News - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Aditi Kumar Named Belfer Center Executive Director

| Nov. 14, 2018

Remarks made by Belfer Center Director Ash Carter to the Center community announcing Aditi Kumar as Executive Director:

Friends and Colleagues:

It gives Eric and me great pleasure to announce the Belfer Center’s new Executive Director, Aditi Kumar.

From her public service at the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury to her work with senior business and public-sector leaders as a Principal at consulting group Oliver Wyman, Aditi brings a rich set of experiences and talents to help lead the Belfer Center. In particular, Aditi’s remarkable record of managing complex projects and high-performing teams, along with her scholarship on international affairs and financial and economic policy, gives her that rare blend of skills to excel as both a senior administrator and thought leader. Aditi has conducted extensive research and spoken about topics related to financial regulation, macroeconomic policy, fintech, and blockchain, and we expect she’ll contribute substantially to the Center’s world-class research.

Many of you already know Aditi as a dual degree MPP-MBA student, and David M. Rubenstein and George Fellow, at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School. Aditi is, quite simply, one of the most impressive Harvard graduates that Eric and I have ever met.

Born in India, Aditi moved to Missouri at age 10 and quickly distinguished herself. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania’s Huntsman Program. After joining Oliver Wyman, Aditi helped lead much of the firm’s public policy work in the U.S., focused primarily on post-financial crisis capital markets regulation. She also served as project manager at the World Economic Forum, facilitating dialogue on socially responsible financial innovation among an international committee of financial sector CEOs, policymakers, and academics. She is the founder of a non-profit facilitating community engagement in local politics.

Nick Burns is just one of many Harvard faculty members who’ve been struck by Aditi’s exceptional talent. “We are very fortunate that Aditi will join the Belfer team,” he told me. “She is supremely smart, organized, responsible and a compelling and caring leader. I look forward to welcoming her back to the Kennedy School.”

“I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to return to the Kennedy School and work closely with the professors and mentors who shaped my time here,” said Aditi. “The Belfer Center is an influential contributor to the dialogue on global and international affairs, and I’m looking forward to working with the team to further develop and showcase the Center’s innovative ideas and research.”  

Aditi will officially start as Executive Director later this month. Please join me in welcoming her to the Belfer family.

 

For more information on this publication: Belfer Communications Office
For Academic Citation:Aditi Kumar Named Belfer Center Executive Director.” News, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, November 14, 2018.

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