Dr Lina Khatib has been a well-known panellist, speaker and counsel at IBBC events, most recently at the IBBC Spring Conference and Cumberland Lodge in September.

She is joining IBBC advisory board to add her deep knowledge and insights to the council.

Lina is Principal Analyst at ExTrac, visiting scholar with the Harvard Kennedy School’s Middle East Initiative at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, and an Associate Fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. Her previous roles include serving as director of the SOAS Middle East Institute and Professor of Practice at the Department of Politics and International Studies at SOAS University of London; director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House; and director of the Carnegie Middle East Center at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She also co-founded and previously led the Program on Arab Reform and Development at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law and was a senior associate at the Arab Reform Initiative. She has published several books and is a frequent writer and commentator on geopolitics and current affairs in the Middle East. 

Christophe Michels, IBBC MD says ‘Lina has been one of the most incisive and insightful speakers on the Middle East and Iran at IBBC events, and we are highly privileged to have access to her rich knowledge and guidance as Iraq and the Middle East rapidly evolves  at this time.’

Dr. Lina Khatib says’ The IBBC plays a uniquely important role in bridging business and policy and I am excited to support its mission to help Iraq and the UK scale up their trusted partnerships during a transformational time in Iraq. 

”I hope to use my multi-sector expertise to help businesses navigate complex geopolitical shifts and to contribute to building stronger UK–Iraq economic engagement that is anchored in innovation and strategic opportunity within complex operating environments.”