Philippe de Pontet
Director
Philippe de Pontet is the head of Eurasia Group's Africa practice. His focus is on the frontier markets of east and southern Africa. He leads the firm's risk analysis in key mineral-rich nations including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, and on the emerging energy producers outside of West Africa, including Sudan. He also has a background in development, foreign assistance and donor relations in Africa. Philippe has worked as an Africa analyst since graduating from Georgetown's Master of Foreign Service (MSFS) program with a master's degree in 2001. He earned a bachelor's degree from Princeton University in 1993.
Prior to joining Eurasia Group, Philippe worked as an Africa analyst for Intellibridge Corporation, focusing on open-source intelligence for government- and private-sector clients with interests in Africa. He also worked at Leucadia International as Latin America and Africa frontier markets analyst. After receiving his undergraduate degree, he taught at universities in Mexico and China. Philippe is proficient in French and Spanish, and can read Portuguese.