Christopher Padilla earned a B.A. and M.A. in international studies from Johns Hopkins University. Before joining the government, Padilla worked in international trade in the private sector for more than fifteen years—including international positions at AT&T and Lucent Technologies in marketing, business development, and government affairs. He was also Director of International Trade Relations at Eastman Kodak Company. Padilla joined the Bush Administration in 2002 as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public liaison, in which role he worked on CAFTA, the Australia Free Trade Agreement, and other initiatives. From 2005-2006, he was Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, focusing on U.S.-China policy, Latin America, Sudan and international economic matters. He was nominated by Bush and confirmed by the Senate as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration on September 29, 2006, in which position he was responsible for U.S. policies governing the export of items controlled for national security and foreign policy reasons, for industry compliance with international treaties governing chemical and biological weapons and U.S. technological development of “defense-critical” products. Padilla was nominated by Bush in 2007 for the post of Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade.