# Red Sea Futures — Full Text > Full-text companion to /llms.txt (llmstxt.org "full" convention) — complete page copy for key Red Sea Futures pages, for AI crawlers and assistants to cite directly without re-crawling or rendering JS. ## Red Sea Futures — Red Sea & MENA Risk Intelligence URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/ > 230+ regional experts and the Big Red™ AI platform delivering human-validated Red Sea and MENA risk intelligence for governments and business. Red Sea & MENA · Consulting and Due Diligence The Red Sea is the world's most consequential and contested crossroads. We build bespoke “dream teams” of experts and data to solve your hardest problems in the Red Sea and MENA. 230+ regional specialists — former diplomats, master mariners, political analysts, bankers, climate scientists — coordinated by an analytical method and platform that contextualize their insight and apply it to your problem. 15 ambassadors. 56 PhDs. 8 languages. Not a database of strangers — a network built outward from people who've spent their careers in the region. Set Up a Call For Law Firms → Pricing Flat-rate Experts Always senior Teams Assembled in days Delivery Prompt — never rushed Red Sea Futures' experts featured in 230+ Senior experts across the region 15 ambassadors. 56 PhDs. 8 languages. Regional and technical depth, matched to your matter via their detailed past work histories and publications. Every engagement is led by our senior project leads, who draw the right specialists from this wider pool. 20+ Legal 500 firms trust us We have worked for some of the biggest and most specialized names in the legal community — from leading international and AmLaw-100 firms to elite white-collar, disputes, and specialist London litigation practices — along with U.S. federal authorities, multilateral agencies, companies, and government ministries. 5 Analytical lenses Our consulting teams (and platform) include members (and agents) whose job is to apply the most appropriate methodological filters to your challenge — from bias identification, to red-teaming, scenario planning, environmental and social impact, and 'outlier risk'. The body of work Our leads and experts don't just work the region first-hand. They wrote the books on it. Diplomats, mariners, and economists first — published by Oxford, Brookings, Edinburgh, Palgrave, Routledge, and Polity, alongside the sector briefs we write ourselves. Libya to the Horn of Africa, Iraq to the Gulf, refugee protection to red-teaming. Red Sea Futures Corporate Sector Brief Red Sea Futures Public Sector Sector Brief Red Sea Futures Financial Sector Brief Red Sea Futures Multilateral Sector Brief Red Sea Futures Law Firms Sector Brief Red Sea Futures Summits & Events Sector Brief A partial selection — updated as our leads and experts publish. See the full roster → Our Approach We show you how we think. 01 · FRAME Senior leads listen to your challenge, take the problem apart, and re-assemble it. Stress-testing led by a small team of senior project leads with relevant experience — including one or more “perspective” experts: a red-teamer, a scenario planner, a specialist in identifying hidden biases. Each pulls at the problem from a different angle, surfacing the dimensions, and the blind spots, a single point of view often misses. The client is fully briefed, and asked for feedback and re-focus. 02 · MATCH Experts matched to the reframe, by evidence. Our agentic model Big Red reads the leads’ frames and recommendations and produces its own read on the problem, based on a wealth of vetted, region-specific open-source and proprietary data. With lead oversight, it then reads the collected work of our broader expert pool to identify the experts and teams most likely to produce direct, uncommon insight on your problem. Tailored questions are routed to the identified specialists along with supporting data and context, for review and evaluation. 03 · THE DREAM TEAM Project leads and specialists work the problem. Project leads further refine the expert pool based on review of their individual and collaborative replies, and ask the client to elaborate their expectations before a deeper analysis with the latest team iteration. The result is a detailed set of recommendations, an annotated and indexed library of relevant resources, and an exceptional, purpose-built team that is with you for the duration of the project — and available for future consultation. And the engagement doesn't end at delivery — you're left with a team that has proven itself on your problem. Case in point A manufacturer in the region lost access to a critical production input when the war closed its usual supply route. Red Sea Futures fielded five specialists working across four languages and delivered a sourcing strategy in three days. 5 experts · 3 days · 4 languages Read the case study → The same method runs weekly in public — read the Red Sea Brief and the Legal Letter → Recent Testimonials "Red Sea Futures managed — quickly — to obtain deeply relevant external stakeholder, competitor, and analyst perspectives on an existential organizational challenge. A rich scenario analysis that was both unique and immediately actionable." Division Head · "Unusually deep insight on a complex issue. Red Sea Futures did as promised — within days assembled a diverse and highly relevant group of subject matter experts who helped us validate and shape core arguments. The fixed-rate nature of the engagement was a welcome feature, and the estimated savings were not insignificant. We'll absolutely use them again." Partner · Leading international law firm "Like having a pop-up specialist division of 30 experts tailored to our project needs. The team moved quickly, worked together extremely well, and delivered recommendations we could act on." SVP Operations · Industrial client, supply chain Our Purpose We build decision-making infrastructure for stability and integration in one of the world's most consequential regions — connecting those who must act with the expertise to act wisely. We put renowned specialists — and the right data — to work on the region's hardest problems, assembling a bespoke “dream team” for each engagement: risk analysis, legal case preparation and expert testimony, investment due diligence, and content and panel design for conferences and events. Corporate Market entry strategy, acquisition due diligence, product design, supply chain stress testing, risk assessment, scenario planning. Download PDF ↓ Public Sector Policy planning, scenario planning, project management and implementation oversight, event content management. Download PDF ↓ Financial Company due diligence, geopolitical and project risk, and scenario planning. Download PDF ↓ Multilateral organizations Scenario planning, economic analysis, risk analysis, social and environmental impact analysis, funding trends, opportunity assessments. Download PDF ↓ Law Firms Case support, stress testing by multiple experts, testifying expert identification, research, due diligence, opposing witness evaluation. Download PDF ↓ Summits & Events Content, curation, and thematic development for summits, proceedings, and conferences — the themes, the research behind each session, the proceedings, and the experts who sit on the panels and speak. The brains behind the content, not the logistics. Download PDF ↓ ## 230+ Red Sea & MENA Specialists | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/who-we-are > Ambassadors, master mariners, CEOs, and scholars in maritime security, energy, and logistics — the Red Sea Futures expert network. Who We Are We didn't study this region from the outside. Red Sea Futures is the operating brand of Perim Narrative Arts, LLC. Our leadership and senior experts have spent their careers inside the Red Sea Basin — as diplomats, military commanders, shipping executives, development practitioners, and scholars. When you engage us, these are the people working your problem. Set Up a Call Follow on Substack → 230+ Subject Matter Experts Across 20+ disciplines 56 PhD Holders In the network 18yr Average Experience Red Sea / MENA per expert 10+ Regional Languages Assembled specifically for your problem Our Project Leads and Technical Partners The project leads and technical partners who direct our engagements — a subset of our 230+ subject-matter experts, each with an average of 25+ years of direct engagement across the Red Sea Basin. Dr. Ethan Chorin Founder & CEO · Former U.S. Diplomat, Libya & UAE · Yale Lecturer · Author, Harvard University Press Noura Abdi Farah Global & Regional Health Policy · Horn of Africa Fatima Abo Alasrar Yemen & Horn of Africa · Political Dynamics & Security Dr. Birol Başkan Turkish domestic & foreign policy/ MENA geopolitics/ Political Islam Michael Brill Ph.D. Candidate, Near Eastern Studies · Princeton · Wilson Center Global Fellow · Iraq & Baʿth Party Specialist Dr. Sarah Deardorff Miller Expert Advisor on Refugee, Migration & Humanitarian Issues Justin Dehorty Advisory Board Member · Sr. ML Engineer Dr. Guilain Denoeux Professor of Government at Colby College Sherif Dhaimish Publisher & Writer · Sales Director, Kulturalis Captain Roy Facey Maritime Operations Specialist · Red Sea Shipping Dr. Blair Fowlkes Childs MENA Archaeology & Antiquities Dr. Anna Gueorguieva Climate Finance & ESG Strategy, GreeniumDC Dr. Samuel Helfont Associate Professor of Strategy and Policy Whitney Hischier Strategic Planning & Red Teaming · UC Berkeley Haas Dr. Romaric Jannel Red Sea Futures Ethicist / Consulting Advisor Carl Jansma Procurement, Contracts & Supply Chain Specialist · Maritime & Infrastructure · 35+ Years MENA & ASEAN · Chartered Fellow, CIPS Danial Kaysi Strategic Advisor · Geopolitics · Market Strategy · MENA & Global Affairs Peter Kennedy Scenario Planning · Futures Strategy Group Dr. Vasanth N. Mohan Investment Professional, Shukr Investments · Semiconductor & AI Equities · Former GMO / Morgan Stanley · PhD, Materials Engineering Al-Sharif Nasser bin Nasser Development Policy · Security · Renewables Sara Olsen Impact Accounting, Management & Valuation / Sustainable Investment & ESG Col. Steve Rotkoff Red Teaming & Strategic Analysis Specialist Ambassador Lange Schermerhorn Former U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti · Horn of Africa