Former Senior Commerce Department Official and World Bank, Bridgewater Associates Veteran to Lead Major New Initiative Prioritizing Economic and Technology Policies in U.S. National Security
Our Bureau
Washington, DC
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) announced the appointment of Navin Girishankar as president of its Economic Security and Technology Department.
The newly established department will bring together nearly a dozen CSIS programs to provide government and business leaders with cross-cutting research on economic and technology policies and their critical role in U.S. national security. The department will focus on areas shaping U.S. industrial strategy and competitiveness in a rapidly evolving geopolitical context—AI and semiconductors; energy security and climate transition; critical minerals; strategic technologies such as digital, quantum, and cybersecurity; trade and investment policies; intellectual property and innovation ecosystems; and economic relations with China and partners around the world.
“National security is determined as much by global technological and commercial competition as it is by traditional defense. It is essential for the government to integrate these issues and to work collaboratively with the private sector on how best to transform our approach to economic security in the 21st century,” said John Hamre, CSIS president and CEO. “Navin Girishankar is among Washington’s most trusted economic strategists on domestic and international issues, with a unique track record over three decades across government, business, and international finance institutions. He is the perfect choice to lead this initiative.”
Girishankar joins CSIS after serving as the senior counselor to the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce since January 2022 on a wide range of domestic and international issues. Prior to his service in government, Girishankar held senior commercial roles at Bridgewater Associates and the World Bank, where he held senior policy, country, finance, and evaluation roles. He holds a master’s in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Williams College.
“I’m honored to lead CSIS’s work on economic security and technology at a critical moment for the Center and for our country,” said Girishankar. “The United States and its allies are in the midst of a must-win global technology and commercial competition. What’s at stake is our long-term prosperity, the security of our economies and democracies from threats by malign actors, and our ability to overcome global crises such as climate change. It is imperative that we take a hard look at our technology capabilities and vulnerabilities relative to others, including China; modernize our economic and technology policy tool kit; and rethink our approach to public-private collaboration at home and economic alliances around the world. I believe the Economic Security and Technology Department and our world-class team will play a central role in meeting this challenge.”
