Faryar Shirzad

Faryar Shirzad is Global Head of the Office of Government Affairs (OGA) for Goldman Sachs. OGA supports and advances the firm’s public policy agenda, manages the firm’s interactions with governments around the world, and serves as a resource of information and analysis on global and domestic policy issues of interest to the firm and our clients. He was named managing director in 2007 and serves on the Public Policy Committee.

Faryar previously served on the staff of the National Security Council at the White House from 2003 to 2006, first as a Special Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs, and then as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs. In those roles, Faryar was responsible for advising the President and managing the Administration’s agenda on all international economic policy matters. He also served as President Bush’s personal representative to the G-8 (the “G-8 Sherpa”).

Prior to his service at the White House, Faryar was Assistant Secretary for Import Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce from 2001 to 2003. He was previously the trade policy coordinator on the Bush Cheney 2000 Transition Team. He began his career in public service as International Trade Counsel on the Majority Staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance under Chairman William V. Roth (R DE) from 1997 to 2001. He previously practiced law in Washington, D.C. at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi.

Faryar earned his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law, a Master of Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a BS in Finance from the University of Maryland, College Park. He was appointed by President Bush in 2007 to serve on the Advisory Council on Trade Policy and Negotiations and is currently a member of the Leadership Council of the Initiative for Global Development.