Dr. Robert Springborg Political Economy of Egypt / MENA Ambassador Dinkar Srivastava Former Indian Ambassador · India–Red Sea Relations Ambassador Patrick Theros Former U.S. Ambassador to Qatar · Gulf–Red Sea Behind the leads sits a bench of 230+ specialists — assembled for your problem, not for ours. Our leads draw on this pool to build bespoke teams matched precisely to each client's matter. Experts are mobilized in hours, not weeks. Every output is reviewed and certified by a credentialed specialist before it reaches you. Disciplines covered Supply Chain Construction & PM Red Sea Politics Tech & AI Shipping & Logistics Maritime Security Finance & Insurance International Trade Agricultural Sciences Engineering Tourism Climate Science Violent Extremism Maritime Piracy Culture & History Oil & Gas Renewable Energy Desalination Methodology Partners Proven, structured methodologies that integrate directly with our expert network and research technology — bringing adversarial analysis, strategic foresight, and impact measurement to every engagement. Red Team by Rotkoff redteambyrotkoff.com Adversarial analysis and assumption testing. Founded by Colonel (Ret.) Steve Rotkoff, former director of the U.S. Army's Red Team University, and Whitney Hischier of UC Berkeley Haas. Rotkoff authored the Applied Critical Thinking Handbook — the industry standard for red teaming. The firm has facilitated red teams for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and U.S. Special Operations Command. Futures Strategy Group futuresstrategygroup.com Strategic foresight and scenario planning. Two decades of experience helping organizations plan under uncertainty using its Alternative Futures methodology. Clients include the U.S. Coast Guard, NASA, FEMA, and the U.S. Department of State. FSG's scenario work for the Coast Guard's Project Evergreen was featured as a case study in the Harvard Business Review . SVT Group svtgroup.net Social and environmental impact measurement. Since 2001, SVT has helped corporations, institutional investors, foundations, and NGOs assess and manage their social return on investment. A co-founder of Social Value International's U.S. chapter, SVT brings rigorous impact accounting frameworks to development finance, infrastructure investment, and sustainability strategy. kulturalis.com A London-based bespoke publishing partner for museums and cultural institutions, turning their collections and stories into beautifully produced books. Founded in 2023 by Neil Titman and Charlotte Kramer — president of the facsimile house Müller & Schindler, part of the Universal Art Group — Kulturalis carries an institution's idea through every stage, from commissioning authors to design, translation, and print, before distributing worldwide through ACC Art Books. Institutions keep creative control while gaining a global platform and an annual royalty on trade sales. In under three years it has contracted more than 70 publications with clients across 20+ countries and five continents. ## MENA Expert Witness & Litigation Support | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/for-law-firms > Expert witness identification, litigation support, and investigative due diligence for Red Sea and MENA disputes. Flat-rate packages, 48–72h initial turnaround. For Law Firms · Case Support and Testimony — Not all cases are worth taking. — Not all experts are the right experts. — Some of the best case strategy comes from experts who never testify. One engagement supports your whole matter — surfacing regional insight, pressure-testing your arguments before opposing counsel can, and proving out testifying experts against your case. Set Up a Call Scope your matter by email 230+ Senior regional specialists 15 ambassadors · 56 PhDs · 8 languages. Built over 25+ years on the ground — not assembled from LinkedIn. 20+ Legal 500 firms trust us Including several of the world's largest global firms, elite US litigation and disputes practices, a leading London disputes boutique, the US Department of Justice, and specialist regional boutiques. Fixed Flat-rate engagements Know the cost of support before we start. Only testifying and affidavit hours bill at the expert's rate. One engagement, three things at once Some firms give you an expert. We assemble — and prove out — a support team for your case. The team gets better with every iteration, and every use. The same engagement that surfaces insight also pressure-tests your theory and tries prospective experts against your actual problem — so the experts who make your team have earned their place on it, in front of you. Insight you may have missed Regional and technical experts surface the context, actors, and realities absent from your current theory of the matter — angles with potential to change how a case is argued. Your arguments, pressure-tested We put your theory under the same adversarial lenses opposing counsel will — so weaknesses surface early, on your side of the table, while there's still time to fortify. Experts, identified and vetted As the work proceeds, we assess each specialist for testimony — credentials, prior record, exposure points — so the ones you designate are stress-tested against your case, before they're ever deposed. Pricing Flat-rate, scoped to the matter. Our support engagements are flat-rate — you know the cost of our analytical work and process before we begin, with one exception: testifying experts, once conflict-checked and engaged, may bill at an hourly or fixed rate. Let's scope your matter: info@redseafutures.com How we work From "should we take this case?" — to the hearing room. 01 · ASSESS Case Viability Assessment Before you commit resources, we can help assess the probability that the case structure, precedents, likely cost, underlying facts and factors not under your control support a winning claim — and a satisfied client. 02 · MATCH Expert Identification & Placement We cross-reference your needs against the work corpus and testifying history of the members of our internal pool — typically within 24 hours. If we don't have a strong fit in house, the pool and Big Red triangulate to find and vet those in the collective network, for relevance, credentials, past testifying history, and their own public corpus. 03 · BUILD Stress Testing & Due Diligence We help build and stress test arguments and assumptions using blind queries to subsets of our expert pool and proprietary databases — including sources in practically every regional language. Experts cross-check each other's work, and senior support leads verify every finding before anything reaches the client. 04 · VET Opposition Expert Vetting We turn the same research capability outward — probing the other side's witnesses and experts for credential gaps, prior inconsistencies, and exposure points before the hearing room. Areas of expertise The full spectrum of Red Sea and MENA legal complexity, with a focus on political, cultural, and scientific support. International Arbitration & Litigation Full dispute lifecycle — ICSID, ICC, LCIA, and ad hoc arbitrations involving MENA parties, assets, or governing law. Sanctions, Terrorism, & Asset Tracing Network mapping and financial intelligence across Gulf and Red Sea jurisdictions, including FSIA and ATA cases. Maritime & Shipping Master mariners, port-authority specialists, Red Sea navigation experts; flag-state, cargo loss, piracy, and Houthi-disruption claims — and maritime insurance via P&I clubs. Energy & Natural Resources Oil, gas, and renewables disputes across GCC, North Africa, and East Africa. Islamic Finance & Commercial Law Sharia-compliant instruments, sukuk, and GCC commercial disputes. Political Risk & Sovereign Matters Former diplomats and officials — state conduct, expropriation, investment-treaty claims, geopolitical-context testimony. Where the difference comes from Not a database. A trust network. Most expert networks are databases — you query a roster and get a credentialed stranger. Ours grew the opposite way. It was built outward from our principals — founders and leads who've spent much or all of their careers on the Red Sea and across MENA — from the people they've worked with and whose judgment they know firsthand. Membership is governed by consensus, not application: you're in the pool because multiple people in the field, vetted themselves, vouch for you. That's trust earned in the field, not access purchased by the hour — and it's the one thing a database can't replicate. Many perspectives, without the conflict bottleneck Our first pass is problem-first: we bring a wide, cross-disciplinary field to bear on the issue itself, before the client is in view. Conflicts are resolved only for the few experts actually engaged on your matter — not the whole field we draw insight from. You get the breadth without the friction that normally makes it impractical. Genuine regional depth Ambassadors, senior GCC executives, Islamic-finance jurists, master mariners — careers spent on the ground in the region, not profiles assembled from LinkedIn. Sources verified in the original language Big Red surfaces and ranks the primary sources that matter — in Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, Amharic, French, Hebrew. Then the people who speak those languages confirm each source is genuine, that the translation holds, and that the interpretation is sound. These are the languages that tell the stories that power events — and our experts keep them from being lost, or invented, in translation. Strategic, not just tactical Whether to take the case, which argument to lead with, how to position an expert to hold up under scrutiny. The combination is the product The value isn't a single name — it's the team, chosen so that the right perspectives meet on your problem and produce insight a single expert would miss. “Red Sea Futures reduced our expected expert costs by perhaps half — while surfacing angles on the case we hadn't considered. Unmatched, specific regional insight, bounded costs. We'll absolutely use them again.” Partner Leading international law firm See how an engagement runs — read the litigation case study → The Red Sea Legal Letter Subscribe to the Red Sea Legal Letter Case-relevant analysis of sanctions, marine insurance, and cross-border disputes in the Red Sea corridor — from the team behind this practice. Work email Subscribe → We'll add you to the Red Sea Legal Letter list and hand you to Substack to confirm. Unsubscribe anytime. Read recent issues → Bring us your most challenging Red Sea matter. Test the method against your most pressing question — a 30-minute briefing, no long-term commitment. We've spent decades in the region; it shows in the work. Set Up a Call Scope your matter by email ## Summit & Conference Content Management | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/for-events > Event content management for summits, proceedings, and conferences: themes, research, vetted expert speakers, and printed proceedings produced with our design partner, Kulturalis. For Events · Summits, Proceedings & Conferences — We are the brains behind the content and its delivery. — Not the event managers. — We do content right: events professionals remember. The substance of a convening — its themes, the research behind each session, the proceedings, and the experts who sit on the panels and speak — is what makes a summit worth holding. That substance is what we provide: we develop the themes, produce the underlying research, shape the proceedings, and bring and vet the experts who populate the panels and the podium. Set Up a Call Download the client brief Print & publishing with 230+ Senior regional specialists A meticulously-built pool of regional and technical specialists and management leads, each with career experience in-region. 