CSIS Names Aalok Mehta Director of the Wadhwani AI Center

WASHINGTON, DC – November 4, 2025 – The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) today announced that Aalok Mehta has joined the Economic Security and Technology Department (EST) as director of the Wadhwani AI Center. Mehta brings to CSIS deep experience across government and industry in technology policy and will lead research efforts that equip policymakers with the solutions they need to navigate the strategic challenges and opportunities of AI.

Under Mehta’s leadership, the Wadhwani AI Center will address the defining questions for the future of U.S. leadership on AI: innovating and competing across the full AI stack— including data centers, frontier models, and applications; managing AI's economic impacts, supporting workforce transitions, and enhancing AI literacy and upskilling; and governing AI responsibly amid intensifying global competition. He will work across the EST Department and CSIS to drive cross-disciplinary research that strengthens U.S. strategy, innovation capacity, and technological competitiveness.

“AI is the backbone of American economic and national power. Aalok Mehta brings the rare combination of skills needed to shape this debate—technologist, policy advisor, industry leader, investor, and researcher. He will connect the dots across global markets, innovation, workforce, and national security to deliver actionable AI policy for the United States and its allies. I’m delighted he’s leading our Wadhwani AI Center,” said Navin Girishankar, president of the CSIS Economic Security and Technology Department.

Prior to joining CSIS, Mehta was the Responsible AI Policy Lead at Google, directing policy development and analysis for a range of global AI governance, testing, evaluation, and legislative issues. He previously served as a senior advisor at AI policy nonprofit SeedAI and oversaw domestic policy at OpenAI during the launches of DALL-E 2 and ChatGPT.

Mehta has also shaped technology and AI policy in senior leadership roles at the White House, Federal Communications Commission, and Capitol Hill. He managed policy strategy across critical emerging technologies—including broadband, 5G, and autonomous vehicles—at the National Economic Council and the Office of Management and Budget. He also advised senior leadership on technology policy at the Federal Communications Commission and served as a senior appropriations staffer in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“I am thrilled to join the world-class team of researchers and scholars in the Economic Security and Technology Department at CSIS," said Mehta. "AI is the defining technology of our era, and we must equip policymakers with concrete tools to ensure its responsible development and broad adoption. I’m looking forward to building out a research program that helps secure our national interests, fosters innovation, and ensures the benefits of this technology reach all Americans.”

Mehta is a 2025 Presidential Leadership scholar and a 2023 Eisenhower USA fellow. He earned an MA and an MPP from University of Southern California and a PhD for his work on U.S.-China AI competition. Mehta holds a BA in Biochemistry from Rice University.

Read Aalok Mehta’s full bio here, and visit here to learn more about the CSIS Wadhwani AI Center.

For media inquiries, please contact Sofia Chavez at schavez@csis.org.