Lord Soames of Fletching, Honorary President of CMEC, is delighted to announce the membership of CMEC's Advisory Board.
Lord Soames said,
"CMEC's Advisory Board brings together a selection of exceptionally talented individuals, from a wide variety of professional backgrounds. CMEC will benefit hugely from their experience, wisdom, advice, and challenge."
Advisory board members are:
Marcus Booth - Conservative Party Treasurer
Marcus Booth is a Partner of a leading U.S. law firm in the EMEA Corporate M&A team. He is a Conservative Party Treasurer, and co-chair of the Business and Entrepreneurs Forum of the Conservative Party.
The Rt. Hon. Alistair Burt - Former Minister of State for The Middle East and North Africa
Alistair Burt was Minister of State for the Middle East at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office from May 2010 until October 2013. He is Pro-Chancellor of Lancaster University.
Rob Butler OBE - Former MP for Aylesbury
Rob Butler was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Aylesbury until 2024. He previously worked as a television presenter and journalist for the BBC and Channel 5, before founding a communications firm, and working in public relations.
Leon Cook - Founder, Atticus Partners
Leon Cook is the founder of the award-winning government affairs and communications agency, Atticus Partners. He is an Executive Committee member of the PRCA Public Affairs Board, and a board member of Conservatives Abroad, the Conservative Party's global network of members and supporters living overseas. A politics and history graduate, he has worked extensively across the Middle East and North Africa. He stood for the Conservative Party at the 2024 General Election.
Con Coughlin - Author, and Defence Editor of The Daily Telegraph
Con Coughlin is an experienced journalist who has covered Middle East affairs since the mid- 1980s. He is the defence editor of The Daily Telegraph, and author of several books, the most recent being "Assad - The Triumph of Tyranny".
Corina Goetz - Founder of Star-CaT
Corina Goetz is CEO of Star-CaT, a Middle Eastern Advisory, Training and Consultation company. For more than 20 years she has worked with leaders from the Gulf, Royal families and business people. Her achievements include helping a company grow from zero clients to a $6 million annual turnover. As a German, and non-Arabic speaker, she knows how hard it can be to understand a culture so different to that of the West. Since founding Star-CaT, she has worked world-wide, educating and assisting businesses in doing better business in the dynamic Gulf region.
Sir John Jenkins KCMG LVO - Former British Diplomat
Sir John is a Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange, for whom he writes on Islamism and extremism. He helps lead the Westphalia Programme at Cambridge University’s Centre for Geopolitics, and is an Associate Fellow of Chatham House. Between 1980 and 2015 he served as a British diplomat in Abu Dhabi, Malaysia and Kuwait. He was appointed Ambassador to Burma, HM Consul-General in Jerusalem, Ambassador to Syria, FCO Director for the MENA, Ambassador to Iraq, Special Representative to the National Transitional Council and subsequently Ambassador to Libya and then to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 2014 he was asked by then Prime Minister, David Cameron, to lead a Policy Review into the Muslim Brotherhood and Political Islamism. From 2015-2017 he was based in Bahrain as Executive Director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies – Middle East. In 2017 he was also a Senior Fellow at the Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, teaching Middle East Politics. Sir John holds a BA and a PhD from Jesus College, Cambridge. He studied Arabic, Malay and Burmese at SOAS and other institutions in London.
Lina Khatib - Associate Fellow for the MENA Programme, Chatham House
Lina Khatib is Associate Fellow MENA Programme at Chatham House, and an analyst, writer, and commentator. She is an internationally recognised expert on policy, politics, governance, security, culture, communications, and public diplomacy in relation to the Middle East with a track record of senior leadership at world-leading policy institutions.
Katherine Mulhern - Founder and CEO ' Restitution'
Katherine Mulhern is the Founder and CEO of Restitution. Prior to this she served as the Executive Director at the International Senior Lawyers Project (ISLP) . With a background in law and international legal studies, Katherine has held various partner positions at prestigious law firms such as Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, Proskauer Rose LLP, and Hogan Lovells.
Jonathan Rose - Barrister
Jonathan Rose is a barrister at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square. His areas of expertise are business crime, investigations and resolutions, and professional discipline and regulatory. He has significant trial experience of civil fraud, commercial dispute resolution and criminal cases.