7 Content domains, ministerial level Lead content managers for executive and ministerial international events across Climate, Culture, Economics, Piracy, Tech & AI, Law & Governance, and Environmental Impact. Print A record built to outlast the event Proceedings, commemorative books, and collateral produced with our design partner, Kulturalis — to the same standard as the convening itself. What we deliver The measure of a summit isn’t the turnout. It’s what survives it. We apply the same analytical, search- and expert-driven process we use for consulting, legal support and due diligence to event design and reporting — starting from your stated vision, and ending with an event that produces real value for attendees, speakers, and everyone who meets it later through its written record. Event design with distinctive shape We streamline and give distinctive shape to event design and objectives — themes and session architecture stress-tested by experts and relevant data before anyone takes the stage. The right experts, in the right combination Casting is half the event: we find the right experts — and, just as important, the right combination of experts — matched to the substance of the event and the chemistry of the room and its audience. Vetted individually, selected to work together. Proceedings, print and electronic media, and ‘coffee table books’ High quality proceedings, commemorative books and summaries, and social media content — beautiful, rich content produced efficiently and cost-effectively. How we do it From your stated vision — to an event people remember, and a record that outlasts it. 01 · ENGAGE Analytical Engagement Our work starts with an analytical engagement with the client’s stated vision and requirements — what the convening is for, who it must reach, and what it must produce. 02 · DESIGN Themes, Research & Sessions The integration of experts, our coordinating model, and relevant data stress-tests conceptual ideas — shaping themes, session design, and the research behind each panel. 03 · CONVENE Experts on the Podium We bring and vet the experts who populate the panels and the podium — combinations chosen for content, group dynamism, and resonance with the audience’s objectives. 04 · PUBLISH Proceedings & Collateral The event lives on through its written records, proceedings, and commemorative books — designed, printed, and distributed with our publishing partner, Kulturalis. Case in point The East Africa Environmental Risks & Opportunities (ERO) Summit. Four continents, sixteen countries, under the auspices of the President of Djibouti. Red Sea Futures’ team — then operating as Perim Associates — designed and organized the ERO Summit in Djibouti, held under the auspices of H.E. Ismael Omar Guelleh. Conceived with Yale University, CERD, the World Bank, IGAD, and UNECA, it brought participants together on climate change, waste transformation, marine ecosystems, and environment-linked health — and produced concrete initiatives, from a regional climate and environmental observatory to a Yale-led climate-impact task force and a regional acute-care and screening corridor. It remains the template for every convening we take on. Read the case study: building a regional climate summit from scratch → Our design partner Printed to the standard of the convening itself — with Kulturalis. For printed proceedings, commemorative books, and conference collateral, we work with our design partner, Kulturalis — the London-based publisher of fine illustrated books for museums, galleries, and cultural institutions. Part of the Universal Art Group, Kulturalis brings a multilingual team with decades of experience producing publications across art, heritage, education, religion, architecture, and the corporate sector. Kulturalis offers every stage of the publishing process — editorial, design, production, and distribution — publishing in whatever languages a client requires. Its bespoke, collaborative approach means the printed record of a convening is produced to the same standard as the convening itself, and built to outlast it. Bring us the convening you want people to remember. Tell us what the event must accomplish — a 30-minute briefing, no long-term commitment. All inquiries handled in strict confidence. Set Up a Call Scope your event by email ## Red Sea Case Studies | Strategic Advisory by Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/case-studies > Expert-led engagements across supply chain, legal, finance, and public sector — delivered by 230+ Red Sea specialists with Big Red™ AI Recent examples of our work Case Studies Set Up a Call Follow on Substack → Engagements are described in general terms to protect client confidentiality, and reflect the scope at the point of our involvement; several remain active. 01 Public Sector / Multilateral · Strategy, Forecasting & Scenario Planning Forecasting the Future of Development Finance 10 specialists · 5 languages · 1 month to delivery A major multilateral organization needed to understand where Overseas Development Assistance was heading through 2030 — and what a shifting funding environment would mean for its revenue and operations. View Case Study → 02 Corporate / Supply Chain · Sourcing Strategy Securing a Critical Input Under Wartime Disruption 5 experts · 3 days · 4 languages A major Gulf manufacturer faced a wartime interruption to a critical input while simultaneously contesting a legal challenge to that same supply. The client needed to keep production running under time pressure. View Case Study → 03 Public Sector / Convening · Building a Regional Climate Summit, Djibouti 2015 Content-Driven Event Design Governments around the southern Red Sea and the Horn of Africa had no forum to coordinate on shared environmental pressures ahead of COP21. We conceived, funded, and delivered the first Red Sea–focused environmental ministerial summit — from head-of-state patronage and partners to agenda and outcomes. View Case Study → Dubai Construction — borchee / iStock 04 Corporate / Construction · Due Diligence & Market Intelligence Due Diligence on a Major Gulf Construction Siting 6 specialists · 2 languages · 2 weeks to delivery A subcontractor to a large tourism and construction project needed due diligence on the siting of a major facility — specifically, whether competing projects in the area might constrain utility capacity. View Case Study → 05 Legal · Investigative Due Diligence & Damages Analysis Litigation Support: Loss of a Maritime Asset in the Red Sea 5 specialists · 4 languages · 2 months engaged A law firm representing owners of a major asset destroyed by violent non-state actors in the Red Sea needed to understand the nature, duration, and value of external support flowing to the responsible actor. View Case Study → 06 Financial / Healthcare · Market Entry, Financing & Regulatory Strategy Market Entry and Financing for a Medical-Technology Venture 3 specialists · 2 languages · 2 weeks to delivery A cutting-edge medical-services company sought to enter the Gulf with an ambitious package: investment capital paired with a contract to build a dedicated treatment center — with real political sensitivity to navigate. View Case Study → ## Content-Driven Event Design | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/case-studies/building-a-regional-climate-summit-from-scratch > Red Sea Futures conceived and delivered the 2015 East Africa Environmental Risk & Opportunities (ERO) Summit in Djibouti — securing head-of-state patronage, partners, agenda, and outcomes. ← Back to Case Studies Public Sector / Convening Building a Regional Climate Summit — Djibouti, 2015 Content-Driven Event Design The Challenge Governments around the southern Red Sea and the Horn of Africa face a common set of environmental pressures — climate change, waste, degraded marine ecosystems, and environment-linked disease — with no regional forum in which to compare evidence or coordinate a position ahead of the December 2015 UN Climate Conference. What We Did Perim Associates conceived the 2015 East Africa Environmental Risk & Opportunities (“ERO”) Summit and built it from scratch. We secured the patronage of the President of the Republic of Djibouti, H.E. Ismail Omar Guelleh, raised initial funding, and organized the event with Le Centre d’Étude et de Recherche de Djibouti, the University of Djibouti, and the Djibouti Chamber of Commerce. We helped recruit the institutional participants — IGAD, UNECA, the World Bank, OPIC, IRD, the Horn of Africa Regional Environmental Centre, and the Saudi Fund for Development — and the academic partners: Yale, UCSF, UC Berkeley, the University of New Hampshire, and the University of Massachusetts. Corporate sponsors included DP World, Horizon Terminals, Coca-Cola, Turkish Airlines, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and