Manu Bhardwaj leads the research efforts at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, where he is looking forward to helping deliver on the Center’s message of inclusive growth and expanding Mastercard’s global impact through research and partnerships. Previously, he was an eight-year political appointee in the Obama Administration. At the Department of State, Manu reported directly to the Under Secretary of State and has reported directly to three U.S. Ambassadors advising them on telecommunications, trade, intellectual property, cybersecurity, Internet-related national security, data privacy, internet governance and other regulatory, policy and legal matters, with responsibility to communicate U.S. positions to over 60 countries and at hundreds of UN and other multilateral meetings. Manu has also served as a policy or legal advisor at the White House, at the U.S. Senate, and at a U.S. District Court. Over the past 17 years, Manu served in all three branches of the federal government and has also practice law at major private firms.