Trusted advisers

Will Jessett joined SC Strategy in 2019 and became Managing Director in 2024. He leads SC Strategy’s growing team of partners, senior advisers and consultants, setting the company’s strategic direction and ensuring outstanding service for clients. Will left his role as Strategy Director of the UK Ministry of Defence in 2019. He spent 33 years working on defence and wider national security policy and planning in the UK and overseas, and is now applying his knowledge and expertise to advise government and corporate clients on strategic planning issues.

Clark Anderson has been a senior adviser since 2023. Formerly the Global Head of Country and Climate Risk at Morgan Stanley, and Global Manager, Sovereign Risk Management & Advisory at Goldman Sachs, he brings over 40 years of experience in managing geopolitical and credit risk for corporate, financial, and government clients worldwide. Clark is also China specialist and previously advised both the Chinese Government and Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Clark concentrates on three key China themes: the political sea change under Xi Jinping, the US-China competition, and China’s role in the world’s carbon transition.

Lord Carlile of Berriew co-founded SC Strategy and became non-executive co-chair in 2024. He provides legal counsel at the company, and draws on his extensive experience as a King’s Counsel to advise SC Strategy clients on the intersection between the law and geopolitics. A former judge, MP, and independent reviewer of terrorism, Alex now sits in the House of Lords as a cross-bench peer and remains actively involved in public debate on the counter-terrorism and extremism, national security, penal reform, and wider political issues.

Rory Cartmell joined SC Strategy in 2024, bringing five years of experience from KPMG where he worked in the company’s Strategy Consulting division and specialised in defence and national security. At SC Strategy, Rory works closely with our corporate and financial services clients, offering insights into emerging trends that affect defence and national security investments. He also supports clients in navigating government engagement and policy considerations. Rory qualified as a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) in 2021 and is currently pursuing an MA in National Security Studies at King’s College London.

Michael Clarke became an adviser to SC Strategy in 2019 and is an expert on international security. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Defence Studies and has advised a number of governmental and legislative reviews. Michael is a long-standing Specialist Advisor to the Parliamentary Defence Committee and to its Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy. Since 2022, he has acted as Military Analyst for Sky News and has authored a number of books – his latest is Great British Commanders (2024). He is the former Director-General of the Royal United Services Institute and holds a number of senior academic roles including at King’s College London where he was Vice Principal and Professor of Defence Studies.

James Coe joined SC Strategy in February 2025. He is an experienced national security and geopolitical strategist with proficiency in intelligence assessment, strategic disruption, and diplomatic engagement. Prior to joining, he led hybrid threats strategy for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, designing cross-government responses to state political interference. He previously held a role in the Joint Intelligence Organisation, producing strategic intelligence assessments on Russia for the Joint Intelligence Committee. He holds an MA in Political Research from the University of Warwick and a BA Hons in Politics from the University of York.

Sophie Davies joined SC Strategy in 2022 as a research analyst, with prior experience working in cybersecurity for HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group. Sophie supports the company’s engagements with government clients, conducting in-depth research on a broad range of geopolitical trends. Since joining, she has carried out regular reporting on Ukraine and Russia. Sophie also supports the management of SC Strategy’s subject matter expert network. She holds an MLitt in Terrorism and Political Violence from the University of St Andrews.

Jonathan Eyal has been a senior adviser to SC Strategy since 2017. He is Associate Director, Strategic Partnerships, and International Director for the Royal United Services Institute. He delivers unique expert commentary across the company’s client portfolio on a range of international security issues, including Russia/Ukraine, European security, the Middle East, China and East Asia. Jonathan is a regular media commentator and is fluent in English, French, Italian, German, Hungarian and Romanian.

Tobias Feakin became a senior adviser to SC Strategy in 2024, providing senior leaders with Geopolitical & Technology advisory. He is Founder of Protostar Strategy and, from 2017–2023, Tobias was Australia’s inaugural Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology leading the nation’s international approach to technology issues. This placed him at the epicentre of global decision making around technology and geopolitics. He has advised four successive Australian Prime Ministers and three successive Foreign Ministers on cyber and critical technology issues, including in high-stakes decision making moments.