G4S. We set the agenda and its four working themes: climate change, waste transformation, marine ecosystems, and environment-linked health. Outcome The summit ran May 2–4, 2015 in Djibouti City and drew ministers, private-sector leaders, and development experts from more than 16 countries and four continents. Three initiatives came out of it: a regional Climate and Environmental Observatory under IGAD; the East Africa & Arabia Climate Impact Assessment Task-force, led by Yale, to produce the first high-resolution climate impact model of the region; and a regional acute-care and screening corridor backed by UCSF Global Health and the African Federation for Emergency Medicine, pairing hub-and-spoke emergency clinics with environmental and pandemic monitoring. President Guelleh hosted the Yale delegation, led by Mark Pagani of the Yale Climate & Energy Institute, alongside climate scientists from the other participating universities. We design — collaboratively, with our partners — the substance of a convening: the themes, the proceedings, the partners, and the specialists who speak, and carry it through to delivery. ## Gulf Construction Due Diligence Case | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/case-studies/due-diligence-on-a-major-gulf-construction-siting > Utility-access risk assessment for a major Gulf construction siting — data analysis plus vetted government-contracting specialists. ← Back to Case Studies Corporate / Construction Due Diligence & Market Intelligence Due Diligence on a Major Gulf Construction Siting 6 specialists mobilized 2 languages 2 wk to delivery The Challenge A subcontractor to a large tourism and construction project needed due diligence on the siting of a major facility in a significant Gulf urban center. The central question was access to utilities: whether newbuild projects in the same area might compete for, or constrain, the utility capacity the facility would depend on. What We Did We assembled a comprehensive set of relevant datasets and combined public and proprietary information with intelligence on planned and awarded projects in the surrounding area — building a picture of how the local pipeline of development could affect the client's access to critical infrastructure. How We Worked We paired our data analysis with a network of experts holding different vantage points on the relevant construction market, including visibility into government contracting and the contracts already awarded in the area. Triangulating these perspectives produced a far more reliable read than any single source could offer. Outcome The client got what it needed to make the call: a grounded, evidence-based read on utility-access risk, drawn from contracting visibility and market intelligence that off-the-shelf research and staffing firms are simply not built to reach. Relevant Expertise Al Sharif Nasser Bin Nasser — Development Policy / Security / Renewables ## Development Finance Forecasting Case | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/case-studies/forecasting-the-future-of-development-finance > Red Sea Futures helped a major multilateral develop ODA forecasts to 2030 with expert analysis, scenario planning, and strategic recommendations. ← Back to Case Studies Public Sector / Multilateral Strategy, Forecasting & Scenario Planning Forecasting the Future of Development Finance 10 specialists mobilized 5 languages 1 month to first delivery The Challenge A major multilateral organization needed to understand where Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) was heading through 2030 — and what a shifting funding environment would mean for its revenue and operations. Aid budgets were under pressure across donor governments, the competitive landscape was changing, and leadership needed a clear-eyed view of the road ahead rather than a snapshot of the present. What We Did We produced a master report documenting the state of the world at the time of commissioning, and forecasting ODA trends to 2030, integrating vetted open-source data, proprietary data, and the organization's own internal data with the perspectives of multiple senior development professionals from outside the organization. We then translated that analysis into a set of recommendations for senior leadership: how to adapt to a tighter funding environment, how to build on and promote the organization's advantages over peers and align to best-in-class practice, and how to further diversify an already strong funding portfolio. We have since provided regular updates to conditions and forecasts. How We Worked Starting with members of our specialist pool, we convened senior expertise from across the development and humanitarian-aid sector — including the former head of a major peer development agency, senior former USAID officials, and several of the leading academic authorities on ODA — alongside perspectives from government, the private sector, humanitarian organizations, and supply chain. We synthesized these inputs against the data using scenario-planning methodologies, scoping out a series of possible worlds and identifying the steps that would inoculate the organization against worst-case outcomes while positioning it to capitalize on favorable developments. Outcome Leadership came away with what it had lacked: a clear-eyed read of the funding landscape and a ranked playbook for protecting revenue, sharpening competitive position, and broadening the funding base ahead of the curve. We continue to update the picture as conditions shift. A comparable synthesis — this many senior voices, integrated this fast — would be hard to assemble through conventional channels at any reasonable cost. Relevant Expertise Peter Kennedy — Scenario Planning | Futures Strategy Group Noura Abdi Farah — Global & Regional Health Policy / Horn of Africa ## Litigation Support: Loss of a Maritime Asset in the Red Sea URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/case-studies/litigation-support-loss-of-a-maritime-asset-in-the-red-sea > Investigative due diligence and damages analysis for a Red Sea maritime asset loss — actor funding, legal strategy, and regional risk. ← Back to Case Studies Legal Investigative Due Diligence & Damages Analysis Litigation Support: Loss of a Maritime Asset in the Red Sea 5 specialists mobilized 4 languages 2 mo engaged The Challenge A law firm representing the owners of an asset destroyed by non-state actors in the Red Sea needed to understand the case behind the loss: the nature, duration, and value of the external support flowing to the actor responsible, and how that picture might shape the legal options open to its clients. What We Did We supported the legal team with investigative due diligence on the external sources of support sustaining the actor, and helped counsel game out potential legal strategies. We drew on experts with first-hand knowledge of the incident and of the location in which the loss occurred, with a view to estimating both current and potential contingent damages. How We Worked We mobilized industry experts in the relevant jurisdiction, sanctions specialists, and recently retired senior government officials with direct knowledge of the case — working alongside counsel, with our agentic platform integrating their inputs into material the legal team could build on. Sensitive work of this kind is handled discreetly and with appropriate regard for the constraints of active litigation. Outcome Counsel went in with a sharper evidentiary picture and a structured view of options and exposure — built on regional access that conventional research and expert-network firms could not have reached. Relevant Expertise Captain Roy Facey — Maritime Operations Specialist | Red Sea Shipping Fatima Abo Alasrar — Yemen and Horn of Africa Political Dynamics and Security ## Market Entry and Financing for a Medical-Technology Venture URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/case-studies/market-entry-and-financing-for-a-medical-technology-venture > Medtech Gulf market entry: financing roadmap, regulatory map, and political navigation delivered by Red Sea Futures in 2 weeks with 3 specialists. ← Back to Case Studies Financial / Healthcare Market Entry, Financing & Regulatory Strategy Market Entry and Financing for a Medical-Technology Venture 3 specialists mobilized 2 languages 2 wk to delivery The Challenge A cutting-edge medical-services company sought to enter the Gulf with an ambitious package: investment capital paired with a contract to build a dedicated treatment center. The opportunity carried real political sensitivity, owing to the country of origin of the underlying technology — a factor that could complicate financing, partnership, and approvals if not navigated carefully. What We Did We produced a combined market-entry and financing study. We identified the most promising funding sources and prospective local partners, mapped the regulatory hurdles the venture would face, and — critically — confirmed a viable workaround to the political sensitivities surrounding the technology's origin, giving the client a credible route into the market rather than a list of obstacles. How We Worked We combined market and regulatory analysis with the judgment of experts familiar with Gulf healthcare procurement, regional capital sources, and the political and diplomatic terrain bearing on the technology's origin. Coordinating these perspectives through Big Red™ allowed the commercial, regulatory, and political dimensions to be assessed together. Outcome We turned a high-potential but high-risk opportunity into a credible plan of attack: a shortlist of funding sources and partners, a clear map of the regulatory requirements, and — the crux — a confirmed way around the political sensitivities. Reading the commercial, regulatory, and political terrain at once, at speed, is exactly the kind of work very few firms are positioned to do. Relevant Expertise Dr. Vasanth N. Mohan — Investment Professional, Shukr Investments Danial Kaysi — Strategic Advisor · Geopolitics · Market Strategy ## Wartime Supply Chain Case Study | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/case-studies/securing-a-critical-input-under-wartime-disruption > A major Gulf manufacturer secured critical supply under wartime disruption with expert strategy