Dan Senor has built a remarkable career for himself in both venture capital and policy advising. He has worked as an investor in highly successful technology companies, advised numerous administrations, and served in important capacities in both the private and public sector. His current involvement spans from investing in early stage startups to devising strategies for political administrations and governments. In this article, we will look at Dan Senor’s career, discuss his current level of involvement, and how he has succeeded in two seemingly unrelated fields.
Early Career & Education
Dan Senor attended the University of Wisconsin before graduating with distinction from the Harvard Kennedy School. He then occupied various positions in finance and investment before eventually transitioning into the public sphere.
Before Going Into Policy & Investing
Prior to entering the world of policy and investing, Senor worked as an equity analyst and then later a vice-president at Goldman Sachs. After holding these positions, he additionally worked as a partner at a private equity firm, Jerusalem Global Ventures.
Political & Executive Involvement
After working in the private sector, Senor split his time between the public and private spheres. He served as the Senior Foreign Policy Advisor for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, an executive in the office of the Secretary of Defense, a Chief of Staff for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, and a Member of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Current Role as Venture Capitalist & Policy Advisor
As a venture capitalist, Senor has had the opportunity to invest in strategic startups that are revolutionizing the tech landscape. He is an investor in companies such as Deep Focus, Akamai Technologies, and adMarketplace.
In terms of his policy advising, Senor focuses on the foreign policy issues of countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, and the United Kingdom. He has also advised other governments in areas pertaining to defense, terrorism, and global security. As a policy advisor he frequently is consulted as a talking head on both national and international television news networks.
Notable Achievements
In addition to his many accomplishments, Dan Senor has also achieved a number of notable milestones throughout his career. One of these is his co-authoring the 2008 New York Times bestseller, Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle. His work with Start-Up Nation greatly elucidated and popularized the nation’s economic and startup success story.
He is additionally the author of numerous articles that are regularly featured in a range of publications from the Wall Street Journal to the New York Times. Most recently, his work has included publications such as “Israelis Reinvent the Middle East”, which appeared in the Wall Street Journal in 2016 and “How Pet-Sitting Could Help Brexit” which was featured in the New York Times in 2018.
Dan Senor’s work and involvement in venture capital, policy advising, and the private and public arenas demonstrate his vast range of expertise and ability to sustain in environments that require business acumen as well as political and policy expertise. From his early onset as an equity analyst and VP at Goldman Sachs to his current involvement in early stage startups and policy advising, Senor’s career is an example of the potential power of an individual when they are both an investor and a policy advisor.
