HIGHGATE

Thomas Eymond-Laritaz and Ileana Konialidis are pleased to be attending the Global Leadership Foundation AGM at the Château Wolfsberg and UBS Centre for Education and Dialogue, overlooking the beautiful Lake Constance and the Thur Valley in Switzerland.    It is a great opportunity to see old friends among the GLF member and donor community, make new ones, and hear about the key geopolitical issues affecting the world today. Over the 2-day event, speakers and panellists will debate key themes, from how Africa can cope with the twin challenges of democracy and development, to solutions to the transnational criminal cartels impacting governance in Latin America and the Caribbean, to how Asia-Pacific nations can avoid taking sides in the US-China rivalry.    What a privilege to hear from such experts in such a special venue.

Highgate Vice President Jamie Monckton is running the Ultra X Marathon in Morocco this weekend, raising money for SSAFA the Armed Forces charity. SSAFA works for the welfare, health and support of the UK military’s serving personnel, veterans, and their families.    The ultra-marathon is 110km (2.5 marathons) across the difficult, hot, soft sand, desert terrain of Ouarzazate, Morocco. If you would like to donate to this worthy cause, please visit: https://lnkd.in/ecCeQ5xp   Jamie has been training for several months along the Suffolk coast and we wish him the best of luck on this worthy endeavour.

Most people know Highgate as the global market leader in both dispute resolution outside the courtroom and sovereign financial communications. But did you know that Highgate was also active in philanthropy and social impact?   Several of our consultants have extensive experience in designing, running and/or advising philanthropic foundations and supporting private clients and corporations in their social impact journey.   Here are three examples of social impact campaigns we are particularly proud of:   Human Change We are supporting the Human Change advocacy campaign that is helping reshape the global narrative on children’s mental health by spotlighting the impact of social media and digital devices on children’s healthy development. Human Change was officially launched in January 2024 during the World Economic Forum Annual Meetings in Davos. This campaign has been instrumental in changing the public discourse on children’s addiction to screens. If you have kids or are working in the field of education, please visit the Human Change website and join the movement to protect future generations!   Global Engineer Girls We are supporting the Global Engineer Girls (GEG), an international initiative that aims to inspire and support the next generation of female engineers. GEG has been providing girls and women with education, mentorship and career opportunities in Türkiye, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and beyond. If you also believe that the world cannot be built solely by 50% of humanity, join the movement and help empower girls to become engineers!   Balkan Free Media Initiative We are supporting media freedom in Southeast Europe through the Balkan Free Media Initiative (BFMI). BFMI has been instrumental in addressing the gap in advocacy and accountability on media freedom issues in the region. It is committed to strengthening and safeguarding free and independent media to advance democratic values in the Balkan states. There is no freedom or democracy without independent media!   To learn more about our philanthropy and social impact practice, please get in touch with one of our team.

As part of our expertise in philanthropic advisory, Highgate is proud to serve as the strategic advisor to the Human Change campaign – a global advocacy effort to shape the narrative around technology and children’s health and development.    We invite you to join Human Change for a webinar to discuss the latest trends in regulation to protect children from digital harms, featuring experts from across Europe and North America.    Regulating the Internet: Are governments doing enough to protect our children? When: Thursday, November 14 at 7 PM GMT / 2 PM ET Where: Livestreaming on Zoom RSVP to reserve your spot: https://lnkd.in/e7jvSBGz

Election day antics at Highgate headquarters, featuring our American colleagues who are gearing up for a long night in London waiting for results: Liz Tucker, a former senior White House national security official, who hails from North Carolina Jenna Galper, a former senior communications adviser in the U.S. Congress, who hails from California Kameron Fisher, a former policy adviser in the U.S. State Department, also from California Shona Karp, who has worked in international development, foreign policy, public health, and political campaigns in the U.S., who hails from D.C. Hector Carlos Reichard, a financial and corporate affairs expert, who hails from Puerto Rico; and Christina F., a former management consultant and regulatory finance specialist in NYC, who hails from Illinois. The first polls start to close in the U.S. at 11pm UK time tonight. As always, much of the world will be closely watching to see how Americans will vote - where are you tuning in from? Learn more about Highgate’s world class team: https://lnkd.in/e5VUNkPc

A senior White House national security official and a former British Army officer are the latest experienced consultants to join Highgate, the Mayfair-based strategic advisory firm specialised in dispute resolution and special situations.   Liz Tucker, who moves to London from Washington DC, and Jamie Gray are joining Highgate as Directors where they will be helping to lead an expanding international team drawn from the best talent in intelligence, law, government, finance, media and the military.   Also joining the Mayfair-based consultancy are corporate affairs consultant Hector Carlos Reichard, who joins as a Senior Associate Director and Kameron Fisher, a policy adviser at the US State Department who joins as an Associate Director.    The 45-strong strategic advisory firm celebrates its fifth anniversary in January next year.   Founder and CEO Thomas Eymond-Laritaz said:   “At Highgate we continue to go from strength to strength: working with fantastic clients from across the globe and attracting incredible talent with a diverse range of skills and experience. Our four latest recruits have worked across America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa in both public and private sector environments. While they each will make their own unique contribution to Highgate, they all have a proven track record of working effectively in high profile, pressurised environments, where teamwork and intellectual agility are paramount. We are thrilled to welcome them all to Highgate.”   Read more: https://lnkd.in/eXP2wTTf

