Dr. John Gatto

President
FrankfurtRheinMain Corp.
Chicago, IL

Since January 1, 2018, Dr. John Gatto is the President of FrankfurtRheinMain Corp., the International Marketing Agency of the Greater Frankfurt/Main region. He also assumed the role of Chief Economic Development and Government Affairs Officer for the German Federal State of Hessen through affiliation with Hessen Trade & Invest GmbH (HTAI). Dr. Gatto’s offices are located in Chicago, IL.

Previously, Dr. John Gatto served for ten years as President & CEO of NRW.INVEST (North America LLC), the economic development agency of the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia. Together with his Chicago based team he identifies U.S. and Canadian companies planning expansion in Europe and assists them in their site selection process.

Dr. Gatto began his business and economic development career as the Director of the State of Wisconsin European Office in Frankfurt, Germany. During his tenure, he was elected Chairman of the Council of American States in Europe and was a driving force in devising and implementing that organization's new strategies designed to address an ever-changing global marketplace. He has also served on the boards of directors of the State Bar of Wisconsin International Practice Section and the Milwaukee German Immersion School Foundation. He then founded Transatlantic Venture Solutions, LLC ("TVS"), a successful international consulting business. After founding TVS, Dr. Gatto served as Assistant to the President at a growing global medical devices company.

Dr. Gatto founded and leads the Wisconsin Chapter of the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest as its President, and also serves on the Board of the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest in Chicago. Most recently Dr. Gatto founded and now leads the Chicago Warburg Chapter of the American Council on Germany (ACG), in addition to being elected to the board of directors of the Chicago International Trade Commissioners Association (CITCA).

After obtaining his law degree from the Justus-Liebig Universität in Giessen, Germany, Dr. Gatto completed his doctoral dissertation comparing U.S. and German legal malpractice law. He also has a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Madison.