Maximilian Hess

Maximilian (Max) Hess is an analyst, writer, adviser, and foreign policy consultant. He is the founder of Ementena Advisory, a London-based political risk firm. 

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Max is also a fellow with the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) and an associate fellow with the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). He also serves as the Russia, Eurasia & Geo-Economics Expert at Aurora Macro Strategies in New York. His first book, Economic War: Ukraine and the Global Conflict Between Russia and the West, was published by Hurst and Oxford University Press in 2023.​

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Max writes a column for Al Jazeera and has written for numerous other outlets including The Financial Times, New Statesman, The Moscow Times, Foreign Policy, and The Telegraph.
 

Max's work focuses on sovereignty, financial markets, international relations and political economy, and the interaction between these fields. He speaks German, Russian, English and conversational Georgian and Spanish. His consulting experience includes major insurance companies, government agencies, multinational banks, hedge funds, commodities traders and large retailers.

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Max's expertise has been quoted in outlets such as The New York Times, The Times of London, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Der Spiegel, and The Financial Times, and he is a frequent TV and radio guest on stations such as the BBC, CNBC, NPR, and Channel 4. 

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He graduated from Franklin & Marshall College and the School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London. Max has given lectures at Harvard University's Davis Center, the US Army War College, the Foreign Service Institute, and University College London, amongst others.

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Max has an enduring passion for all things related to the Republic of Georgia, and serves as Secretary of the British-Georgian Society.