Nathaniel Ahrens is deputy director and fellow with the Hills Program on Governance at CSIS, where he is in charge of development and is also active in research. He was formerly an adjunct fellow with the Freeman Chair in China Studies, where he focused on issues relating to China's trade, industrial policy, and innovation.

Ahrens is also president of the American Mandarin Society. In 2010, he was a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where his research focused on climate, energy, and sustainable development issues in China, as well as Chinese national innovation policy and government procurement. Ahrens also runs Golden Road Ventures Ltd., a business development and strategic advisory firm that provides expertise and support for projects in China. Previously, he worked for 10 years in China. He was senior product manager and director of international sales for Intrinsic Technology, a Shanghai-based telecommunications software provider. He also founded Shanghai Pack Ltd., a luxury-brand packaging company based in Shanghai and Paris. Ahrens is a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the Institute of Current World Affairs, the Asia Society, and serves as an honorary ambassador for the State of Maine. He holds an A.B. from Vassar College and studied at Beijing Language and Culture University. He speaks English, French, and Mandarin Chinese.

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