William Wechsler

Washington Insider, Senior Director, Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs at Atlantic Council

Speaker

William F. Wechsler is the senior director of the Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council, spearheading its work across the MENA region and with US and transatlantic partners. Wechsler’s most recent government position was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Combatting Terrorism.

Wechsler has also had a separate career in finance. He has been Vice Chairman of Capitol Peak Asset Management and Managing Director of Greenwich Associates.

He is a CFA charter holder and holds Series 7 and Series 63 securities licenses.

Wechsler graduated with a BA from Cornell University and a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He has been an adjunct lecturer at SIPA and is currently an executive committee member of the SIPA alumni association. He has contributed chapters to two edited volumes and has been published in major media outlets like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Foreign Affairs, and the National Interest, among others.