Fireside Chat: Insider China Story Like No Other
Thirty years ago, when peers were wildcatting in West Texas, Dallas native Patrick Jenevein went much farther west, to find partners and develop a natural gas processing plant in China. He ultimately created several successful ventures in China and formed close friendships. He also violated unwritten policies of the Communist Party of China and its government of the People’s Republic of China. Dallas has many entrepreneurs with battle scars, but only one has been secretly detained in a cinder block building in remote Northwest China.
Patrick’s enlightening book, Dancing with the Dragon, describes the realities of small businesses working with the supreme authority in China, but we will hear his experiences firsthand in a fireside chat. Patrick will be interviewed by Robert Jordan, who served as US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia in the delicate period immediately following 9/11, and is familiar with the challenges of American businesses operating at confluences of geopolitical stress.
This will be a joint event of the HBS Club and the Harvard Club, and we have invited local alumni of prestigious Tsinghua University and Peking University.
About the Speaker
Patrick Jene
vein serves as the chief executive at Pointe Bello, an intelligence-driven, strategy development firm that provides intelligence to governmental and commercial bodies on the People’s Republic of China. Jenevein is a graduate of Davidson College, a Council on Foreign Relations Life Member, and a past Chairman of both the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas. His speaking appearances have included the Council on Foreign Relations, The Aspen Institute, Milken Institute, National Security Council, Pentagon and Naval Postgraduate School, and the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. He has published work in, among others, The Wall Street Journal, Taipei Times, Business Week, Fortune, and The Dallas Morning News.
About the Moderator
Robert 
Jordan served as U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 2001-2003. He took charge of his mission in the wake of the attacks of September 11 at a critical time in the U.S.-Saudi relations. He worked closely with President George W. Bush and senior government officials in maintaining the relationship with Saudi Arabia, combating terrorism, and promoting economic reform and human rights in the Kingdom. He is Vice Chair of the SMU Tower Center Board of Directors and the Middle East Institute. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a past president of the Dallas Bar Association and the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Bilateral U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce.
Early Bird Pricing ends September 1, 2025 and prices increase $10
Registration closes September 5, 2025
DETAILS:
Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2025
Time: 7:00 - 8:30 pm CT
Location: Baker Botts LLC, Trammell Crow Center, 2001 Ross Avenue, 11th Floor, Dallas, TX 75201
Cost: HCD Patrons, Summa Patrons and John Harvard Patrons: $20
HCD Members: $30.00
HCD Guests: $40.00
Peking Club of Dallas: $30.00
Tsinghua Club of Dallas: $30.00
Beverages and dessert will be served.
Questions: velda@sacleadership.com