David McCormick

David McCormick
Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs
In office August 2007 – January 20, 2009
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Timothy D. Adams
Succeeded by	Lael Brainard
Personal details
Born	David Harold McCormick (1965-08-17) August 17, 1965 (age 56) Washington, Pennsylvania U.S.[1]
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Dina Powell ​ (m. 2019)​
Education	United States Military Academy (BS) Princeton University (MA, PhD)

David Harold McCormick (born August 17, 1965) is an American business executive. He is the CEO^[2][3] and a member of the Management Committee at Bridgewater Associates, a global macro investment firm with approximately US$160 billion in assets under management.^[4] He was formerly Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs.^[3]

Education[]

McCormick graduated from West Point in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science degree^[5] in mechanical engineering. He was a four-time letterman on the Army wrestling team and the team's co-captain his senior year. He was two-time Eastern runner-up at 167 pounds.^[6]

In 1996, he earned a Ph.D. in international relations from Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs.^[7] Two years later, he published a book based on his doctoral thesis called The Downsized Warrior about the downsizing of the U.S. Army at the end of the Cold War.^[6]

In 2021, McCormick received an honorary degree from Dickinson College.^[8]

Career[]

Prior to joining Bridgewater, McCormick spent more than 20 years in the military, government and business.

1987 to 1992 - Military service[]

After graduating West Point, McCormick went to United States Army Airborne School and Ranger School, where he was named the Honor Graduate of Ranger School. He joined the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in 1987.

McCormick was part of the first wave of U.S. troops sent into Iraq during the first Gulf War in 1991.^[9] He was executive officer of a combat engineering company of 130 soldiers tasked with clearing minefields and destroying enemy munitions. McCormick left the service in 1992 after serving for five years.^{[9] [10]}

1996 to 2005 - Early career[]

From 1996 to 1999, McCormick worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Co. based in Pittsburgh.^[6]

In 1999, McCormick joined FreeMarkets, a global provider of software and services. Later that same year the company conducted an initial public offering.^[11] McCormick was promoted to president of FreeMarkets in 2001 and was named Chief Executive Officer in 2002. He successfully sold FreeMarkets to Ariba in 2004 for approximately $500 million^[6][12] and then remained at Ariba as president for the next 18 months before he was asked to join the Bush administration.

2005 to 2009 - Public service[]

McCormick's career in government began in 2005 when he was nominated and confirmed as the Commerce Department's Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security.^[13] Later he became the Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Policy and was George W. Bush's personal representative and negotiator to the Group of 8 (G8) industrialized countries before moving to the Treasury Department in 2007.^[14] In 2013, McCormick was one of 131 Republican Party members to sign an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court "in support of the freedom to marry".^[15]

McCormick was Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs from 2007 to 2009, serving as the United States' leading international economic diplomat.^[14] In this role, he was the principal adviser to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on international economic issues and oversaw policies in the areas of international finance, trade in financial services, investment, economic development and international debt policy.

McCormick coordinated financial market policy with the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries and the Group of Twenty (G20) global economies, working with finance ministers as well as their deputies.^[6] He served as Secretary Paulson's point person on the international response to the 2008 financial crisis.^[16] McCormick was credited with using his relationships with top executives and policy makers around the world to help coordinate the Treasury Department's response.^[9]

In 2009, McCormick was also appointed a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon's Heinz College and named a Distinguished Service Professor of Information Technology, Public Policy and Management.^[17]

2009 to Present - Bridgewater Associates[]

McCormick joined Bridgewater Associates in 2009.^[6] Since 2016 he has served as Co-CEO where he is responsible for overseeing the management of the firm,^[18][19] as well as advising some of the largest investors in the world including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, and central banks on their investments and the global economy, with a particular focus on the intersection of policy and markets.^[6]

In early 2019 McCormick was under consideration for U.S. Secretary of Defense.^[20]

In December 2019, it was announced that McCormick would become the sole CEO of Bridgewater in 2020, marking the end of a 10-year management transition of the firm.^[21][22]

Trusteeship & Philanthropy[]

McCormick is a Trustee of the Aspen Institute and Carnegie Mellon University,^[23][24] and he is the Chairman of the International Advisory Board of the Atlantic Council.^[25]He is a member of the Trilateral Commission,^[26] the Council on Foreign Relations,^[27] the Aspen Strategy Group,^[28] and the Defense Policy Board.^[29] As a veteran, McCormick is an active supporter of military service members, serving on the board of the United Service Organizations (USO).^[30] Additionally, he serves on the board of the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS)^[31] and is the Chairman of the Atlantic Council's International Advisory Board.^[32] He is a former trustee of Rare (conservation organization).

Personal life[]

In 2019, McCormick married Dina Powell, a former executive at Goldman Sachs who served as Deputy National Security Advisor in the Trump Administration.^[20] He has four children and lives in Connecticut.^[33]

Published works[]

• The Downsized Warrior: America's Army in Transition (1998)^[34]

References[]