Over the past 15 years, Dr Daniel has played a leading role in the establishment and development of the Strategic Insight Center. He served as the Director of its Global Issues Program from 2006 until his appointment as Executive Director in 2015. Dr Danie writes widely on US foreign policy and global issues in publications including The New York Times, Financial Times, Foreign Policy and Foreign Affairs, as well as the Singapore press. He has also worked as a lawyer, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

He graduated from the law program at the National University of Singapore and pursued studies at the University of Oxford, obtaining a Master's degree and a Ph.D. in International Relations.