from Red Sea Futures. ← Back to Case Studies Corporate / Supply Chain Sourcing Strategy Securing a Critical Input Under Wartime Disruption 5 experts 3 days 4 languages The Challenge A major Gulf manufacturer faced a wartime interruption to a critical input — while simultaneously contesting an existing legal challenge to that same supply. The client needed to keep production running, protect its position in the dispute, and find durable alternatives, all at once and under time pressure. What We Did We built a strategy to sustain the existing supply for as long as possible while identifying viable alternatives. Working from a set of client-proposed options, we used contacts in other regions to explore and price new sources, and investigated hybrid multi-party sourcing, innovative futures contracts, and upstream investment as additional routes to security of supply. How We Worked The analysis was supported by a deep bench of senior experts: former ambassadors and commercial counselors to and from the countries in question, senior industry analysts, sanctions specialists, experts on the relevant export and loading infrastructure, and specialists in complex financial and loan instruments. Their inputs were coordinated through Big Red™ so that commercial, logistical, financial, and regulatory considerations were weighed together rather than in isolation. Outcome We set the client on a clear path through a problem that had looked intractable: a near-term plan to hold the existing line and a ranked set of vetted alternatives, each priced for cost, feasibility, and risk, ready to act on. Sourcing the same depth of expertise independently would have cost far more and taken far longer — if it could be assembled at all. "It was like having a pop-up specialist division of 30 experts tailored specifically to our project needs, suddenly available to super-charge our investigations. The team moved quickly, worked together extremely well, and delivered recommendations we could act on." SVP Operations — Industrial client, supply chain Relevant Expertise Carl Jansma — Procurement, Contracts & Supply Chain Specialist Captain Roy Facey — Maritime Operations Specialist | Red Sea Shipping ## Al Sharif Nasser Bin Nasser | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/al-sharif-nasser-bin-nasser > Middle East security expert and entrepreneur. Founder of Ambit Advisory. Senior Advisor to UNIDIR on ballistic missiles and WMD in the Middle East. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Al Sharif Nasser Bin Nasser Development Policy / Security / Renewables Nasser Bin Nasser is a Middle East security expert and entrepreneur. He founded Ambit Advisory in 2022 to address cross-sectoral risks at the intersection of security and development. He serves as Senior Advisor to UNIDIR, leading research on ballistic missiles, drones, and weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, and sits on the World Economic Forum's Global Futures Council on Complex Risk. From 2010 to 2022, Bin Nasser directed the Middle East Scientific Institute for Security (MESIS) in Jordan, focusing on chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats. He simultaneously headed the Middle East Regional Secretariat under the EU's Centres of Excellence initiative, collaborating with regional governments on CBRN risk mitigation. Earlier in his career, he worked in King Abdullah II's office as Senior Analyst in the Foreign Affairs Directorate, managing bilateral relations and analytical studies. Recognized as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2015, Bin Nasser chairs Princeton University's alumni committee in Jordan and serves on various boards. He has been a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute and contributes as a columnist to Jordan News Daily. He holds an MA in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University and a BA from Clark University. Selected engagement: Due Diligence on a Major Gulf Construction Siting ## Ambassador Dinkar Srivastava | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/ambassador-dinkar-srivastava > Former Indian Ambassador with 30+ years in diplomacy across Middle East, Red Sea, and energy policy. Expert on Iran-India relations and Arab geopolitics. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Ambassador Dinkar Srivastava Former Indian Ambassador | India-Red Sea Relations Dinkar Srivastava is a former senior Indian diplomat with extensive experience across the Middle East, having served in Cairo, Jeddah, Riyadh, and Tripoli. As India's Ambassador to Iran (2011–2015), he negotiated the MOU for Indian participation in Chabahar port. He also served as Ambassador to Libya and the Czech Republic and as India's High Commissioner to Malta, with additional postings in Washington and Brussels, as well as eight years at the United Nations. Beyond diplomacy, Srivastava has deep expertise in energy. He served on the Board of Directors of Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) from 2017 to 2020, as Senior Advisor to ONGC Videsh Limited, and on the Board of India Ports Global Ltd. (2017–2021). He is the author of Forgotten Kashmir: The Other Side of the Line of Control (Bloomsbury) and Pakistan: Ideologies, Strategies, and Interests (Bloomsbury, 2025). He speaks Hindi, Arabic, French, and Farsi. ## Ambassador Lange Schermerhorn | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/ambassador-lange-schermerhorn > Former US Ambassador to Djibouti with 30+ years in diplomacy, Red Sea security expertise, and Middle East negotiations. Red Sea Futures principal advisor. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Ambassador Lange Schermerhorn Former US Ambassador to Djibouti | Horn of Africa Lange Schermerhorn is a retired US diplomat with more than 30 years of experience in economic and political affairs, cross-cultural negotiations, and trade promotion across the Middle East and Europe, with deep expertise in the Red Sea region. She served as US Ambassador to Djibouti (1997–2000), advisor to the Commander of the Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of Africa, and Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Brussels (1993–1997), following postings in Saigon, Colombo, Tehran, and London. Schermerhorn is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and the National War College, with specialized economic training from the Foreign Service Institute. She has written on security in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea. ## Ambassador Patrick Theros | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/ambassador-patrick-theros > Former US Ambassador to Qatar with 36 years in Foreign Service. Strategic advisor on Red Sea geopolitics and Gulf affairs at Red Sea Futures. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Ambassador Patrick Theros Former US Ambassador to Qatar / Gulf- Red Sea During a 36-year Foreign Service career, Patrick Theros served across the Middle East in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, and the UAE. His postings included Deputy Chief of Mission in Jordan, Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Political Advisor to the Commander of CENTCOM (1991–1993), and Ambassador to Qatar (1995–1998). Theros received the President's Meritorious Service Award and the Secretary of Defense Medal. From 2000 to 2017, he led the US-Qatar Business Council and currently serves as a strategic advisor to the Gulf International Forum. Theros is a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. He speaks Spanish, Arabic, and Greek. ## Dr. Anna Gueorguieva | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/anna-gueorguieva > Dr. Anna Gueorguieva — Climate Finance & ESG Strategy at GreeniumDC. 20+ years across the World Bank and Bridge Investment Group (Apollo) in climate finance and ESG. PhD, UC Berkeley. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Dr. Anna Gueorguieva Climate Finance & ESG Strategy, GreeniumDC Anna Gueorguieva is an economist and sustainability leader with more than 20 years driving climate finance, sustainability data, and ESG strategy across public institutions and private markets, translating complex environmental and economic dynamics into investable strategy for governments, asset managers, and development finance institutions. She spent 18 years as a Senior Economist and Task Team Leader at the World Bank, working at the intersection of environment and economic development. There she established and led the Bank's Climate Task Force, increasing climate finance by 37% across a $5B regional portfolio and directly managing more than $1.5B in sustainability and infrastructure investments. She earned four Vice Presidential Awards for Outstanding Achievement and contributed to 45+ peer-reviewed publications. As Climate Lead at Bridge Investment Group, part of Apollo Global Management, she drove decarbonization strategy and sustainability reporting across a $49B portfolio aligned with ISSB/TCFD, SASB, and the GHG Protocol. She improved climate-ordinance compliance by 133%, lifted portfolio sustainability scores 11% annually, and authored the firm's inaugural TCFD report. Today, as Chief Sustainability Officer at GreeniumDC Consult, she advises clients and climate-technology start-ups on AI-powered carbon accounting, ESG data platforms, and regulatory compliance across CDP, the EU's CSRD/ESRS, and emerging U.S. state Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) rules. She holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Environmental and Resource Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. in Economics from the American University in Bulgaria. ## Captain Roy Facey — Master Mariner | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/captain-roy-facey > Master Mariner with 40+ years specializing in Red Sea port operations, maritime logistics, shipping risk, and supply chain management. