Navin Girishankar

President, Economic Security and Technology Department
Navin Girishankar

Navin Girishankar is the inaugural president of the Economic Security and Technology Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which he has built into one of Washington’s leading policy enterprises— assembling a world-class team across economics, technology, energy, trade, and AI; leading research on U.S.-China technology competition; and mobilizing considerable resources from philanthropic, corporate, and private donors.

Girishankar spent over two decades at the World Bank pioneering work on development finance, fiscal federalism, public sector reform, and trade and industry competitiveness—mobilizing hundreds of billions in public and private capital across emerging markets and designing new instruments for development finance, including landmark programs across Africa.

He went on to hold senior commercial roles at Bridgewater Associates, advising sovereign wealth funds on global macro strategy and asset allocation, before serving as counselor to the U.S. deputy secretary of commerce. While in government, Girishankar helped shape the investment framework underpinning the CHIPS and Science Act, channeling large-scale federal capital into semiconductors, broadband, and strategic technologies. He also led U.S. economic and commercial efforts in the Indo-Pacific, emerging markets, and Africa.

Girishankar's work is grounded in a core proposition: Economic dynamism fuels technological prowess—and underwrites national strength. He has written in Foreign Affairs and the National Interest, hosts the CSIS Betting on America podcast, and speaks regularly before corporate boards, policy forums, and national media.

He holds degrees from the Harvard Kennedy School and Williams College.

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Beyond P(doom): Marc Andreessen - Betting on America

On this episode of Betting on America, Marc Andreessen, co-founder and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, discusses not whether AI will transform society, but how to manage its impact. The conversation explores who will bear the costs of disruption and what government and industry must do to ensure AI’s benefits are widely shared and its challenges remain manageable.

Event — June 25, 2026

Betting on America

Beyond P(doom): Marc Andreessen

Marc Andreessen, Co-founder and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, joins Betting on America to press past the settled question of whether AI is going to transform our world.

Podcast Episode by Navin Girishankar — June 25, 2026

Photo: iLab/CSIS

Between Acceleration and P(Doom) 

This edition of the Economic Security and Technology Newsletter covers Between Acceleration and P(Doom).

Newsletter by Navin Girishankar — June 22, 2026

Betting on America

Commercial Diplomacy for U.S. Tech Exports

Join us for an episode of Betting on America, recorded at the CSIS Futures Summit. Navin Girishankar moderates the panel "U.S. Commercial Diplomacy Through the Lens of the Private Sector.”

Podcast Episode by Navin Girishankar — June 4, 2026

Photo: iLab/CSIS