Matthew P. Goodman

Distinguished Fellow and Director of the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies

Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies and RealEcon

Policymaking Is All About Trade-Offs

May 17, 2024

Expert Bio

Matthew P. Goodman is distinguished fellow and director of the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He leads RealEcon: Reimagining American Economic Leadership, a CFR initiative that explores the U.S. role in the international economy.

Prior to joining CFR in September 2023, Goodman was senior vice president for economics and Simon chair in political economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). From 2010 to 2012, he served as director for international economics on the National Security Council staff, helping the U.S. president prepare for global and regional summits, including for the Group of 20, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and East Asia Summit. Prior to serving in the White House, he was senior advisor to the undersecretary for economic affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

Before joining the Barack Obama administration in 2009, Goodman worked for five years at Albright Stonebridge Group, where he was managing director for Asia. From 2002 to 2004, he served at the White House as director for Asian economic affairs on the National Security Council staff. Prior to that, he spent five years at Goldman Sachs, heading the bank’s government affairs operations in Tokyo and London. From 1988 to 1997, he worked as an international economist at the U.S. Treasury Department, including five years as financial attaché at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo.

Goodman holds a BSc in economics from the London School of Economics and an MA in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.

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