John Evans

Co-Founder and Managing Director

John J. Evans gained his early experience as an Asia business expert advising firms on market entry into China while working for a site selection firm in Bangkok. It was there that he met Dennis Meseroll, and discovered the two had a complementary approach to helping clients strategically launch in Asia. In 1997, John and Dennis partnered to launch Tractus Asia Ltd., applying their experience in site selection and market entry consultancy to form the foundation of what would become a leading strategic advisory firm specializing in the Asia-Pacific region.

Since that time, John has played an instrumental role in Tractus’ growth and evolution. While he is active in driving the company’s operations across all areas, John focuses today largely on executive management and guiding the next generation of senior managers in ensuring multinational organizations are well versed in the indicators they need to successfully launch in Asia. John applies an investigative approach to connecting clients with the right opportunities for meeting goals for market entry, expansion or economic development.

To date, John has supported Tractus Asia in advising on more than USD $8 billion in trade and investment transactions across a wide variety of sectors. This experience has made him a sought-after Asia business expert to multilateral, national and regional economic development organizations from North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia on trade and investment-related issues. In addition, he has been an angel investor into several early stage technology companies targeting Asian growth markets and is fluent in Thai and conversant in Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.

An avid cross-country cyclist, John has cycled across Asia.

  • East Asian History at Princeton University

John frequently writes articles, presents, and conducts workshops around the world on trade and foreign direct investment trends and doing business in Asia. He has written for The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, South China Morning Post, Business of Fashion, and Site Selection Magazine, and was a contributor to the 2003 Handbook for Setting-Up Business in China. He has presented to CNBC Squawk Box, the US Department of State, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Minnesota Trade Office, Washington State’s Department of Commerce, The Pacific Northwest Aerospace Association, the Asia Business Forum, and the World Free Zones Organization’s annual investment attraction conferences.

In addition to his management leadership with the firm, John sits on several corporate boards in Asia. He serves as a Board Member and Trustee of Princeton in Asia and is a former Board Member of Princeton’s Institute for International and Regional Studies. He previously served on the advisory board for H.E. Chanthol Sun, the Cambodian Minister of Commerce, and Subcommittee Chair for Trade and FDI for the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand.