Leadership of standing
The Society is led by an experienced executive team and guided by an Advisory Board of distinguished figures from public and professional life — upholding the independence and credibility on which our work depends.
The team leading the Society
Our senior leadership comprises two Co-Chairs, two Co-Vice-Chairs, a Secretary, and an Executive Director, supported by the Advisory Board listed below.
Co-Chair
H.E. Safeen Muhsin Dizayee
Minister · Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, Kurdistan Regional Government
Safeen Dizayee serves as the most senior diplomat of the Kurdistan Regional Government, having been appointed Minister and Head of the Department of Foreign Relations in 2019. He previously served as the KRG’s Spokesperson and Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, and as Minister of Education from 2009 to 2012. He lived in the United Kingdom from 1977 to 1992 and speaks Kurdish, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and English.
Co-Chair
Gareth Stansfield PhD OBE
Pro-Vice-Chancellor & Executive Dean, University of Exeter
Gareth Stansfield is Professor of Middle East Politics and an internationally recognised scholar of the region, with extensive fieldwork across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. He has served as a Senior Political Adviser to the UN Special Representative to Iraq and as a Civilian Deployable Expert with the FCDO, and is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council. He was awarded an OBE in 2024 for services to UK interests in Iraq.
Co-Vice-Chair
Charles Blackmore
CEO, Audere International
Charles Blackmore founded Audere International in 2015, a specialist commercial intelligence and investigations firm. A British Army officer for fifteen years before a career in investment banking, he has led security operations across Afghanistan, Iraq, and other frontier markets. He is the author of two books on his expeditions, Conquering the Desert of Death and In the Footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia.
Co-Vice-Chair
Zring Faruk
CEO, Faruk Investment Group
Zring Faruk is CEO of Faruk Investment Group, which spans some twenty operating companies, and serves on the boards of Asiacell and Asia Insurance. He founded AsiaPay, Iraq’s first mobile wallet service, and holds an MBA from the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani. He began his career as an engineer at Asiacell, rising to Deputy CEO and Chief Commercial Officer.
Secretary
Thomas Clowes-Pritchard
Managing Director, Network International
Thomas Clowes-Pritchard is Managing Director of Network International, a UK-based defence and international-affairs consultancy working across Europe, the United States, and the Middle East, and a regular foreign-affairs commentator on UK television. He previously worked in the Defence and Security practice at PA Consulting and served as Chief of Staff to a Member of Parliament, and holds a degree in International Relations from the University of London.
Executive Director
Laura Roberts
Laura Roberts is an award-winning communications and public-affairs expert with global experience across the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and the MENA region, leading campaigns, diplomatic initiatives, and trade delegations. She has served as Executive Director of the UK Abraham Accords Group and The Emirates Society, and as Director of Operations at Pall Mall Communications. She has a degree in International Relations from the School of International Service at American University in Washington D.C. and studied international trade at Harvard University. She is a member of Chatham House and speaks English, French, and Spanish.
Guided by distinguished counsel
The Society is supported by an Advisory Board of distinguished figures from across diplomacy, government, business, culture, and public life.
