Burns served for over three decades in the United States government. Most recently (2021-2025), he was U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China where led a team from forty-eight U.S. government agencies at the U.S. Mission to China, including the embassy in Beijing and at the American Consulate Generals in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Shenyang. During his three-year tenure in China, he helped to stabilize relations with China and, at the same time, to compete with the Chinese government on the full range of military/security, economic, technology, trade, commercial, consular and human rights issues.

Prior to his service in China, Burns was a Professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government for thirteen years from 2008 until his confirmation as Ambassador to China in 2021. During this period, he also served as a member of the Foreign Policy Advisory Board of Secretary of State John Kerry from 2014-2017.

He has had a long career in American diplomacy serving six Presidents and nine Secretaries of State of both parties.

While serving as a career Foreign Service Officer, he was Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (2005-2008) where he led negotiations on the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Deal, a long-term military assistance agreement with Israel and on Iran’s nuclear program.

As Ambassador to NATO (2001-2005), he led U.S. efforts in Brussels on 9/11 when the Alliance invoked Article 5 of the NATO Treaty in defense of the United States for the first time in its history. He led the combined State-Defense Department U.S. Mission when NATO expanded with seven new members from Eastern Europe and when NATO embarked on military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He was Ambassador to Greece (1997-2001) and State Department Spokesperson (1995-1997). He worked for five years (1990-95) on the National Security Council at the White House where he served as Senior Director and Special Assistant to President Clinton for Russia and Ukraine Affairs and Director for Soviet Affairs for President George H. W. Bush. Burns also served in the American Consulate General in Jerusalem (1985-1987) where he coordinated U.S. economic assistance to the Palestinian people in the West Bank and, before that, at the American Embassies in Egypt (1983-1985) and Mauritania (1980). He started his government career as an intern at the Commerce and State Departments in Washington D.C. during the Jimmy Carter Administration.

Ambassador Burns has received 15 honorary degrees, the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award, the Aspen Strategy Group’s Leadership Award, Boston College’s Ignatian and Alumni Achievement Awards, the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service from Johns Hopkins University, the Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award from Tufts University and many other honors. He has a Bachelor of Arts in History from Boston College (1978), a Master of Arts in International Relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (1980) and earned a Certificat Pratique de Langue Francaise at the University of Paris-Sorbonne (1977).

Michael Scarsciotti is a senior vice president and head of Investment Specialists for FI Analytics & Commercialization at Fidelity Institutional®. Fidelity Institutional is a division of Fidelity Investments that offers investment insights, strategies, and solutions, as well as trading services to a wide range of wealth management firms and institutional investors. Fidelity Investments is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing, and other financial products and services to institutions, financial intermediaries, and individuals.

In this role, Mr. Scarsciotti leads a team of investment and product consultants specializing in equity, fixed income, ETF, alternatives, and capital markets analysis. They are responsible for collaborating with Fidelity’s investment management, product development, and distribution channels to deliver investment consulting and solutions to FI clients nationally.

Prior to assuming his current responsibilities, Mr. Scarsciotti was vice president of Managed Account Investment Solutions at Fidelity Strategic Advisers LLC and was responsible for single and multi-asset class institutional and intermediary investment solutions. Mr. Scarsciotti also worked for Fidelity Personal Investing and was responsible for the creation of managed account solutions for Fidelity’s retail investor clients. Additionally, he spent several years as a branch office manager within the Fidelity’s investor center network and served in various leadership roles in Fidelity Workplace Investing. He has been in the financial industry since 2003.

Mr. Scarsciotti earned his bachelor of business administration degree in economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and his master of business administration degree from North Carolina State University. He is also a CFA® charterholder and CFP® practitioner and holds the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Series 7, 65, and 24 licenses.

Jed Weiss is a portfolio manager in the Equity division at Fidelity Investments. Fidelity Investments is a leading
provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing, and other financial products and services to institutions, financial intermediaries, and individuals.

Prior to assuming his current role, Jed covered the telecommunications, health care, and consumer sectors as an analyst on Fidelity’s Global Emerging Markets team. Previously, he worked as an analyst and portfolio manager of Select Environment Fund and covered a wide range of industries within the cyclical sector. Prior to that, Jed held various other roles at Fidelity, including equity research analyst covering communications, semiconductors, and networking stocks, and managed Select Networking and Infrastructure Portfolio. Additionally, he worked as an equity research analyst covering semiconductors and as an associate analyst covering U.S. regional banks. Before joining Fidelity, Jed was a summer associate at Goldman Sachs and a legislative affairs intern at the White House. Jed has been in the financial industry since joining Fidelity in 1997.

Jed earned his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University.

Pranay Kirpalani is a research analyst and portfolio manager in the Equity division at Fidelity Investments. Fidelity Investments is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing, and other financial products and services to institutions, financial intermediaries, and individuals.

In this role, Mr. Kirpalani is responsible for providing research and recommendations on several stocks across Global Infrastructure. Additionally, he serves as portfolio manager of Fidelity Infrastructure Fund, Fidelity Select Utilities Portfolio, Fidelity VIP Utilities Portfolio, and Fidelity Advisor Utilities Fund. He is also a co-manager of Fidelity Telecom and Utilities Fund, FIAM Small/Mid Cap Core Commingled Pool and FIAM Small/Mid Cap Core Utilities Sub Portfolio. As a member of Fidelity’s Stock Selector Large Cap Group, he is also responsible for managing the utilities sleeves for various diversified sector-based portfolios.

He has been in the financial industry since 2013.

Mr. Kirpalani earned his Bachelor of Arts in economics from The University of Pittsburgh

Ford O’Neil is a portfolio manager in the Fixed Income division at Fidelity Investments*. Fidelity Investments is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing, and other financial products and services to institutions, financial intermediaries, and individuals.

In this role, Mr. O’Neil serves as the co-lead manager for Fidelity and Fidelity Advisor Strategic Dividend & Income Funds, Fidelity and Fidelity Advisor Strategic Income Funds, Fidelity and Fidelity Advisor Strategic Real Return Funds, Fidelity and Fidelity Advisor Sustainable Core Plus Bond Funds, Fidelity and Fidelity Advisor Total Bond Funds, and Fidelity VIP Strategic Income Portfolio. He also co-manages Fidelity and Fidelity Advisor Multi-Asset Income Funds, Fidelity Total Bond ETF, Fidelity VIP Investment Grade Bond Portfolio, and various institutional taxable bond portfolios.

Prior to assuming his current position in August 1992, Mr. O’Neil was an analyst in Fidelity’s Asset Management division. In this capacity, he was responsible for the electric utility sector.

Before joining Fidelity in 1989, Mr. O’Neil was an associate in the Investment Banking department at Advest, Inc., where he advised corporations on capital raising. He has been in the financial industry since 1985.

Mr. O’Neil earned his Bachelor of Arts in government from Harvard College and his Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.