Paul J. Thanos

Paul J. Thanos is the Director for Finance and Insurance Industries at the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration based in Washington DC. Mr. Thanos is responsible for executing policy, analysis, and promotion initiatives pertaining to finance and insurance industries, trade and project finance, financial technology, and access to finance. His focus includes how blockchain technology is impacting the financial services, global supply chains, and international trade. In May 2018 he was an invited speaker highlighting U.S. perspectives on blockchain technology during the Blockchain Game Changer Summit at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. He leads the U.S. delegation to the OECD Insurance and Private Pensions Committee. His team manages and leads the Department of Commerce’s Trade Finance Advisory Committee which makes recommendations to the Secretary of Commerce on how business and government can work together to expand access to private sources of trade finance. His team closely collaborates with several USG agencies and organizations including the Department of Treasury, USTR, Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the Federal Reserve. He is a regular guest lecturer across the United States on topics ranging from trade policy, impact investing and the intersection of services and manufacturing industries.

In 2017 Mr. Thanos served as the inaugural Global Trade and Investment Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington DC where he researched and published a series of articles on topics such as inclusive capitalism, financial technology, U.S.-Canada trade and investment relations, and international trade in services. Mr. Thanos previously served as a legislative aide to Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) with responsibility for trade, foreign policy, and defense issues. He also has ten years of experience covering Middle East issues and served as Deputy Director for the Commerce Department’s Office of the Middle East. He worked directly on the Middle East peace process in the 1990s and has traveled throughout the Middle East, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia. Paul received a Master of Public Administration from American University’s School of Public Affairs and a BA in Government from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA.