Sandeep Vaheesan is the legal director at the Open Markets Institute. He leads their legal research and advocacy, including the amicus program. He has written and spoken widely on antimonopoly law and policy and building a fair economy. Previously, he worked at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and American Antitrust Institute.

In his scholarship, advocacy work, and popular commentary, he has focused on, among other topics, the latent statutory powers of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). He has described how the FTC can strengthen antitrust rules governing corporations and prohibit a range of unfair competitive practices, such as non-compete clauses for workers. In a 2021 executive order, President Biden called for FTC regulatory action to restrict employers’ use of non-competes. In April 2024, the FTC enacted a rule banning non-compete clauses for all workers.

Vaheesan is the author of a forthcoming book entitled Democracy in Power: A History of Electrification in the United States on the history and future of cooperative and public power in the United States. It will be published by the University of Chicago Press in December 2024.