Professional Summary
2023
Sen. (ret) Bob Hertzberg has distinguished himself in both public and private life. This includes serving as Speaker in the California House of Representatives and as Majority Leader in the State Senate, over 40 years as an attorney solving complex problems for international clients, leading efforts to strengthen U.S.-China dialogue at the sub-national level, and becoming an award-winning clean tech entrepreneur.
Bob Hertzberg was first elected to the California State Assembly in 1996. He then served as the Assembly’s 64th Speaker, being unanimously elected by both parties in 2000 and 2001. After his tenure as Speaker, Hertzberg earned distinction as a global clean energy entrepreneur, with projects spanning Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. In 2014 he returned to state government as he was overwhelmingly elected to represent nearly one million people as a State Senator from Los Angeles where he served as Senate Majority Leader. He returned to the private sector in 2022 after completing his term in the Senate.
A licensed attorney for over 40 years, The Los Angeles Business Journal named Hertzberg one of the top ten lawyers in Los Angeles, and The Daily Journal has repeatedly named him one of the top 100 lawyers in California.
Bob Hertzberg has been making trips to China as both an entrepreneur and government official since 1986. As a private citizen, he now continues to facilitate increased U.S.-China dialogue from the sub-national to the highest levels of government.
As a Clean Tech entrepreneur, Bob Hertzberg's business activities resulted in important collaborations with the China National Academy of Nanotechnology and Engineering (CNANE) in Tianjin, as well as the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry (CIAC), and the Nanotechnology Industrialization Base of China (NIBC).
He facilitated cooperation with the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and its then President, Mdme. Li XiaoLin, on behalf of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation (multiple activities), the California State Senate, and several other entities.
As Chair of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation in 2011, formalized cooperation with the Yangtze River Council (China).