Gabriella E. Sanchez
Lead of Migrant Smuggling Research, Migration Policy Centre, European University Institute
Key Expert & Senior Project Manager, Altai Consulting
Maxime Giraudet is a researcher and policy advisor in the development sector, currently serving as a Key Expert and Senior Project Manager for Altai Consulting. His primary areas of expertise include socio-economic research and policy advisory in West Africa, North Africa, and Afghanistan, with a focus on human smuggling and trafficking, governance, and fragility across these regions. Maxime specializes in conducting research and evaluation with hard-to-reach populations on sensitive topics using both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Over the past decade, Maxime has led and contributed to more than 20 high-impact research, policy, and evaluation projects. His clients and partners have included globally recognized organizations such as the OECD, the European Commission, UN agencies (including UNODC, IOM, and UNHCR), as well as think tanks like the Mixed Migration Centre, and government bodies such as the AFD, French MFA, and FCDO. In addition to his work in research and policy advisory, he served as a Judge-Assessor at the French National Court of Asylum (CNDA), where he specialized in adjudicating human rights cases from West Africa and Afghanistan.
Maxime holds an MSc in International Politics from the London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London and a certificate in Data Analysis for Social Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is fluent in French, English, and Spanish.