International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce

David W. Fulton

Director
Office of Strategic Planning and Resource Management

David Fulton serves as the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service’s Director of Strategic Planning and is responsible for developing and implementing strategy for the organization’s 1,600 employees and 250 field offices

He previously served as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Operations and was responsible for the activities of the Commercial Service’s global network of 130 overseas offices spanning 80 countries. Prior to this assignment, he served as Regional Director for International Operations and was in charge of the Commercial Services activities in 28 European and Eurasian countries.

Mr. Fulton has also been Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, where he was the Ambassador's principal advisor on business affairs and managed the U.S. Department of Commerce operation in the Philippines. During this assignment, he developed a new business network in Mindanao as part of an overall Embassy plan to encourage peace and development in that war-torn southern province. His work in Mindanao was recognized in 2004 with the International Trade Administration’s William E. Morton Memorial Award for assistance to disadvantaged communities.

Prior to his assignment in Manila, Mr. Fulton served as the Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, Poland. In addition to his regular duties in Poland, he served as the Chairman of the informal caucus of Senior Commercial Officers from our embassies throughout Central and Eastern Europe, helping to coordinate trade promotion activities for a large number of our embassies in the region. He was a key member of the team that put the U.S. Commercial Service on the Internet with a systematic program that includes BuyUSA, the Web Template Management System, and the Business Service Provider network. His work in developing the U.S. Commercial Service’s web presence earned him the Director General’s Innovation Award in 2002.

Mr. Fulton has also served as Commercial Attaché in Singapore and Commercial Consul in Milan, Italy. While in Singapore, he won the International Trade Administration’s Silver Medal for advocacy work on behalf of a U.S. transportation company trying to enter the Singapore market.

Prior to joining the U.S. Department of Commerce, Mr. Fulton worked for the U.S. Department of State, serving as Vice Consul in Bangladesh, and Australia. Before entering public service, he was an attorney at the National Legal Research Group in Virginia, where he specialized in contract law.

Mr. Fulton has a law degree from the College of William and Mary, and a Master's degree in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. During his career he has been professionally qualified in three languages: Bengali, Italian and Polish.