Meet Thomas Nides 05/23/2021 He's a Washington insider who also has private-sector experience, and he's likely to be named new US ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides, a former official in the US State Department who currently is a managing director at Morgan Stanley, is likely to be chosen as the US ambassador to Israel, according to multiple news reports. In addition to serving as deputy secretary of state for management and resources under former President Barack Obama, Nides has connections to several high-ranking officials in the Biden administration. He also would bring private-sector experience to the job. US President Joe Biden is expected to name his envoy to Israel in the coming weeks. The nomination and confirmation process could take several more weeks after that, however. In the meantime, the State Department reportedly will send Michael Ratney, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for Israeli and Palestinian affairs and consul general in Jerusalem during the Obama administration, in an interim capacity.