Dr. Ian Ralby is a recognized expert in maritime law and security, private security oversight, and illicit hydrocarbons activity.  He has worked on matters at the intersection of law, security and policy in countries and regions across the globe, with particular expertise in Africa, the Balkans, the Caribbean and South and Southeast Asia.  He has worked extensively with governments on five different continents to develop inter-agency approaches to confronting the full spectrum of maritime challenges that impede sustainable development coastal, island and archipelagic states.

On the heels of his work relating to the hijacking and bunkering in the Gulf of Guinea, Dr. Ralby and his team at I.R. Consilium recently conducted for the Atlantic Council the largest study ever published on Downstream Oil Theft – an under-examined crime with huge global effects.  In addition to his work as CEO of I.R. Consilium, he is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center, an Adjunct Professor of Maritime Law and Security at the US Department of Defense’s Africa Center for Strategic Studies,  a “Key Opinion Former on Maritime Security” at NATO and an expert consultant for various organs of the United Nations. He frequently publishes and speaks on matters relating to international affairs and various aspects of law and security.

Dr. Ralby earned his J.D. at the College of William and Mary and his Ph.D. in Politics and International Studies at St. John’s College of the University of Cambridge.