Sean Heather

Senior Vice President, International Regulatory Affairs & Antitrust, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Sean Heather is senior vice president for International Regulatory Affairs and Antitrust at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He leads the Chamber’s Center for Global Regulatory Cooperation (GRC), which seeks to align trade, regulatory, and competition policy in support of open and competitive markets, and oversees the organization’s antitrust policy on behalf of its members.

On the international level, Heather directs policy related to data governance, cross-border data flows, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and other emerging regulatory frameworks related to the digital transformation of the economy. His efforts focus on advancing sound regulatory practices as the foundation of better regulation and cooperation across jurisdictions. In addition, he is responsible for policy related to foreign direct investment and investment screening.

Heather has made significant contributions to update trade disciplines that address issues ranging from digital trade and regulatory cooperation to competition policy and state-owned enterprises.

Heather has held a variety of positions during his long career at the Chamber. He served in the Congressional and Public Affairs Division and was head of the Chamber’s regional office in Chicago.

Before joining the Chamber, Heather worked for the Illinois comptroller and with several political campaigns across the state. He holds an undergraduate degree and an M.B.A. from the University of Illinois.

Authored Content

Feb 07, 2023
A new study finds that under the previous approach to merger enforcement there was a strong link between mergers and innovation. A radical new approach to merger enforcement poses a severe threat to the economy. Read more
Jan 31, 2023
The Federal Trade Commission’s most-recent actions to ban non-compete agreements oversteps its statutory authority under the FTC Act. If they are allowed to write this rule, here’s what might come next. Read more
Jan 24, 2023
It's hard to reconcile Chair Lina Khan's words with the FTC's actions. Congress and the courts will have to provide a course correction. Read more
Dec 08, 2022
The costs of the FTC’s regulate first, ask questions later agenda are becoming clear. Under current leadership, mergers cost more, take longer, and have become less certain. Read more
Nov 10, 2022
In a new policy statement defining unfair methods of competition, the FTC is actually set on declaring it illegal for companies to compete in ways that help consumers. Read more
Oct 27, 2022
Given the massive potential for growth, U.S. and Indian policymakers should work to expand a healthy dialogue on trade in digital goods and services between our two nations Read more
Oct 25, 2022
Findings from a new study should affect the Biden Administration’s approach to labor markets, particularly its efforts to use antitrust law as a tool to break up large employers in the name of raising wages. Read more
Oct 21, 2022
Leadership at FTC has stifled dissent, pushed out senior staffers, overruled experienced employees, and prepared a reckless privacy rulemaking that some alumni warned could cripple support for the agency in Congress and the courts, quite possibly leading to the end of the FTC as we know it. Read more
Oct 19, 2022
The Supreme Court will soon hear oral argument in Axon v. FTC, a case that raises the question of whether a defendant can challenge the constitutionality of the FTC’s structure directly in federal district court, without first wading through these cumbersome administrative processes. Read more
Oct 19, 2022
U.S. companies have a responsibility to comply with the competition regimes in which they operate, but foreign regulators also have a responsibility to ensure that they afford those companies fair and due process, consistent with the international best practices. Read more