Aaron Brickman

Biography

Aaron has been successful as an entrepreneur, problem-solver and leader in public and private sector roles, with 25 years of experience building and leading investment, trade and competitiveness programs in government and beyond. He currently serves as Senior Principal in RMI’s U.S. Program, creating and launching a new initiative to accelerate clean energy deployment and cleantech supply chain manufacturing investment in the United States.

Before coming to RMI, Aaron served as Executive Vice President at the Global Business Alliance, part of the organization’s senior leadership team and responsible for all things revenue and operations. In that role, he worked with C-suite and senior executives at dozens of the Fortune Global 500 and led efforts to forge new relationships with international companies, the diplomatic community and strategic partners around the world.

Prior to joining GBA, Aaron was the founding Deputy Executive Director of SelectUSA, a global agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce charged with promoting and facilitating foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States. During that tenure, Aaron helped secure the agency’s first-ever Congressional budget appropriation, led program strategy and operations – reporting to Commerce leadership and the White House – advised hundreds of cities and states on best practices, and acted as ombudsman for companies encountering federal policy or regulatory problems. Aaron regularly speaks to audiences and media about economic development, FDI and competitiveness. His work has taken him to more than 60 countries.

Aaron holds a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from American University. He has also studied economic growth at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and e-commerce at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. He is a recognized expert on FDI policy, even teaching on the topic at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University.