James M. Blake has worked for over a decade at the intersection of international security, humanitarian crises, and risk management issues. His work and writing reflects his experiences and interests, which includes advising C-Suite executives at some of the largest organizations and companies in the world.

Among his career highlights are

1) Working with Aon to build Terrorism Tracker, WorldAware and various security-related products for large multinational companies.

2) Working for Control Risks, embedded at the IMF, advising very senior staff on security, crisis management and resilience-building strategies, which included improving compound-security in Afghanistan, helping the organization return to Libya, and various successful evacuations of very senior-staff following emergencies.

3) Work with senior corporate advisory organizations, which included some of the world’s largest multinational companies, including market-entry strategies, and stakeholder engagements.

James has published widely, including regularly for Jane’s Intelligence Review and Foreign Policy, along with several leading think tanks and has contributed his writing and research to the Western Hemisphere Drug Commission which published a report for senior policymakers in the US in December 2020.

He is currently working and writing on a range of emerging risk- related projects and resilience strategies.

Speaking

James has provided expert comment on security issues to a range of media outlets, including the BBC, Channel 4 News (UK) and CBC (Canada). He has spoken at large conferences on international security and preparation including for the World Affairs Forum, Global Interagency Security Forum, the New York and DC Analysts’ Roundtables.

Background
James holds Master of Arts degrees in International Relations from St Andrews University in Scotland, and in Near and Middle Eastern Politics (distinction) from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.