Alia H. Ayub
Ms Ayub is Senior Political Risk Analyst and has been engaged by Government agencies as well as the Private Sector to provide in-depth briefings on public and private sector trends in South Asia and parts of the Middle East and North Africa region.
Born in Washington DC, her family hails from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Her grandfather was the Malik, meaning tribal chief, of the village and through his initiates brought education for his family. One generation on, and his actions inspired others in surrounding villages to do the same.
Ms Ayub has traveled and/or conducted research in over 25 countries with significant time spent in Pakistan, Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Italy, Austria, France, Thailand, Jordan, Syria and Bolivia. She has unique access to many difficult to access parts of the world and has developed a significant network with local partners that she leverages to ensure the sustainability of projects in development and security.
Her cultural fluency and strong cross-cutting analysis coupled with her deep networks in South Asia, Central Asia, the MENA Region and beyond are a major reason why clients seek her expertise. Ms Ayub has provided in-depth analysis to numerous US and UK government institutions, and has developed methodologies for tracking cultural shifts in conflict zones. Ms Ayub has also dedicated her research to developing public-private partnerships to help create or bolster security zones.
Ms Ayub was Called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn and holds an MA (Hons) in International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of St Andrews. She filmed and directed a documentary filmed in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) titledThe Other Side of the Tora Bora which was nominated for a Scottish BAFTA in 2008 and selected to the DOK Market Digital at The 50th International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film.