Ghaidaa Hetou PhD is an analyst, author and scholar specializing in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) geopolitics, political risk, corporate intelligence and foreign policy. Ghaidaa is the founder and principal consultant at I-Strategic LLC, a consulting company based in the U.S. with associates in the MENA region, focusing on corporate political risk management in the Middle East and North Africa. She also teaches graduate courses at Rutgers University, including Political Risk and Business Intelligence, International Negotiations, Politics of Water and Security, and State Building After Civil Wars. Ghaidaa was born in Damascus, Syria, grew up in Germany and then Saudi Arabia, and has lived in the U.S. since 1998. She is fluent in Arabic, English, and German.