Christopher Liddell

Christopher (Chris) Liddell has a career spanning the public, private, and philanthropic sectors.

In the public sector, he served all four years as an Assistant to the President in the first Trump administration. He held positions as White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Director of the American Technology Council. He has been involved in four presidential transition cycles, including as executive director of transition planning for the Romney presidential campaign and the White House operational lead in the Trump-Biden transition. He has written the book "Year Zero," which outlines a strategic approach to planning and building a significantly more effective White House.

In the private sector, he has thirty years of corporate experience, including as Chief Financial Officer at both Microsoft and International Paper, overseeing their global finance operations. He was also Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer at General Motors, where he oversaw the company's historic $23B public offering in 2010. He is currently a Director of Commonwealth Fusion Systems and a Senior Adviser at KKR.

In the philanthropic sector, he serves as Chairman of New Zealand's largest environmental foundation and has also sat on several non-profit boards, including the New Zealand Rugby Union. He is also a Director of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Chris is a dual citizen of the United States and New Zealand. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Auckland and a Master of Philosophy from the University of Oxford, and is currently studying a Doctor of Philosophy at Oxford.

"I am delighted to join the Institute of Politics. I will use the time to deepen and extend my work on political transitions, with respect to the United States and all global democracies. The fellowship is a unique opportunity to not only focus on important topics but also to interact with some of the smartest young people in the world. I very much look forward to spending time with them."