John Foreman became a senior adviser to SC Strategy in 2024. John is a former senior Royal Navy officer and, from 2019-2022, he was UK Defence Attaché to Moscow, where he advised Ministers and senior officials on Russian defence and security matters, shaping UK policy, strategy and understanding. He was appointed CBE in 2023. He was also UK Defence Attaché in Kyiv and has held military-diplomatic appointments in NATO, EU and Washington DC. A strategic thinker, public diplomat, and persuasive speaker, he is a visiting lecturer at King's College London and contributes to UK and international media.

Simon Gass joined SC Strategy in 2024 and advises clients on a wide range of geopolitical issues. From 2019 to 2023, he served as Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee and the Adviser on Intelligence to successive British Prime Ministers. His diplomatic career included Ambassador to Greece and Iran, and NATO’s Senior Civilian Representative to Afghanistan. Simon was also the Foreign Office's Political Director, overseeing policy on a wide range of geographies and institutions. He led the UK team in the Iran Nuclear Agreement negotiations. He is a Distinguished Fellow at RUSI, non-executive chair of the UK Foreign Office’s commercial arm, Visiting Professor at King’s College London and a frequent media commentator.

Katie Mackilligin joined SC Strategy in 2017. Since then she has worked with diverse set of clients including governments, corporates, investment funds and law firms. For the last four years, she has overseen our relationship with key sovereign wealth clients, providing advice to support their investment strategy and compliance decisions. Katie leads the company’s investigations work, managing projects for litigation and advanced due diligence. She holds a BA Hons in Politics and International Relations from the University of Bristol.

Aymie Martin joined SC Strategy in 2021 and has been the Head of Office since 2022. She oversees the day-to-day operations of the company and ensures smooth staff and client support. Aymie has over 15 years experience in the legal sector, including at the Crown Prosecution Service where she was Assistant Private Secretary to the Chief Executive & Principal Legal Adviser. Aymie holds a BA Hons in Journalism from the University of Southampton.

Alexander Patterson joined SC Strategy in 2019, after 7 years in the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Since then he has worked closely with our Government clients, providing assessment and policy advice to ministerial offices on issues including strategic competition, power projection, and emerging global risks. With over 15 years of experience working in and with governments, Alexander offers the private sector an experienced view into how Government thinks about and approaches these issues. He holds an MA in International Relations from KCL and a BA Hons in Arabic & Persian from SOAS.

John Scarlett co-founded SC Strategy and became non-executive Co-Chair in 2024. Sir John had a 38-year career in intelligence, serving as Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) from 2004 to 2009 before which he was Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee. He offers personal perspectives on a wide range of issues, regularly providing expert briefings and personal counsel across the company’s client base. Sir John remains actively engaged with the international community, particularly as Co-Chair of the Global Advisory Council at the Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington DC and Vice President of the UK Association of the Legion d’Honneur.

Dan Spacie joined SC Strategy in 2022, after 14 years in the UK Ministry of Defence where he built and led new strategy and foresight teams and advised senior leaders and Ministers on emerging national security trends, long-term investment in the Armed Forces, emerging technologies, and foreign investment screening. Dan now leads on development and management of relationships with both financial sector and defence / tech sector clients. These clients value his expertise in navigating risks and opportunities arising from global military, technology, and economic competition, and how governments view these issues. Dan holds an MA in International Security and BA in Political & Economic Geography from Birmingham.

Rowley Sword joined SC Strategy in 2015. Over the last decade, he has actively built relationships with, and worked across, SC Strategy’s entire client portfolio of global investment funds, international banks, sovereign wealth funds, large corporates, ministerial offices and HNWIs. He maintains a keen interest in the Middle East, a region in which he has worked on – and in – extensively. He holds an MSc in Middle East Politics from SOAS and BA Hons History & Politics from the University of Exeter.