Matt S. Erskine
Acting Assistant Secretary

Matt S. Erskine serves as Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic Development for the U.S. Economic Development Administration. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Chief Operating Officer in September 2011.

Before joining the Obama Administration, he was Senior Vice President at the Greater Washington Board of Trade and Executive Director of the Greater Washington Initiative, a private-public regional economic development effort that has helped to position the Washington region as a premier business destination. Additionally, Erskine was President of PLAY, a management consulting firm in Richmond; a Principal in the Advanced Technology-Telecom and Professional Services practices of the management consulting firm Korn-Ferry International; and, management consultant at Coopers & Lybrand Consulting in the Telecommunications & Media Strategy and Federal Government practice areas.

He also served in the public sector as the Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade in Virginia Governor Mark Warner Administration, where he led and managed multiple gubernatorial initiatives and had oversight of the operations of 16 departments and agencies, consisting of more than 2,500 employees and a combined annual budget of $800 million. Erskine was also appointed by Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine to the bi-partisan Virginia Research and Technology Advisory Commission.

Erskine earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from the University of Virginia as an Echols Scholar and a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from the Harvard Business School. He recently completed his five-year term membership with the Council on Foreign Relations. He regularly competes in triathlons, marathons, and endurance races. Erskine and his wife have three children.