Washington, DC, May 1, 2025: The Marathon Initiative is pleased to announce that Dr. Ely Ratner has joined the institute as a Principal. In this role, he will participate in the senior executive leadership of the organization, oversee strategic initiatives, and conduct research and writing on security issues in the Indo-Pacific region.

Prior to joining Marathon, Ratner served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs (2021-2025). He was previously the Director of the DoD China Task Force and a Senior Advisor to China to the Secretary of Defense. Before arriving at the Department of Defense, Dr. Ratner was the Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), where he was a member of the executive team and responsible for managing the Center’s research agenda and staff. He served as Deputy National Security Advisor to the Vice President (2015-2017), in the office of Chinese and Mongolian affairs at the State Department (2011-2012), and as a Professional Staff Member at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (2011-2012). He has worked as a Senior Fellow for China Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and as an Associate Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation. He holds a B.A. from Princeton and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Commenting on Ratner’s addition to Marathon, the institute’s chairman Larry Hirsch said “Ely is one of the top thinkers on Asia in the United States. We are proud to have him join our dynamic team.” Marathon principal and co-founder A. Wess Mitchell said, “Ely was one of the first people to foresee the new era of great power competition and warn about the challenges it would pose for the United States. His strategic clarity, leadership skills and commitment to public duty exemplify the traits that are at the heart of Marathon’s mission.”

Marathon is a 501(C)(3) non-partisan, non-profit research organization. Our mission is to develop the diplomatic, military, and economic strategies America will need to navigate a protracted competition with great power rivals. Through deep study, rigorous analysis and timely commentary, Marathon works to educate America’s public and equip its leaders with innovative national-security concepts for a more competitive age.

Washington, DC, April 10, 2025: The leadership and staff of The Marathon Initiative wish to congratulate our colleague and friend Elbridge A. (“Bridge”) Colby on his confirmation by the United States Senate to the post of U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.

In 2019, Bridge co-founded The Marathon Initiative to create an institutional home for rigorous thinking about the challenges facing the United States in a new era of great-power competition. In the period since, he has worked persistently, persuasively, and intelligently to keep China at the forefront of the U.S. national security debate. His consistent message has been that America must prioritize the top threat facing the country—and that doing so will require tradeoffs. To accept the necessity of choice in conditions of scarcity is the essence of strategy. By confronting those hard decisions head-on, Bridge has sought to equip the United States with a coherent framework for ensuring its safety and prosperity against the most formidable rival in our history.

The Marathon Initiative is pleased to see Bridge carry the ideas he has honed under our banner into the highest echelons of government. Commenting on Bridge’s confirmation, Marathon chairman Larry Hirsch said “We are proud of Bridge. He fought hard, and we have no doubt that he will make a positive difference for the country.” Marathon principal and co-founder A. Wess Mitchell said, “Bridge is a true strategist and man of integrity. His appointment is proof that strategic originality is still possible, and that ideas matter in the public debate.”

Marathon is a 501(c)(3) non-partisan, non-profit research organization. Our mission is to develop the diplomatic, military, and economic strategies America will need to navigate a protracted competition with great power rivals. Through deep study, rigorous analysis and timely commentary, Marathon works to educate America’s public and equip its leaders with innovative national-security concepts for a more competitive age.