Thomas P.M. Barnett

Thomas P. M. Barnett has worked in U.S. national security circles since the end of the Cold War, starting first with the Department of Navy’s premier think tank, the Center for Naval Analyses. He then served as a professor at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, RI, where he became a top assistant to Vice Admiral Arthur Cebrowksi—the father of “network-centric warfare.” After 9/11, Barnett served in Cebrowski's Office of Force Transformation in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as the Assistant for Strategic Futures. He developed a famous PowerPoint brief on globalization and international security (see his 2005 TED Talk), which later morphed into a New York Times bestselling book, The Pentagon’s New Map (2004). Barnett extended his “New Map” series with the volumes Blueprint for Action (2005) and Great Powers (2009). Since leaving government service in 2005, Dr. Barnett has worked for a series of technology-driven start-ups. He currently serves as Throughline’s Senior Strategist in the firm’s enterprise design and strategy work throughout the U.S. Federal Government and the private sector. Dr. Barnett holds a PhD in political science from Harvard University.