Mark Dubowitz

Mark Dubowitz is the executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan policy institute, where he leads projects on Iran, sanctions, countering threat finance, and nonproliferation.

He is an expert on Iran’s global network including the regime's nuclear, terrorist, missile and cyber threats to the United States and other allies, and is widely recognized as one of the key influencers in shaping sanctions policies to counter the threats emanating from Iran and its surrogates.

Mark was featured as one of the key “financial warriors” against Iran by The Wall Street Journal's Jay Solomon in his 2016 book “The Iran Wars.” Politico magazine featured Mark as one of Washington’s leading policy experts challenging Iran’s illicit behavior, observing that he is “...constantly thinking up—and promoting—new ways to squeeze the regime...” OZY Media labeled Mark and FDD the "politicians' brain trust on Iran sanctions ... carv[ing] a niche in the charged debate on Iran with intensive research and sheer intellectual firepower."

Mark has advised the Obama and Bush administrations and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and testified more than twenty times before the U.S. Congress and foreign legislatures.

A former venture capitalist and technology executive, Mark heads FDD’s Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finance and is the author or co-author of over twenty studies on economic sanctions and Iran's nuclear program. He is widely published and cited in U.S. and international media. He teaches courses on sanctions and international negotiations at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs, where he is a senior fellow.

Mark has a master’s degree in international public policy from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, and law and MBA degrees from the University of Toronto.

Raised in Toronto, he is a proud American citizen, and has lived in Washington, D.C. since 2003.