Between 2011 and 2017, Fishman held key foreign policy roles across the U.S. government. At the State Department, he served on the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff, where he advised Secretary John Kerry on Europe and Eurasia. He led the team’s work on economic sanctions, long-term strategic planning, and international order and norms. Fishman also served as Russia and Europe Lead in the
State Department’s Office of Economic Sanctions Policy and Implementation, where he played a central role in designing and negotiating international sanctions in response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
Earlier in his career, Fishman was part of the Iran sanctions team, shaping policies to strengthen pressure on Iran during the negotiations that led to the Iran nuclear deal. Outside of the State Department, Fishman has served at the Pentagon as Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the U.S.
Treasury Department as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, and on the editorial staff of Foreign Affairs. Fishman is a recipient of the State Department’s Superior Honor Award (twice) and its Meritorious Honor Award, in recognition of his contributions to U.S. policy on Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and Iran.
He holds a B.A. in History from Yale, an M.Phil. in International Relations from Cambridge, and an MBA. from Stanford. Fishman is the New York Times–bestselling author of Chokepoints: American Power in the
Age of Economic Warfare, which has been hailed as “masterful” by The Financial Times, “a timely, riveting world tour” by The Economist, and “a compelling and dramatic narrative about the new shape of geopolitics” by The Wall Street Journal.
His insights regularly appear in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, and he frequently writes for publications such as Foreign Affairs and Politico.
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