Ronnie Chatterji

Aaron "Ronnie" Chatterji (born July 22, 1978) is an American academic and policymaker who served as acting deputy director of the National Economic Council and the White House Coordinator for CHIPS Implementation during the Biden administration from September 2022 until August 2023. He was previously the Chief Economist of the U.S. Department of Commerce, advising the Secretary of Commerce on domestic and international economic issues. Following his departure from the Biden administration, he returned to his post as the Mark Burgess & Lisa Benson-Burgess Distinguished Professor of Business and Public Policy at Duke's Fuqua School of Business where he focuses on innovation, entrepreneurship, strategic management, and corporate social responsibility.

Life Chatterji completed his bachelor's degree in economics from Cornell University. After working as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs, he received his Ph.D. from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley. He has been married to his wife, Neely Shah, since 2010.

Career

Duke Fuqua School of Business In 2006, Chatterji joined the faculty of the Fuqua School of Business where he is now the Mark Burgess & Lisa Benson-Burgess distinguished professor of business and public policy. He also holds a secondary appointment at Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy. Earlier in his career, was recognized with the Rising Star award from the Aspen Institute (2010) and the Strategic Management Society Emerging Scholar award (2015). In 2011, he was named one of the top 40 business professors under 40 by Poets & Quants.

Beyond Duke, Chatterji is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and was previously a visiting associate professor at the Harvard Business School. His policy portfolio centered around entrepreneurship and innovation.

Chatterji's campaign platform centered around three main pillars: (1) greater outcome-driven expansion of healthcare (including Medicaid) throughout the state, (2) modernization of the North Carolina Retirement Systems, and (3) the reorganization of the investment fund management including the hiring of a permanent Chief Investment Officer.

Chatterji's campaign received endorsement from President Obama, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden, and then-vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris. and international trade.

After the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, Chatterji departed from his post at the Department of Commerce following his appointment to the National Economic Council (NEC) as the White House Coordinator for CHIPS Implementation in September 2022. In this role, he was tasked with managing the work of the CHIPS Implementation Steering Council

Chatterji departed the White House in August 2023, returning to his pre-administration post at Duke University.

2024 OpenAI OpenAI appointed Chatterji as its first Chief Economist to lead research on AI's economic impact. The stated purpose of his role is to explore how AI influences economic growth, job creation, and long-term labor market trends, including the global economic effects of AI infrastructure. His research aims to guide policymakers, academics, and organizations in maximizing AI's benefits and address challenges associated with its adoption.