Steven R. Mann joined Exxon Mobil Corporation’s International Government Relations group in 2009 and he is based in London. He came to the position after a career in the United States diplomatic service, where he specialized in the former Soviet Union and South Asia, and also maintained a focus on energy diplomacy. In January 2008, he was named the Coordinator for Eurasian Energy Diplomacy, managing all U.S. Government diplomatic efforts on Eurasian oil and gas issues. Ambassador Mann served before that as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs. He oversaw the full range of foreign policy matters in the region, including management of US ties with India.

From 2001 to 2005, he was the senior US official handling Caspian energy issues and was heavily involved in realizing the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline and in the successful launch of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) line, among a wide range of other Eurasian energy projects. He also played an active role in mediating Eurasian conflicts, notably the Nagorno-Karabakh war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In 2003, he served on the staff of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, ending the UN Oil-for-Food Program and transferring its assets and programs to the new Iraqi government.

Ambassador Mann is a Pennsylvanian who joined the Foreign Service in 1976. He began his diplomatic career with postings to Jamaica and Moscow. He opened the first United States Embassies in Mongolia, Micronesia, and Armenia. From 1992 to 1994, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He has had a number of Washington assignments, including Country Director for India from 1995 to 1998. From 1998 to 2001, he served as the United States Ambassador to Turkmenistan.

In 1985-86, he was a Fellow of the Harriman Institute for Advanced Soviet Studies at Columbia University. Ambassador Mann is a 1991 Distinguished Graduate of the National War College. He holds an A.B. degree from Oberlin College and M.A. degrees from Cornell and Columbia Universities. His languages are Russian and German. He has two children, Natalia and David, and is married to Lucy Julia Kennedy.