Vivek Viswanathan

About Vivek Viswanathan

Vivek serves as senior counselor to California Governor Gavin Newsom, where he advises on technology, innovation, and AI in government.

Before rejoining the Governor’s Office, he was a policy fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. From 2021 to 2024, he served in the White House as senior policy advisor on the National Economic Council and special assistant to the president in the Office of the Chief of Staff.

Earlier in his career, Vivek served as a senior budget and fiscal advisor to Governor Newsom, a special advisor in the Office of Governor Jerry Brown, and a member of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign policy team. He was a candidate for California State Treasurer in 2018. Before entering public service, he worked at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins.

Born in Brooklyn to Indian immigrant parents, Vivek received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard University, an MPhil as a Henry Fellow at the University of Cambridge, and JD and MBA degrees from Stanford University. He is a CFA charterholder. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, and The National Interest.

In addition to his passion for history and public policy, Vivek enjoys endurance sports. He is a three-time qualifier for the Boston Marathon and has completed two Ironman triathlons and the Empire State Building Run-Up.