of Commerce, United States & Foreign Commercial Service and the University of Southern California IBEAR MBA program. Frequent lecturer on “Breaking Down the Barriers to Japan’s Market” at Asia-Pacific Forum, and “Doing Business in Japan” intensive graduate MBA classes.
- Conference of World Regions, Global Economic Forum, Brussels, Belgium. Keynote Speech: “Rise of Regions in the Global Economy – Telecommunications and Information Technologies: Enabling Global Entrepreneurship and Regional Economic Development”
- ISO (International Standardization Organization) and JSA (Japanese Standards Association) Joint Conference, Tokyo, Japan. Keynote Speech (in Japanese): “The Japanese Industrial Standards System from an American’s Standpoint.”
