Languages:
- English
Regional expertise:
- Sub-Saharan Africa
Education:
- MA Economics, University of Chicago
- BA Politics, Philosophy and Economics, University of Oxford
Huw Charles is a Director in Risk Advisory’s London office. He has a decade of experience advising senior executives, investors and legal teams on complex political, commercial and regulatory risks across the world. He has led hundreds of intelligence-gathering, stakeholder-mapping and risk-assessment assignments in emerging markets, with a particular focus on Africa.
Huw works with clients to support high-stakes decision-making surrounding new and existing investments, market-entry strategies, major infrastructure projects, M&A transactions, government procurement programmes and sovereign financing. He has particular experience advising clients in the energy and natural resources sectors, including on above-ground risks affecting major investments, transactions and strategic decisions.
Huw holds a first-class degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Balliol College, Oxford, and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Chicago.
Project highlights
- Advised the board of a US-listed E&P company on emerging risk scenarios in their major countries of operation globally. This included contributing to the risk register and offering deeper insights on specific issues to board sub-committees.
- Advised the VP for international business at a major US aerospace & defence contractor during a successful $6 billion military equipment tender in Europe. Contributed to the client’s internal bid evaluation process and helped communicate the recommendations to senior management.
- Helped the investment committee of a private equity firm evaluate an investment in a greenfield power generation project in West Africa. Mapped out the project’s competitive position in the country’s constrained power grid, helping the client avoid committing funds to a project that ultimately lacked the political support needed to secure government approval.
- Advised an international telecoms company through a market-entry process in West Africa, providing in-depth commercial diligence on the market’s growth potential and helping them identify a local partner.