Daleep Singh, 40
Acting Assistant Secretary of Treasury (Financial Markets), U.S. Department of the Treasury
Hometown: Raised in Raleigh, North Carolina (born in Olney, Maryland)
How did you get here?
I left my job as an investment professional in London to join the Treasury Department as a career staffer, initially within our Markets Group, because I felt like I had something to contribute towards stabilizing the global economy – and this was the right time and place for my public service. Over the course of the Administration’s term, I was asked to take on policy roles of increasing responsibility, first as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe/Eurasia – during the peak of the recent turmoil in Greece and Ukraine/Russia – and now as Acting Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets.
Who or what has been the greatest influence on your career?
Without question – my parents. I remember at a very early age learning from my mother that my namesake is a great-grand-uncle (Daleep Singh Saund), the first Asian-American elected to the U.S. Congress, and that her family made a number of sacrifices during her father’s career as a public figure during India's post-partition era. You could say I felt the pull of public service from the beginning, and my parents’ example of hard work has been a constant source of motivation throughout my career.
What do you consider your greatest accomplishment during the Obama administration?
Helping to design an innovative and targeted sanctions program against Russia that delivered costs on the Russian economy for its unlawful violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty/territorial integrity - without causing negative spillovers to the global financial system. Sanctions of this nature had never before been imposed on such a large, complex, and interconnected economy, and the results have been widely credited with helping to deter Russia from further aggression.
Can you describe your time working for the Obama administration in 10 words?
The most fulfilling and consequential experience of my career.
Complete the sentence: “When I’m not working, I…”
…am with my wife and three kids, most often on a soccer field or in front of a Harry Potter novel.”
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