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Captain Roy Facey Maritime Operations Specialist | Red Sea Shipping For over 40 years, Roy Facey has been a lead advisor on port master plans, feasibility studies, concession tender documents, accident investigations, and dredging assessments throughout the Red Sea and Gulf region. A Master Mariner, Facey's expertise covers large and small commercial port operations, shipping route planning, supply chain risk, port improvements, capacity assessments, and tariff optimization. He holds an MSc in Offshore Technology and Marine Structures and a BS in Engineering Maritime Studies. He speaks English, French, Spanish, and Arabic. Selected engagements: Litigation Support: Loss of a Maritime Asset in the Red Sea , Securing a Critical Input Under Wartime Disruption ## Carl Jansma | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/carl-jansma > Carl Jansma — procurement, contracts & supply chain specialist with 35+ years across MENA and ASEAN maritime and infrastructure. Chartered Fellow, CIPS. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Carl Jansma Procurement, Contracts & Supply Chain Specialist · Maritime & Infrastructure · 35+ Years MENA & ASEAN · Chartered Fellow, CIPS For over 35 years, Carl Jansma has led procurement, contracts management, and supply chain strategy across the MENA and ASEAN regions, holding C-suite roles at multinational firms in shipping port operations and ship charter management. His regional work spans international maritime port infrastructure, shipping operations, asset management, utilities, health services, and government ICT — encompassing strategic, high-risk operational, capital works, and construction projects. He specializes in building global and domestic strategic alliances, procurement category plans, and collaborative supply partnerships, and in delivering whole-of-business procurement transformations that produce measurable, value-for-money outcomes. More recently, as Principal of Supply Alliance Services — his own bespoke procurement consulting and contract management training firm in Australia — he has focused on strategic procurement and contract management for large-scale construction projects ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympics. A Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), Jansma is a graded Arbitrator and Mediator with the Professional Resolution Institute (Australia) since 2000 and a certified Strategic Alliance Manager with the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP). He has lectured on construction-related procurement at the Queensland University of Technology and as a guest lecturer at IVE University in Hong Kong. Selected engagement: Securing a Critical Input Under Wartime Disruption ## Col. Steve Rotkoff | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/col-steve-rotkoff > Retired Army Colonel specializing in red teaming and strategic analysis; former Deputy G-2, Operation Iraqi Freedom. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Col. Steve Rotkoff (Ret.) Red Teaming and Strategic Analysis Specialist Steve Rotkoff is a former Army Colonel and pioneer in critical thinking and decision-making transformation. As lead intelligence planner for GEN Wesley Clark, he developed ground attack options for Kosovo. He served as Deputy G-2 for all Army and Marine forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003) and commanded a 2,000-soldier brigade. After retiring, Rotkoff created and led the Army's critical and creative thinking program, facilitating six red teams for GEN Dunford as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs—including counter-ISIS strategy and Chinese military capabilities assessments. He authored the Applied Critical Thinking Handbook, the industry standard for red teaming. Rotkoff co-authored Innovative Decision Making in Healthcare (2023) and teaches red teaming at UC Berkeley and Tufts Fletcher School. He holds degrees from West Point, the Naval Postgraduate School, and the School of Advanced Military Studies. ## Danial Kaysi — Strategic Advisor | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/danial-kaysi > Strategic Advisor · Geopolitics · Market Strategy · MENA & Global Affairs Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Danial Kaysi Strategic Advisor · Geopolitics · Market Strategy · MENA & Global Affairs Danial Kaysi is a strategic advisor based in Riyadh with over 15 years of experience across the Middle East, East Africa, the United States, and Europe. Formerly at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC, he has also advised the G20 Secretariat, USAID, FCDO, Global Affairs Canada, the World Bank, and others. He holds an MA in International Affairs from Yale University and a BSc in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University. He currently advises on market strategy, geopolitical risk, foreign policy, and strategic communications. Selected engagement: Market Entry and Financing for a Medical-Technology Venture ## Dr. Blair Fowlkes Childs | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/dr-blair-fowlkes-childs > Dr. Blair Fowlkes Childs specializes in Roman and Greek art, archaeology, and religion across the ancient MENA. Curator, scholar, Yale fellow. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Dr. Blair Fowlkes Childs MENA Archaeology & Antiquities Blair Fowlkes Childs is a specialist in Roman and Greek art, archaeology, and religion across the ancient Middle East, including Arabia, with extensive curatorial, publication, and university teaching experience. Blair Fowlkes Childs is a specialist in Roman and Greek art, archaeology, and religion across the ancient Middle East, including Arabia, with extensive curatorial, publication, and university teaching experience. At the Katonah Museum of Art, she curated Stories of Syria's Textiles: Art and Heritage across Two Millennia (2023–24), supported by the Barakat Trust, Coby Foundation, and Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she co-curated the award-winning 2019 international exhibition The World between Empires: Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East. Her current book project examines Syrian and Phoenician sanctuaries in imperial Rome. She holds a fellowship at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, where she guest-curated "Photographs from Dura-Europos: 1922–2022 and Onward" for the Yale-French Excavations' centennial. She has taught at Royal Holloway University of London, Columbia University, Yale University, and New York University. Fowlkes Childs holds a BA from Princeton University and an MA and PhD from NYU's Institute of Fine Arts in classical art and archaeology, with a minor in Islamic art and architecture. She speaks French and Italian. ## Dr. Ethan Chorin — Chairman & CEO | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/dr-ethan-chorin > Former US diplomat and Middle East analyst with 25+ years on Red Sea issues. Executive Chairman & CEO of Red Sea Futures. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Dr. Ethan Chorin Executive Chairman & CEO Ethan Chorin is a former US diplomat, Middle East analyst, and author with more than 25 years working on Red Sea issues. He coordinated the Red Sea's first multi-state ministerial climate summit in 2015 and managed content for Dubai's first Counter-Piracy Conference in 2011. Chorin has taught at Yale University and held senior fellowships at SOAS, CSIS, the Dubai School of Government, Yale School of Management, and École Polytechnique. A two-time Fulbright Fellow, he is the author of four books on the region, including Benghazi: A New History (Hachette), Exit the Colonel , and a forthcoming modern history of the Red Sea (Harvard University Press). He has been a regular contributor to The New York Times, the Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and Forbes. He writes The Middle East—Told Slant on Substack: ‍ https://ethanchorin.substack.com ‍ Chorin holds a PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from UC Berkeley, an MIPS from Stanford University, and a BA in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from Yale University. He speaks French, Arabic, and Farsi. ## Dr. Guilain Denoeux — MENA Governance | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/dr-guilain-denoeux > Dr. Guilain Denoeux is a Professor of Government at Colby College and international development expert with 30+ years in Middle East policy. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Dr. Guilain Denoeux Professor of Government, Colby College Dr. Guilain Denoeux is Professor of Government at Colby College and an international development practitioner with over 30 years of public-policy experience. As consultant to the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the former USAID, and the Department of State, he led teams tasked with policy-oriented field research across the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast and Southwest Asia, the Caucasus, the Balkans, and Southeastern Europe. He has briefed senior USG staff in Washington, DC as well as abroad, including in Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Madagascar, the Maldives, Mauritania, Mali, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Romania, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Tunisia. He has authored over 180 field research reports and desk studies for the U.S. foreign policy community. His professional interests include political risk analysis, applied political economy, conflict and extremism assessments, development assistance, and program or project evaluations. His scholarly work has appeared in several books as well as in Middle East Policy, Comparative Politics, the Journal of North African Studies, Maghreb-Machrek, Politique Internationale, and Arabies. ## Dr. Romaric Jannel — AI Ethics Advisor | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/dr-romaric-jannel > Philosopher specializing in ethics and AI; Program Director, Collège International de Philosophie, Paris; Consulting Advisor at Red Sea Futures. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Dr. Romaric Jannel Red Sea Futures Ethicist / Consulting Advisor Dr. Romaric Jannel is a philosopher who specializes in ethics, AI, and comparative philosophy. His research interests include trust, responsibility, agency, and the conceptual frameworks that shape social and technological systems. He is a Program Director at the Collège International de Philosophie in Paris and a Visiting Researcher at the Research Center for Intercultural Phenomenology at Ritsumeikan University in Japan. He teaches philosophy and ethics at the university level and has contributed to several books and academic journals. His recent publications address trustworthiness and trustability in AI, as well as environmental and disaster philosophy. