Samm Sacks

Samm Sacks is a senior fellow in the Technology Policy Program at CSIS. Her research focuses on innovation, cybersecurity, and emerging information and communication technology (ICT) policies globally, with a focus on China. She leads CSIS’s “China Cyber Outlook,” which analyzes China’s emerging ICT governance system, including data flow and privacy issues, technology sector political leadership, the build out of Chinese standards, and the global expansion of Chinese tech companies. Before joining CSIS, Samm launched the industrial cyber business for Siemens in Asia, focusing on energy sector cybersecurity. Previously, she led China technology sector analysis at the political risk consultancy Eurasia Group. Prior to this, she worked at Booz Allen Hamilton and Defense Group Inc., where she advised senior U.S. government officials on China’s science and technology (S&T) development. A former Fulbright scholar in Beijing, Samm holds an M.A. from Yale University in international relations and a B.A. from Brown University in Chinese literature. She reads and speaks Mandarin, and is a frequent contributor to media, including Bloomberg, The Economist, Financial Times, New York Times, NPR, Politico, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.