Azure Strategy

Dr Neil Quilliam

Partner

Neil leads the strategic advisory practice at Azure Strategy and is responsible for driving forward the company’s mission and objectives. He works closely with the senior team to drive a results-oriented service for clients.

Neil is a foreign affairs specialist with extensive experience consulting to government officials and corporate clients on geopolitics and energy in the Middle East. His previous positions include CEO of Castlereagh Associates and Senior Energy Adviser to the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He is also an Associate Fellow at Chatham House. Neil has lived in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the UAE. He is a fluent Arabic speaker and regular marathon runner and is often in trainers during meetings.

nquilliam@azure-strategy.com

Alice Gower

Partner

Alice oversees the geopolitics and security portfolio at Azure Strategy. She has advised government departments and corporate clients on major security themes and developments in the Middle East, with particular experience analysing conflicts in Libya, Yemen, and Iraq.

Alice previously worked at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the UK on the response to the Arab Spring and broader regional security themes. She has also worked in global government affairs for a major UK international oil corporation.

agower@azure-strategy.com

David Des Roches

Associate

David is Associate Professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University in Washington DC, where he specialises in Arabian Peninsula countries, weapons transfers, missile defence, counterinsurgency and terrorism.

David joined NESA in 2011 after serving the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy. He holds advanced degrees from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies and Kings College London. He had a thirty year career in the US Army, serving in conventional and special operations parachute units as well as on the Joint Staff and US Special Operations Command staff, and deployed to Egypt, Bosnia and Afghanistan, where he was awarded the Bronze Star. He retired as a Colonel and is a Ranger and Master Parachutist.

Jemima Oakey

Associate

Jemima is a specialist in water and food security in the Middle East. Formerly the Middle East Analyst at Global Water Intelligence, she has worked on sustainable water resource management and food supply chain security with regional NGOs, security think tanks and senior stakeholders in the Middle East’s water and agricultural sectors. She has experience consulting on the geopolitical and hydro-diplomatic implications of water scarcity and climate change.

Currently based in Amman, Jemima is proficient in Arabic and teaches herself Hebrew in her spare time.

Kholoud Mansour

Associate

Kholoud has extensive experience in humanitarian response and international development in conflict and fragile environments, and has worked with leading international organisations, UN agencies and think tanks.

Kholoud’s areas of focus include humanitarian funding, forced displacement and reintegration, women’s and gender inclusion, civil society and peace building. She has in-depth knowledge of the MENA region, in particular Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.

Maggie Kamel

Associate

Maggie has 15 years of experience in policy analysis, qualitative and quantitative research, and monitoring and evaluation in the private sector, government and development sectors. She has worked in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and the UAE on major projects funded by the EU, the World Bank and the US Agency for International Development, among others.

Maggie’s knowledge and experience spans private sector development, public administration and regulatory reform, impact evaluation, climate change, and youth and women employment. She has trained more than 600 people on carrying out impact assessments and streamlining administrative processes, and has engaged with stakeholders in government, business and civil society. She holds a PhD in Political Economy from the University of Durham.

Amy Stapleton

Chief Editor

Amy has extensive experience working with policy thinkers, analysts and journalists to produce top-quality research and web articles on MENA politics, business, economy and more. She earned her stripes working at Castlereagh Associates, as head of the company’s editorial operations.

Amy has spent much of her working life overseas, first in Japan, then Turkey and finally Germany. She is London based for now but has a bag packed on the off chance that Azure needs an editor abroad.

astapleton@azure-strategy.com