Our Team

Rhiannon Smith – Managing Director

Rhiannon Smith has been the Managing Director of Libya-Analysis® since 2016 during which time she has overseen all of Libya-Analysis’s research and consultancy projects. She regularly delivers high level briefings on Libya to government entities, international organisations, corporations and academic conferences. She is also a Partner at EyeOnISISinLibya.com.

Rhiannon has authored or co-authored several think tank reports and journal articles, including ‘Al-Qaida’s Strategy in Libya: Keep it Local, Stupid‘ for the journal Perspectives on Terrorism, ‘The Origins and Evolution of ISIS in Libya’ published by the Atlantic Council and ‘Non-military Perspectives on Recent Developments in Libya’ for NATO. Rhiannon regularly gives media interviews, appearing on France 24, Al Jazeera English, TRT World and Voice of America, to name a few. She has also published extensively on Libya including writing articles for the Petroleum Economist, Politico, Al Jazeera, the New Statesman, Religion & Geopolitics, Hate Speech International & the Middle East Eye. She also wrote a regular column on Libya for open Democracy during her time in Libya. Rhiannon also held the position of North Africa Editor for Norwegian NGO Hate Speech International, where she commissioned and edited a series of papers on extremism in North Africa.

Previously, Rhiannon was the Programme Manager for the Middle East at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School (CJBS). As part of this role she managed the Middle East Research Centre at CJBS, focusing on the particular leadership and management challenges facing Middle Eastern organisations. She lived in Tripoli, Libya from  2010 to 2014, working for a number of organisations including Libyan research consultancy Know Libya and international NGO No Peace Without Justice. She has also worked as a Libya analyst for Control Risks. Rhiannon holds an MSc in Development Management from the Open University and a BA Hons in Arabic, with French and Persian from the University of Exeter. She speaks, writes and reads Arabic and French.

Jason Pack – Founder

Jason Pack is the Founder of Libya-Analysis. Over the last ten years, Jason Pack, has worked to promote UK-Libyan and U.S.-Libyan commercial, academic, and governmental ties. After living in Tripoli in 2008, seeking to help Western businesses analyze the reform processes and operate, he returned to the US to serve as U.S.-Libya Business Association (USLBA) Program Manager in 2009-10. He then completed an M.St. in Global and Imperial History at St. Antony’s College, Oxford in 2011. Since then, he has been affiliated with the University of Cambridge, where he was a PhD student and researcher of Middle Eastern History. From January 2017 to April 2018, he was appointed as Executive Director of the U.S.-Libyan Business Association.

Jason has advised the UN, NATO and most Western governments on formulating policy towards Libya. Via his consultancy, Libya-Analysis®, Jason specializes in producing bespoke reports for Western companies which monitor specific aspects of the political and security situation in Libya, while also providing big-picture forecasting. In this capacity, he is an affiliated North Africa Analyst at Risk Intelligence, a Danish company specializing in maritime risk, and the Senior Libya Analyst at CRCM North Africa, a German strategy firm.

In 2015, Jason founded EyeOnISISInLibya.com as a non-profit 501c3 monitoring service detailing the group’s history, its interactions with other jihadi actors, and Western actions towards the group. Jason is the editor of The 2011 Libyan Uprisings and the Struggle for the Post-Qadhafi Future (Palgrave Macmillan June 2013) and lead author of ‘The Origins and Evolution of ISIS in Libya’  (Atlantic Council June 2017) and  Libya’s Faustian Bargains: Breaking the Appeasement Cycle (Atlantic Council May 2014). His analysis and opinion articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Spectator, Newsweek, The Financial Times, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, and Foreign Affairs. One of the few Western experts on the inner workings of Libya’s jihadi militias, Mr. Pack is a frequent commentator on the BBC, France 24, CNN, VOA, and Al Jazeera.

For a full CV, please click here.

Lachlan Wilson – Research Director

Lachlan Wilson is the Research Director for Libya-Analysis. Based in the MENA region, he has nearly a decades experience working as a researcher engaging with academia and think tanks. Lachlan’s recent research work has focused on transnational jihadism and local militia organisations, with a particular emphasis on the militant dynamic in Libya. Lachlan holds a Ph.D and a Masters of Arts, and his writing on geopolitical and security issues has been published by the National Interest and the Middle East Eye, amongst others.

Anne-Laure Dall’Orso – Research Assistant

Anne-Laure Dall’Orso is a Research Assistant for Libya-Analysis based in Paris, France. She specializes in political and security analysis and has been focusing on the Libyan subject for a few years, while also contributing to the development of French governmental cooperation projects in Africa. Anne-Laure holds a Masters of Arts in Politics and International Relations and a MBA in Business Intelligence and Influence.

Network of Libyan and International Consultants

A key factor in Libya-Analysis’s ability to provide detailed, nuanced, and most importantly cross-checked monitoring and analysis is our network of Libyan consultants and researchers, both in Libya and outside Libya. They provide the core of our research and analysis capacity. We also have a wide network of international Libyan specialists (former diplomats, security experts, oil executives, think tankers, business people, etc.) who we can call upon to assist us with certain projects as and when needed.

Partner Organisations

Libya-Analysis.com is the Research Partner for The American Chamber of Commerce in Libya (AmCham Libya). The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business organization representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes and sectors. There are over 100 international Chambers located outside the U.S., of which AmCham Libya is one. AmCham Libya facilitates business between the U.S. and Libya, provides a forum in which American and Libyan business people can identify and address common areas of interest regarding their commercial interests in Libya and has as its goal the promotion of a vibrant economy. The redevelopment of Libya represents an enormous opportunity for the companies involved, and AmCham provides a platform for its members to successfully participate in this important endeavor.  If you are interested in learning more about becoming a member, please go to www.libyaamcham.com.

Libya-Analysis.com also supports The Society for Libyan Studies, promoting the archaeology, history and environment of Libya. If you are UK-based and interested in becoming a member, we strongly recommend it and you can find out about membership at this link.

Get Involved

Are you interested in Libya? Do you have strong research and writing skills? Are you looking to gain some experience in MENA focused reporting and analysis?

If so, we would love to hear from you.  We are always interested in expanding our team of part time copy writers, consultants, researchers, informers, etc. Hence, if you have specialized knowledge on Libya that is commercially relevant, possess good writing skills and have a few hours a month to spare, please get in touch as we might be able to forge a mutually beneficial arrangement. If you are interested in being a part of the Libya-Analysis.com team, please contact Rhiannon Smith on rhi@libya-analysis.com for further details.