Highgate’s Vice-Presidents, Ileana Konialidis and Valeriya Melnichuk, are now attending the two day #FTAfrica Summit in London, where leaders, policymakers, partners and visionaries come together to address Africa’s ever evolving economic landscape. This year’s theme – driving sustainable growth – highlights both the opportunities and challenges facing the continent in an era marked by rapid changes.    From addressing access to finance and debt restructuring infrastructure to articulating how reforms directly translate to the well-being of the people, the conversations have been vibrant, forward-looking and solution focused. Climate change and sustainability continue to play a key role in the discussions, with a focus on adaptation investment.   Overall, Africa’s place in the world remains at the core of discussions as country specific panels, such as South Africa, Zambia, Angola, Senegal and many others, delved into their global national and regional aspirations.   Over the last couple of years, Highgate has proudly worked alongside legal and financial advisors to help businesses solve disputes and countries in debt distress communicate their reform agendas and achieve favourable conditions for debt treatment. As Highgate’s footprint and expertise on the continent continues to grow, we remain committed to support our clients on the continent and build meaningful relationships with leading experts and policymakers alike.

This week, ministers of finance and central bank governors, advisors, media, civil society leaders, and the international financial community are gathering in Washington, D.C. for the International Monetary Fund The World Bank Annual Meetings.    This year’s meetings come on the heels of a new IMF report forecasting that global public debt will exceed $100 trillion by the end of this year and will approach 100% of global GDP by the end of the decade. At the same time, analysts predict that sovereign defaults will become more frequent in the next decade. Improving the global debt restructuring infrastructure to swiftly provide debt relief for countries in distress will be high on this year’s agenda along with policy measures needed to increase emerging economies’ growth and resilience to external shocks.    Vice President Valeriya Melnichuk is returning to the Meetings to connect with clients and partners. Over the past years, Highgate has been proud to work alongside legal and financial advisors to help countries in debt distress communicate their reform agendas and achieve favourable conditions for debt treatment.      Highgate’s consultants have advised political leaders in over 40 countries and have unmatched experience in sovereign financial communications and dispute resolution. To learn more visit www.highgate.ltd

This week, ministers of finance and central bank governors, advisors, media, civil society leaders, and the international financial community are gathering in Washington, D.C. for the IMF World Bank Annual Meetings. This year’s meetings come on the heels of a new IMF report forecasting that global public debt will exceed $100 trillion by the end of this year and will approach 100% of global GDP by the end of the decade. At the same time, analysts predict that sovereign defaults will become more frequent in the next decade. Improving the global debt restructuring infrastructure to swiftly provide debt relief for countries in distress will be high on this year’s agenda along with policy measures needed to increase emerging economies’ growth and resilience to external shocks. Over the past years, HIGHGATE has been proud to work alongside legal and financial advisors to help countries in debt distress communicate their reform agendas and achieve favourable conditions for debt treatment. I’m here to meet clients and reconnect with partners and friends. If you are in DC, let me know and I’d be happy to catch up!

This week, Anna Kredisova and Róisín McCrimmon had the privilege of attending the Future Resilience Forum, an event that aims to foster pragmatic, depoliticised, and long-term cooperation on global challenges such as climate change, disinformation, energy security, and economic instability. The discussions were candid and thought-provoking, covering topics including supply chain resilience and efforts to counter hostile state actors' threats to democracy. Across all sessions, a shared commitment to supporting Ukraine remained central, with leaders and experts focusing on its importance for global freedom and security. Three key takeaways emerged from the forum: 1. As the world order evolves, preserving democracy will require reevaluating power structures and increased global cooperation to protect democratic values. 2. Governments and individuals must actively engage with the growing influence of social media algorithms to address their impact on human behaviour and societal cohesion.  3. Providing meaningful aid to Ukraine, including using sanctioned assets, is essential to deter future aggression and bolster global unity against threats to peace. The forum featured distinguished speakers including H.E. Bernard Cazeneuve, former Prime Minister of France; Eric Holder, former US Attorney-General; Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google; and Eerik Kross, a member of the Estonian parliament.  It was especially encouraging to hear leaders actively considering the dangers of social media: an issue central to Highgate’s work with the Human Change project. A special thank you to Fiona Hill CBE for organising such an inspiring and important event.