Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr. (ret.) served for 31 years as a career Foreign Service Officer, including service as U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) in India for which he was awarded the State Department's worldwide DCM of the Year Award; Ambassador to Sri Lanka from 2006 to 2009 at the end of Sri Lanka's civil war; Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia from 2009 to 2013; and U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia from 2013-2016. Following his service as U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr. (ret.) retired from the U.S. foreign service.

Since retirement, he has served on several boards, including the U.S.-Indonesia Society (U.S. co-chair) and Asia Foundation (Executive Committee), as well as international advisory councils of the World Wildlife Fund and the World Resources Institute.