Cynthia Cook
Cynthia Cook is director of the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group and a senior fellow in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Her research interests include defense acquisition policy and organization, the defense-industrial base, new technology development, and weapon systems production and sustainment. Dr. Cook is a member of the editorial board for the Defense Acquisition Research Journal and is an adjunct professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. From 1997 to 2021, Dr. Cook worked as a senior management scientist at RAND, where she oversaw, led, and worked on a wide range of studies for components across the U.S. Department of Defense, along with the Australian Department of Defense and the UK Ministry of Defense. Previously, Dr. Cook was a research specialist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working on the Lean Aerospace Initiative. Before her graduate studies, Dr. Cook worked in New York as an investment banker, specializing in high-yield finance. She holds a PhD in sociology from Harvard University and a BS in management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Areas of Expertise
Media Queries
- H. Andrew Schwartz
- Chief Communications Officer
- 202.775.3242
- aschwartz@csis.org
- Samuel Cestari
- Media Relations Coordinator, External Relations
- 202.775.7317
- scestari@csis.org
In the News
The companies benefiting from Europe’s defence revival
Cynthia Cook in Financial Times — February 23, 2024
The companies benefiting from Europe’s defence revival
Cynthia Cook in Financial Times — February 23, 2024
Two Indicators: Economics of the defense industry
Cynthia Cook in NPR — February 21, 2024
How War in Europe Boosts the U.S. Economy
Cynthia Cook in The Wall Street Journal — February 18, 2024
Can Just-In-Time handle a new era of war?
Cynthia Cook in NPR — January 30, 2024
For US to counter China effectively, Pentagon must reform, warns first-of-its-kind report
Cynthia Cook in South China Morning Post — January 12, 2024
Pentagon’s first industrial strategy calls for ‘generational’ change
Cynthia Cook in Defense News — January 11, 2024
U.S. and BAE to Bring Back Popular Howitzer After Success in Ukraine
Cynthia Cook and Mark F. Cancian in The Wall Street Journal — January 4, 2024
All Cynthia Cook Content
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The Future of U.S.-Japan Defense Industrial Cooperation
Event — March 20, 2024
Strengthening Australia-U.S. Defence Industrial Cooperation: Keynote by Deputy Secretary Hugh Jeffrey
Event — March 5, 2024
Delivering for the Warfighter: The Importance of Executing Space Acquisition Programs
Event — February 23, 2024
Munitions Production Roundtable Featuring ASA(ALT) The Honorable Douglas R. Bush
Event — February 5, 2024
Understanding the Contributions of the New National Defense Industrial Strategy
Critical Questions by Cynthia Cook — January 17, 2024
The National Defense Industrial Strategy: The Way Ahead
Event — January 11, 2024
Acquisition for Innovation: A Conversation with DUSD(A&S), the Honorable Dr. Radha Iyengar Plumb
Event — September 6, 2023
Transatlantic Defense during Wartime
Report by Cynthia Cook, Max Bergmann, Mark F. Cancian, Gregory Sanders, Sissy Martinez, Otto Svendsen, and Nicholas Velazquez — September 5, 2023
Acquisition for Decision Advantage: The Role of the CDAO in Scaling Software Solutions
Event — July 21, 2023
Don’t Blame ‘Just-in-Time’ Production for Challenges in the U.S. Manufacturing Industrial Base
Critical Questions by Cynthia Cook and Audrey Aldisert — July 19, 2023