Mr. Grappo joined the Department in 1985. His first assignment was in Managua, Nicaragua as a consular and political officer. He was subsequently posted to Lisbon, Portugal as an Economic Officer. He then served in Washington DC, where he worked as an Economic and Commercial Office in the Office of Soviet Union Affairs and the Office of Newly Independent States, and as a Special Assistant to the Counselor of the Department and Under Secretary for Global Affairs. Following two years of Arabic language studies, he was posted to Amman, Jordan as Counselor for Economic and Commercial Affairs. After his tour in Jordan, Mr. Grappo served for three years as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Muscat, Oman.

Mr. Grappo has received several Department awards, including three Superior Honor Awards--for his work on food relief and economic recovery during and after the fall of the Soviet Union, for his leadership role in the 1995 Amman Middle East North Africa Economic Summit, and for his work in the U.S. Government’s campaign against terrorism financing in the Middle East--as well as several group and individual Meritorious Honor Awards.

Before joining the State Department, Mr. Grappo worked with Bank of America and Castle & Cook (Dole Co.) and served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force.

Mr. Grappo holds a BS in Mathematics from the U. S. Air Force Academy, MS in Geodesy and Survey Engineering from Purdue University, and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.