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
WASHINGTON, July 23,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Center for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS) today announced the appointment of
Navin Girishankar as president of
its Economic Security and Technology Department.
![Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2464838/The_Center_for_Strategic_and_International_Studies_Logo.jpg)
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. The
department will also convene political, business, and thought
leaders to debate the most complex economic security and technology
issues facing the United States
and its allies. The department's creation is part of a broader
strategic realignment of CSIS programming, to be formally launched
this fall, to better prepare the institution to meet global
challenges in the coming decades.
"Today, 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 into U.S. national security planning and to work
collaboratively with the private sector—an untapped resource
offering a wealth of expertise on how best to transform our
approach to economic security in the 21st century," said
John Hamre, CSIS president and CEO.
"The creation of the Economic Security and Technology Department
marks a major commitment by CSIS to lead this policy debate.
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
the 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. In that role, he crafted the Department's
place-based framework for industrial investments in chips,
broadband, and other strategic technologies; its use of trade and
investment tools to counter national security threats related to
dual use technologies; its approach to U.S.-China economic relations; and U.S. economic
diplomacy efforts with allies in the Indo-Pacific, Europe, and the Global South. Prior to his
service in government, Girishankar held senior commercial roles at
Bridgewater Associates, where he worked with founder Ray Dalio advising the largest institutional
investors in the Middle East and
Asia. Prior to Bridgewater, Navin
spent over two decades at the World Bank, where he held senior
policy, country, finance, and evaluation roles, and led major
initiatives, including its 2015 trade and competitiveness strategy.
He holds a Master 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."
Scholars within the CSIS Economic Security and Technology
Department are recognized as leading global experts on issues
ranging from AI regulatory policy and the energy transition to
trade competitiveness and economic relations with China and the Global South. Visit here to read
Navin Girishankar's full bio.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/csis-names-navin-girishankar-president-of-economic-security-and-technology-department-302202734.html
SOURCE The Center for Strategic and International Studies