Brian Deese: Education, Achievments, National Economic Council

Brian Deese was the director of the National Economic Council (NEC) under President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2023. Because the director of the NEC is not a cabinet-level position, he did not need to be confirmed by the Senate.

Prior to his work at the NEC Deese was global head of sustainable investing at BlackRock Inc. (BLK), a position he’d held since 2017. On July 11, 2023 he became a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Innovation Fellow. Previous MIT Fellows include former U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.

Early Career and Education

Before serving at the White House Deese worked at the Center for American Progress and at the Center for Global Development. He received his bachelor of arts degree from Middlebury College and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

Notable Accomplishments

At the NEC Deese was responsible for the coordination of policymaking on both domestic and international economic issues. The NEC provides economic policy advice to the president, ensuring that policy decisions and programs are in line with the president’s economic goals.

Some environmental activists criticized Deese’s appointment due to his position as the world’s largest asset manager. Critics said that BlackRock and Deese had not done enough to diversify away from fossil fuels.

As head of BlackRock’s sustainable investing division, Deese advised clients on how to achieve investment returns that meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. Immediately prior to joining BlackRock, Deese was a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Deese previously served in government during the administration of President Barack Obama, ending his tenure there as a White House senior advisor to the president from 2015 to 2017. Between 2009 and 2015 he held several other positions, including special assistant for economic policy to the president following the 2008 financial crisis, deputy director of the NEC, and deputy director as well as acting director of the Office of Management and Budget. He played crucial roles in developing the bailout of the U.S. auto industry following the financial crisis as well as in negotiating the Paris Climate Agreement.

As an MIT Institute Innovation Fellow, Deese is “focusing on the impact of economic policies that strengthen the United States’ industrial capacity and on accelerating climate investment and innovation.” MIT President Sally Kornbluth welcomed him effusively in July of 2023: “From climate change to U.S. industrial strategy, the people of MIT strive to make serious positive change at scale—and in Brian Deese we have found a brilliant ally, guide, and inspiration. He pairs an easy command of technological questions with a rare grasp of contemporary policy and the politics it takes for such policies to succeed. We are extremely fortunate to have Brian with us for this pivotal year.”

The Bottom Line

After a successful early career at Blackrock, Brian Deese shifted to economic policy, advising presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama before being appointed director of the NEC under Joe Biden. In this role Deese helped coordinate policy development for the White House on topics such as taxes, regulation, housing policy, green energy, and the automotive industry. He left the NEC in February 2023 and became an MIT Institute Innovation Fellow in July 2023.