Dina Powell is climbing up the White House ranks at an impressive pace.
On Thursday, Politico reported that the senior counselor for economic initiatives has been named deputy national security adviser for strategy. In the new role, Powell will work with national security adviser H.R. McMaster as well as help lead an interagency policy process working with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, and Defense Secretary James Mattis.
Powell was originally brought into the president’s orbit as an informal adviser to Ivanka Trump on women’s economic empowerment, an area in which the former Goldman Sachs partner has known expertise. Last summer, she spoke at a Fortune‘s Most Powerful Women dinner in New York City about the Goldman Sachs-Fortune Global Women Leaders Award. The award honors alumni of the Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership—a joint initiative by Fortune and the U.S. State Department that brings female entrepreneurs from developing countries to the U.S. to shadow American businesswomen.
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While the national security title is a first for Powell, Trump is not the first president to recognize her knack for diplomacy. President George W. Bush—whose administration she served as the youngest-ever director of the presidential personnel office—nominated her for a position in the public diplomacy division of the State Department. At the time, he said about Powell: “She believes deeply in the American experience, in American values, and wants to share those values with people around the world.”
An Egyptian immigrant fluent in Arabic, Powell is reportedly already helping President Trump navigate geopolitics. Politico reports that she was seated at the head of the table during his lunch with Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince this week.
Fortune has reached out to Powell for comment and will update this story with any response.
