KNOW Country & Sovereign Risk Breakfast Briefing Feb 2012

Andrew Neff

Senior Analyst

Andrew Neff is a senior energy analyst for the IHS Energy group. He provides analysis and insight on government policy and company strategy on energy developments, with a regional focus on the CIS and Turkey.

Andrew also coordinates team coverage of national oil companies and leading international oil companies. He previously worked as an international energy analyst for a contractor to the Energy Information Administration, the statistical division of the US Department of Energy.

Andrew holds an MA in international affairs and environmental policy from the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs.

Jan Randolph

Director of Sovereign Risk, IHS Global Insight

Randolph is head of the Sovereign Risk Group. He is an experienced international economist and country risk manager.

Randolph has held positions in a variety of international financial risk management firms in financial services and has over six years of international economics experience with IHS.

He holds graduate degrees from the Universities of London and Bristol.

Lilit Gevorgyan

Political Analyst, IHS Global Insight

Lilit Gevorgyan joined IHS in September 2009, and is responsible for analysis of the political, security and business environment of Russia and former Soviet countries. In addition to consultancy work, she contributes daily analytical articles, risk assessments and in-depth special reports. Lilit has worked closely with a wide range of IHS clients on consultancy projects, spanning the energy, finance, manufacturing, insurance and government sectors. Many of these projects assess the specific impact of political, security and regulatory developments on the organizations’ Eurasian operations. Lilit has also delivered presentations at a range of events arranged under both the Jane’s and Global Insight banners. 

Prior to arriving at IHS, Lilit worked for a number of academic institutions and think-tanks, focusing on the CIS risk environment. These included the Eurasia House at Cambridge University, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), and LSE Enterprise. Earlier in her career, she worked for the United Nations in New York, the ministries of foreign affairs and economy in Armenia and was press relations officer at the Armenian Diplomatic Mission in London. In her diplomatic capacity as Attaché she worked as liaising officer between the Armenian Foreign Ministry and the NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) Programme and collaborated with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) fact finding mission along the Line of Contact between Armenia and Azerbaijan. She holds an MSc in International Relations and Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a BA and MA in International Relations from Yerevan State University, Armenia. Lilit also holds a Diploma from NATO Defence College in Rome, focused on civil–military relations and conflict resolution. She has lived in Armenia, Russia, Ukraine and the US. In addition to English, she speaks Russian, Armenian and basic French and Turkish. 

Lilit is a regular contributor to major media outlets, participating in broadcasts by the BBC (including BBC Radio 4 Today Show), CNN, CNBC, Al-Jazeera, Canadian BNN, Russia Today and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, among others. She has been quoted in numerous print and online publications, including the New York Times, Financial Times, DowJones - Wall Street Journal, Observer, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Associated Press, Agence France Presse (AFP), Reuters, Bloomberg, Vedomosti, Moscow Times, Nezavysimaya Gazeta, St. Petersburg Times, Kiev Post, Hurriyet, Strategic Risk Magazine, Figaro and El Pais. She has had articles published by the European Centre for Energy and Resource Security and BusinessNewEurope. Topics have included Russia’s modernization and privatization drive, Ukrainian energy and regulatory reforms, political stability in Kyrgyzstan, the resurgence of Islamist threats in Tajikistan, conflict and economic development in Central Asia, and the impact of regional conflicts on South Caucasus energy security.

Matthew Clements

Regional Manager - Eurasia, IHS Country Analysis

Matthew Clements is the Eurasia Analyst at the Country Risk department of IHS Jane’s. In this role he assesses and provides projections on emerging threats to state stability in the Former Soviet Union on a range of issues including terrorism and insurgency, armed conflict, political instability, organised crime, and geopolitics. Matthew joined IHS Jane’s in 2005 and is based in London. He holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from the War Studies department at King’s College London.