David McCormick

David Harold McCormick (born August 17, 1965) is an American businessman and politician.

McCormick graduated from West Point in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering.

He was a four-time letterman on the Army wrestling team and the team's co-captain his senior year.

He was two-time Eastern runner-up at 167 pounds.

He joined the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in 1987.

McCormick was part of the first wave of U.S. troops sent into Iraq during the Gulf War in 1991.

He was executive officer of a combat engineering company of 130 soldiers tasked with clearing minefields and destroying enemy munitions.

McCormick left the service in 1992 after five years' commissioned service.

In 1996, he earned a PhD in international relations from Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs.

Two years later, he published a book based on his doctoral thesis called The Downsized Warrior about the downsizing of the U.S. Army at the end of the Cold War.

In 2021, McCormick received an honorary degree from Dickinson College.

After his graduation from West Point, McCormick went to United States Army Airborne School and to Ranger School; he was named the Honor Graduate of Ranger School.

From 1996 to 1999, McCormick worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Co. based in Pittsburgh.

In 1999, McCormick joined FreeMarkets, a global provider of software and services.

Later that same year the company conducted an initial public offering.

McCormick was promoted to president of FreeMarkets in 2001 and was named chief executive officer in 2002.

He successfully sold FreeMarkets to Ariba in 2004 for approximately $500 million and then remained at Ariba as president for the next 18 months before he was asked to join the Bush administration.

McCormick's career in government began in 2005 when he was nominated and confirmed as the Commerce Department's Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security.

In this role, he oversaw export controls and was part of negotiations that led to the India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement.

Later he became the Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Policy and was George W. Bush's personal representative and negotiator to the Group of 8 (G8) industrialized countries before moving to the Treasury Department in 2007.

McCormick was Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs from 2007 to 2009, serving as the United States's leading international economic diplomat.

In this role, he was the principal adviser to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on international economic issues and oversaw policies in the areas of international finance, trade in financial services, investment, economic development and international debt policy.

McCormick coordinated financial market policy with the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries and the Group of Twenty (G20) global economies, working with finance ministers as well as their deputies.

McCormick joined Bridgewater Associates in 2009 as their president.

He became co-CEO in 2017, where he was responsible for overseeing the management of the firm and liaising with institutional investors.

In December 2019, it was announced that McCormick would become the sole CEO of Bridgewater in 2020, marking the end of a 10-year management transition of the firm.

As head of Bridgewater, McCormick had raised 8 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) for a private fund in China by November 2021.

In late 2021, while McCormick was mulling a run for a United States Senate seat in Pennsylvania, he began to distance himself from Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio and his defenses of China's human rights policies, openly rebuking him during company calls.

McCormick left Bridgewater on January 3, 2022, and was replaced by Mark Bertolini and Nir Bar Dea as co-CEOs.

McCormick served as the CEO of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world's largest hedge funds, from 2020 to 2022.

He is the husband of Dina Powell.

A member of the Republican Party, McCormick served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs during the George W. Bush administration.

In January 2022, McCormick announced that he was running for the U.S. Senate seat held by retiring Senator Pat Toomey.

He lost to Mehmet Oz in the Republican primary by fewer than 1,000 votes.

In September 2023, McCormick announced his second U.S. Senate campaign.

He is seeking to unseat incumbent Democratic Senator Bob Casey Jr.. in the 2024 election.

McCormick was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, and raised in the Pittsburgh area.

He attended high school in Bloomsburg.

His father, James McCormick, was president of Bloomsburg University and chancellor for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

His mother, Maryan G. McCormick, was a college professor.