Board of Advisors

The Baroness Ramsay
of Cartvale

Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords (2002-);
Former Committee Member on the National Security Strategy (Joint Committee);
Former Member of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.

Sir John Jenkins

Senior Fellow, Policy Exchange;
British Ambassador to Syria (2006-07), Iraq (2009-11), Libya (2011) and Saudi Arabia (2012-15) and Consul-General in Jerusalem (2003-06).

Dr Roxane Farmanfarmaian

Lecturer in the international politics of the Middle East and North Africa at the Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS), University of Cambridge,
Founding Member, Centre for the International Relations of the Middle East and North Africa (CIRMENA), Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS), University of Cambridge.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind

British Foreign Minister (1995-7) and Defence Minister (1992-95), Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee (2010-15);
Visiting Professor, King’s College London

Professor Brendan Simms

Professor of the History of International Relations in the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge;
Director, Forum on Geopolitics, University of Cambridge.

Professor David Abulafia

Emeritus Professor of Mediterranean History at the Faculty of History, University of Cambridge.

Professor Ali Ansari

Professor of Modern History at the School of History, University of St Andrews

Dr Damian Valdez

Lecturer in 19th and 20th century political and economic history at the Faculty of History, University of Cambridge;
Director of Studies at Trinity College, University of Cambridge.

Dr. Nina Ansary

Award-winning Iranian-American author, historian, and women’s rights advocate;
UN Women Global Champion for Innovation; Inaugural patron and former visiting fellow at the London School of Economics Centre for Women, Peace and Security;
Director of MENAF’s Women’s Leadership Initiative.

Professor François Heisbourg

Special Advisor, Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique;
Chairman, Geneva Centre for Security Policy;
Chairman, International Institute for Strategic Studies (2001-18)

BG (Ret.) Assaf Orion

Former Head of Strategic Planning, Israel Defense Forces,
Senior Research Fellow, Institute for National Security Studies (INSS),
Military Fellow, Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP).

The Rt Hon. the Lord Udny-Lister

Member of the House of Lords International Agreements Committee; Chair of the UK-UAE Business Council; Director and Advisory Board Member of the UK-Saudi Business Council; Former Senior Strategic Adviser of the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street (2019-2021); Former Non-Executive Director at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Former Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor of London (2011-2016).

The Viscount Waverley

The Viscount Waverley is a member of the House of Lords with a keen interest in international affairs centred around working in the developing world and emerging markets. He contributes regularly to proceedings on international issues in Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East, addressing many challenging issues of the day, working to promote fair and equitable global trade, and supporting a transparent playing field for global businesses. He has received State decorations from Colombia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, been honoured with a Yoruba Chieftaincy in Nigeria and is the recipient of the CEO Club BURJ award as an Ambassador for British Business.