Christina Alfonso

Christina Alfonso is Executive Director and President of the Council on Global Competition and Innovation (CGCI), where she advises U.S. government and private sector leaders on national security, economic statecraft, and emerging technologies. Her work focuses on market‑led national security, mobilizing private capital and industrial capability to build resilient growth in critical technology and defense‑relevant sectors.

At CGCI, an initiative championed by the U.S. Department of War and a coalition of private sector executives, Alfonso leads efforts to align financial innovation, industrial policy, and defense modernization in support of U.S. and allied competitive advantage. She concentrates on strengthening the defense industrial base, wartime readiness, and the innovation ecosystem underpinning critical technologies.

Alfonso has served as an advisor at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), providing analysis on economic competition, dual‑use innovation, and strategies to deepen public‑private collaboration in support of U.S. national security objectives.

Previously, she co‑founded and served as Chief Financial Officer of Novata, a Microsoft‑ and S&P‑backed technology platform that advances private market transparency through non‑financial data reporting, and was co‑founder and Chief Executive Officer of Madeira Global, where she developed mission‑based investment solutions for private market investors.

She is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executives in National and International Security program and holds an M.B.A. from ESADE Business School in Spain and a B.S. in Finance and Economics from Fordham University. Alfonso serves on the Nasdaq Center for Board Leadership Insights Council, is a board trustee and Treasurer of the RWJBarnabas Health Monmouth Medical Center Foundation, has served on multiple policy and leadership advisory boards, and has extensive international experience, most recently in Brazil.