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the École Pratique des Hautes Études–PSL University and has conducted advanced research, particularly in Japan at Kyoto University and Ritsumeikan University. He speaks English, Japanese, and French. ## Dr. Vasanth N. Mohan | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/dr-vasanth-n-mohan > Dr. Vasanth N. Mohan, Investment Professional at Shukr Investments — semiconductor & AI equities; formerly GMO and Morgan Stanley. PhD, Materials Engineering. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Dr. Vasanth N. Mohan Investment Professional, Shukr Investments · Semiconductor & AI Equities · Former GMO / Morgan Stanley · PhD, Materials Engineering Dr. Vasanth N. Mohan is an Investment Professional at Shukr Investments, a leading public equities manager specializing in global equities. Prior to joining Shukr in 2021, he spent over 10 years on the sell-side and buy-side in the Bay Area, New York, and Abu Dhabi at leading firms such as GMO, Piper Jaffray, and Morgan Stanley. Before embarking on his career in tech, Vasanth spent 6 years as a laboratory graduate fellow at Argonne National Laboratory, where he conducted his doctoral research on high-temperature superconductors, earning his PhD in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (from the Illinois Institute of Technology). Vasanth’s industry experience includes senior technologist roles at Honeywell and Applied Materials, with a focus on materials science and semiconductor processing. Vasanth transitioned to finance in 2008 after obtaining his MBA from the Haas School of Business, graduating as a Haas Community Fellow. He now leverages his technology and finance expertise to evaluate stocks in multiple sectors, particularly those that are disrupted by advances in semiconductors and AI.Vasanth holds two patents in semiconductor processing and has authored more than a dozen papers on high-temperature superconductors in peer-reviewed journals. For the past 20 years, Vasanth has been mentoring early-stage start-ups and students seeking careers in technology, finance, and sustainability. Selected engagement: Market Entry and Financing for a Medical-Technology Venture ## Fatima Abo Alasrar — MENA Director | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/fatima-abo-alasrar > Yemen and Horn of Africa policy analyst, MENA Director at Cure Violence, Harvard Kennedy School Mason Fellow. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Fatima Abo Alasrar Yemen and Horn of Africa Political Dynamics and Security Fatima Abo Alasrar is a Yemen-focused policy and security analyst and MENA Director at Cure Violence. She has been a Mason Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and an international policy fellow at the Open Society Foundation. From 2006 to 2012, she served as an advisor at the Embassy of Yemen in Washington, DC, and previously worked as program officer for the Department for International Development in Yemen. She writes The Ideology Machine on Substack: ‍ https://ideologymachine.substack.com ‍ Abo Alasrar holds an MA in Public Administration from Harvard University, an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University, and a BS in Architectural Engineering from Sanaa University in Yemen. Selected engagement: Litigation Support: Loss of a Maritime Asset in the Red Sea ## Justin Dehorty — Advisory Board Member | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/justin-dehorty > Justin Dehorty, Advisory Board Member at Red Sea Futures — Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Bentley Systems and founder of AI-driven analysis firm AI Edge. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Justin Dehorty Advisory Board Member * Sr. ML Engineer Justin Dehorty is a Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Bentley Systems and founder of AI Edge (https://ai-edge.io), an AI-driven financial market analysis company focused on the intersection of artificial intelligence, global events, and decision-support systems. His work spans production-grade AI systems, geospatial software, infrastructure engineering, retrieval workflows, and market-intelligence applications. At Bentley, he develops AI systems for infrastructure engineering, including applications in anomaly detection, carbon calculation, and code generation for 3D geospatial frameworks. His algorithmic trading research has been recognized by TradingView, including its Most Valuable Script of the Year award and induction into the platform’s Hall of Fame. Previously, he developed natural language processing workflows and machine learning classification models at the National Institutes of Health. Justin holds an MS in Computational Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology. ## Michael Brill — Iraq & MENA Analyst | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/michael-brill > Princeton Ph.D. candidate in Near Eastern Studies — Iraq, Baʿth party history, and regional geopolitics. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Michael Brill Middle East Political Analyst Michael Brill is a Ph.D. candidate in Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, where his dissertation examines the political life and legacy of Iraqi Baʿth Party founder Michel ʿAflaq. He is currently a Visiting Scholar in Middle East Studies at Smith College and Visiting Lecturer in Political Science at Westfield State University. In 2024-2025, Michael served as a Global Fellow with the Woodrow Wilson Center’s History and Public Policy Program and a Non-Resident Fellow at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Institute for Future Conflict. He holds an M.A. in Arab Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a B.A. in History and Political Science from Westfield State, and is an alumnus of the Critical Language Scholarship and Center for Arabic Study Abroad programs. His work has appeared in International Journal of Middle East Studies, Middle East Journal, Foreign Affairs, and War on the Rocks. ## Noura Abdi Farah | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/noura-abdi-farah > Noura Abdi Farah is an international development expert specializing in health policy, governance, and resilience in Horn of Africa contexts. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Noura Abdi Farah Global & Regional Health Policy / Horn of Africa Noura Abdi Farah is an international development professional who has led public policy initiatives in environment, health, and sustainable development. She served as Director of Planning and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Health in Djibouti, where she oversaw national health strategies, managed partnerships with the World Bank and UN agencies, and advanced programs promoting equity, women's empowerment, resilience, and inclusive growth. She has collaborated with institutions such as the World Bank, UN agencies, and Harvard's Center for International Development, contributing to research and thought leadership on governance and resilience. Abdi Farah recently completed an MIT fellowship at the Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies, where she focused on developing effective policies for fragile contexts and supporting countries in strengthening their resilience. She is passionate about building bridges between local and global initiatives, supporting environmental leadership, and promoting innovative approaches to resilience. Fluent in Somali, Arabic, French, and Portuguese, she brings a unique perspective shaped by experience across government, academia, and international organizations. She holds an MA in Environment and Development from the University of Lorraine, France. Selected engagement: Forecasting the Future of Development Finance ## Peter Kennedy | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/peter-kennedy > Founding principal of Futures Strategy Group — 25 years of scenario planning across automotive, healthcare, finance, and government. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Peter Kennedy Scenario Planning | Futures Strategy Group Peter Kennedy is a founding principal of Futures Strategy Group with 25 years leading scenario planning engagements across automotive, transportation, healthcare, financial services, telecommunications, and consumer products for organizations including the US Coast Guard, NASA, FEMA, and the State Department. Prior to FSG, he was a senior manager in Deloitte Consulting's strategy practice and Director of Emerging Markets at Futures Group. He has contributed to business strategy journals and is a guest lecturer at Fordham University and Copenhagen Business School. Kennedy holds an MA in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and a BA in History from Le Moyne College. He speaks English and Spanish. Selected engagement: Forecasting the Future of Development Finance ## Prof. Robert Springborg | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/prof-robert-springborg > Political economy of Egypt and MENA — Research Fellow, Italian Institute of International Affairs; Adjunct Professor, Simon Fraser University. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Prof. Robert Springborg Political Economy of Egypt / MENA Robert Springborg is a Research Fellow at the Italian Institute of International Affairs and Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University. He has held senior academic positions including the MBI Al Jaber Chair in Middle East Studies at SOAS and Director of the American Research Center in Egypt, as well as professorships at the Naval Postgraduate School and Macquarie University in Sydney. Springborg has consulted on Middle East governance for USAID, the US State Department, UNDP, and various UK government departments. He serves on the Rowaq Arabi Editorial Board and has authored several books, including Egypt (2018) and Political Economies of the Middle East and North Africa (2020). He is Editor-in-Chief of the Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Egypt (2021) and co-editor of The Political Economy of Education in the Arab World (2021), The Egyptian Revolution of 1919 (2023), and Security Assistance in the Middle East (2023). ## Professor Birol Başkan | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/professor-birol-baskan > Prof. Birol Başkan, political scientist specializing in state formation, regime building, and the international politics of the Middle East. