Daniel FitzGerald Runde

Daniel FitzGerald Runde (born January 21, 1972) is a senior executive and strategist recognized for his expertise in U.S. foreign policy, national security, international development, international trade, investment, global business and organizational change. Runde is the author of the book The American Imperative: Reclaiming Global Leadership through Soft Power (2023).

Runde is a senior advisor at BGR Group and a senior advisor (non-resident) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. From 2010 to 2025, Runde was senior vice president, director of the Project on Prosperity and Development, and holder of the William A. Schreyer Chair in Global Analysis at CSIS. He was also acting director of the CSIS Americas Program from 2020 to 2022.

Runde's professional work has focused on U.S. foreign policy and international development in emerging economies, particularly in the context of great power competition between the United States and China and Russia. He was an architect of the 2018 BUILD Act which led to a major reform of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and created the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC). He testified before the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives related to the BUILD Act. Runde also contributed to the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) in 2019.

In 2017, Runde convened a bipartisan Task Force on the Future of U.S. Foreign Assistance in the context of a major review by the U.S. government of its foreign aid. He has chaired the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid at USAID (2018–2021), which coordinated relations between the U.S. government and private voluntary organizations (PVOs) engaged in relief, rehabilitation, and development abroad, and the EXIM Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee (2019–2022), which guides the development and implementation of policies and programs designed to promote EXIM's engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Runde has played a role in the election of several key multilateral posts starting in 2018. In 2019, Runde was a supporter of David Malpass for President of the World Bank. In 2019 and 2020, Runde supported Darren Tang as Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization. Runde also played a role in the election of Matias Cormann as Secretary-General of the OECD in 2021.

Runde has been cited as an expert on international political affairs and an advocate of American leadership in global economic development. He writes and speaks on global development and U.S. foreign policy at symposia including the World Economic Forum for which he also serves as a member of its Global Agenda Council on the United States.

At CSIS, Runde hosted several public and private discussions that sought to influence governments (both the United States and foreign) on various policy issues, including general capital increases for multilateral institutions, reorganization of the State Department and USAID and development projects such as Power Africa.

Runde was awarded the Order of Isabella the Catholic (Orden de Isabel la Católica) by the Government of Spain in 2017 for his support of Spanish unity. On November 3, 2022, at a ceremony at the official residence, Brazilian Ambassador Nestor Forster Jr. awarded the Order of Rio Branco to him. Runde also received a decoration from Colombian President Ivan Duque for Runde's dedication to the U.S.-Colombian bilateral relations. He was similarly recognized by the government of Ecuador for his contributions to US-Ecuadorian relations and efforts to expand U.S. partnerships in Latin America.