Though the Bush campaign lists his address in Canton, Ohio, Lavin appears to be an Asia-based banker. Prior to his current post as Bank of America’s regional manager in Singapore, Lavin was Citibank’s vice president of emerging markets in Hong Kong. He is an ex-director of the Asia Pacific Policy Center, which former Reagan and Bush administration officials formed to forge closer ties between the United States and business officials in Southeast Asia. President Bush appointed Lavin as an Asian specialist in the Department of Commerce. In the Reagan administration, he was the White House political director and held posts at the State Department and the National Security Council.