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Professor Birol Başkan MENA Geopolitics/ Turkish Foreign Policy Prof. Birol Başkan is a political scientist specializing in state formation, regime building, and the international politics of the Middle East. He is the author of The Politics of Islam (Edinburgh University Press, 2021), Turkey and Qatar in the Tangled Geopolitics of the Middle East (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), and From Religious Empires to Secular States (Routledge, 2014). He is also the co-author of Turkey: The Second Republic (Routledge, 2024) and The Nation or the Ummah (State University of New York Press, 2021). Başkan previously taught at Qatar University (2007–2010), Georgetown University in Qatar (2010–2018), and the University of Tyumen (2023–2025). He holds a PhD in Political Science from Northwestern University. Başkan writes on Substack at birolbaskan.substack.com , where he publishes commentary, research notes, and longer essays on Middle Eastern and Turkish politics. ## Samuel Helfont | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/samuel-helfont > Associate Professor of Strategy and Policy, Naval War College; Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Professor Samuel Helfont Associate Professor of Strategy and Policy Samuel Helfont is an Associate Professor of Strategy and Policy in the Naval War College program at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California and a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. His research focuses on international history and politics in the Middle East, especially Iraq and the Iraq Wars. He is also interested in Israeli, maritime, and post-Cold War global history. He is the author of The Iraq Wars: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2025), Iraq against the World: Saddam, America, and the Post-Cold War Order (Oxford University Press, 2023), and Compulsion in Religion: Saddam Hussein, Islam, and the Roots of Insurgencies in Iraq (Oxford University Press, 2018). He co-edited (with Lisa Blaydes) Ba‘thist Iraq through Archives: Reflections, Explorations, and Opportunities (Stanford University Press, forthcoming 2026). Both Compulsion in Religion and Iraq against the World were translated into Arabic and released by leading Iraqi publishing houses. Ba‘thist Iraq through Archives is also forthcoming in Arabic, and The Iraq Wars is forthcoming in Polish. His work has also been published or is forthcoming in Diplomatic History, The International History Review, Security Studies, The Middle East Journal, Texas National Security Review, Orbis, Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post, The New Republic, The American Interest, and War on the Rocks, among other outlets. He has been a guest on BBC, CBS, France 24, Deutsche Welle, CBC, Rudaw, and other international news channels. Helfont holds a PhD in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University. Prior to moving to Monterey, he completed a three-year post-doctoral lectureship at the University of Pennsylvania. He has held affiliations with the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies at Stanford University and the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia. He also served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Haverford College. In 2023, he received the Naval War College’s research award, presented annually to the faculty member whose scholarship demonstrated the highest level of excellence over the past three years. In addition to this academic background, Helfont served as an intelligence officer in the US Navy and Navy Reserve. An Iraq War veteran, he completed deployments both afloat and ashore in the Middle East. He also served on Middle Eastern and counterterrorism missions at the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the Office of Naval Intelligence, among other commands. He is a Golden Shellback. ## Sara Olsen — Founder, SVT Group | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/sara-olsen > Impact measurement and sustainable investment advisor; founder of SVT Group, measuring social and environmental change for investors. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Sara Olsen Impact Accounting, Management & Valuation / Sustainable Investment & ESG Sara Olsen founded SVT Group in 2001 on a conviction that investors serious about changing the world deserve to know not just how much they've spent, but how much has actually changed. She built SVT into the first impact management advisory firm of its kind—a certified B Corporation named six times "Best for the World" and twice honored by Bloomberg Businessweek as one of America's Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs. For over two decades, Olsen has helped governments, investors, and enterprises large and small translate complex social and environmental dynamics into actionable strategy. SVT has designed impact measurement systems for over $10 billion in assets across 170+ projects spanning Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and beyond. With the Environmental Investment Advisor to CalPERS, she co-created the performance reporting system for the first environmental private equity initiative of a U.S. public pension fund—ultimately representing $600 million in fund assets. Other clients include Techstars, LKK Group's venture fund, and the world's third most-visited website. ## Dr. Sarah Deardorff Miller | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/sarah-deardorff-miller > Expert Advisor on Refugee, Migration & Humanitarian Issues Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Dr. Sarah Deardorff Miller Expert Advisor on Refugee, Migration & Humanitarian Issues Dr. Sarah Deardorff Miller is an expert on refugee, migration and humanitarian issues. She holds a doctorate in international relations from Oxford University, and teaches courses on displacement and humanitarian response at Georgetown University. Dr. Miller is also a senior fellow at Refugees International, a US-based organization, where she conducts research and advocacy on labor market access for refugees, internal displacement, the global refugee regime and protracted displacement. She has worked with various non-profits and think tanks around the world, focusing much of her research and work on the Horn of Africa. She has published books, articles, reports and opinion pieces on the politics of forced migration, humanitarian response, and the global refugee regime. In addition to her doctorate, she holds graduate degrees from Oxford University and the University of Chicago, and an undergraduate degree from Valparaiso University. ## Sherif Dhaimish | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/sherif-dhaimish > Sherif Dhaimish — publisher and writer with 12+ years in publishing. Sales Director at Kulturalis, leading development across Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and founder of Pendle Press. Author and journalist. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Sherif Dhaimish Publisher & Writer · Sales Director, Kulturalis Sherif Dhaimish is a publisher and writer with over twelve years of experience spanning the editorial and commercial sides of publishing. He is Sales Director at Kulturalis, the London-based publisher of fine illustrated books for museums and cultural institutions, where he leads development across Asia, the Middle East and Africa. From the Gulf to Southeast Asia, he works with these institutions to build publishing programmes and carry major collections to international audiences through ACC Art Books' global distribution. He is also founder and director of Pendle Press, the independent Lancashire imprint he co-founded in 2021 to champion heritage and the voices the mainstream tends to overlook. His earlier career includes long tenures at Darf Publishers and Medina / Arabian Publishing, giving him a deep working knowledge of publishing across the Arab world, and he has collaborated with some of the UK's most innovative independent publishers along the way. He regularly chairs panels and presents at industry events. Sherif is a published author and journalist in his own right. He wrote A Libyan Artist in Exile (Pendle Press, 2021), a portrait of the late satirist and his father Hasan 'Alsatoor' Dhaimish, and co-authored How You Make Me Feel: The Life and Legacy of Marcus Intalex (Velocity Press, 2024). His work has also appeared in numerous publications. He holds a BA in Communications from the University of Leeds and an MA in Critical Methodologies from King's College London. ## Whitney Hischier | Red Sea Futures URL: https://www.redseafutures.com/principals/whitney-hischier > Strategic planning and red-teaming specialist teaching at UC Berkeley and Tufts Fletcher School; scenario planning and defense strategy. Back to Our Team Social media LinkedIn icon Whitney Hischier MBA Strategic Planning and Red Teaming Specialist Whitney Hischier brings extensive business consulting experience to scenario planning and red teaming. She teaches red teaming alongside Steve Rotkoff to MBA students at UC Berkeley and master's students at Tufts Fletcher School. Previously, she served as Assistant Dean for Executive Education at UC Berkeley, growing the business 10x over nearly a decade. Her consulting background includes senior roles at Deloitte (healthcare), KPMG (UK technology implementation), and ABN Amro Bank across Europe. Her red teaming and scenario planning work spans healthcare, defense, government, and energy—including pandemic preparedness for Middle Eastern governments, stakeholder management for a European National Oil Company, and economic diversification for Panamanian government officials. Hischier holds a B.A. in International Relations (Security and Arms Control) from Stanford, an MBA with Healthcare Management certificate from UC Berkeley, and is completing an MSc in One Health from the University of Edinburgh.