International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce

Ro Khanna

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Domestic Operations for the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service

Ro Khanna was appointed by President Obama to serve as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Domestic Operations of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service, International Trade Administration at the United States Department of Commerce. The U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service is the key export promotion agency of the federal government with a worldwide network of employees and a mission of assisting businesses in exporting their goods and services worldwide.

In this capacity, Mr. Khanna is responsible for overseeing the domestic operations of 109 U.S. Export Assistance Centers operating in 48 states. In addition, Mr. Khanna is responsible for a number of trade promotion programs, the Trade Information Center, and the development and execution of marketing and communications strategies.  Mr. Khanna will also be involved with planning and executing a number of critical trade missions for the Department.

Prior to joining the Department of Commerce, Mr. Khanna was counsel at O’Melveny & Myers where he practiced intellectual property and complex business litigation.  He was named a Northern California Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in 2009. 

Mr. Khanna also served as Chair of the Indo American Council at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee where he helped Speaker Pelosi shape the innovation and clean tech agenda for the Democratic Party.  For this work, he was awarded the Trailblazer Award by the San Francisco Democratic Party in 2008.  Mr. Khanna was an active member of Environmental Entrepreneurs, served on the Board of Sustainable San Mateo County and the Human Investment Project, and was a mentor to the Irvington High School We The People 2009 team. He is a Phi Beta graduate of the University of Chicago in Economics, and a graduate of Yale Law School.