Scott Wilcox
Political Risk and Market Entry
Washington DC · Dubai
Quoted by the Financial Times, The New York Times, Forbes Middle East, Bloomberg, CNBC and NewsNation. Interviewed by MBN English, the International Security Journal, Logistics Middle East and Arabian Business. Author in Middle East Insurance Review.
About
Scott Wilcox advises international investors, boards and family offices on entering and operating in complex markets: understanding the risks a market presents, deciding what is acceptable, transferring what is not through insurance and other structures, and building operational resilience across logistics, security, operations, and government and community relations. He also advises boards on their exposure and liability in those markets.
He founded Sicuro Group in Dubai in 2005 and ran it for twenty years, across the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. He remains a shareholder.
He is a former Royal Marines Commando with operational service in Sierra Leone, Northern Ireland and Afghanistan.
Two documented firsts
- The first civilian COVID-19 repatriation flights in and out of Iraq (2020), negotiated across six governments in three weeks. Stranded Iraqi citizens flew home at no cost on the same aircraft.
- The first private security licence issued under the Taliban government (2022), enabling international organisations to re-enter Afghanistan lawfully.
Recognition
- Humanitarian Project Award, 2nd annual Intersec Awards (2019), for the Mozambique Crisis Response & Operation Strategy, led after Cyclone Idai
- Top 30 Security Influencers Globally, International Security Journal (2024 and 2025)
- The Innovators 2026, The CEO Magazine (2026)
Professional leadership
- Steering Committee, OSAC MENA Country Council and OSAC Afghanistan Country Council
- Steering Committee, ASIS International Travel Risk Community
- Board Member, Friends of the American University of Afghanistan
Advisory work
Scott advises investors, boards and family offices entering, operating in or leaving a complex market, and gives second opinions to brokers, underwriters and counsel advising their own clients. What he advises on.
Tools he built
He designs and writes free risk tools, published through Sicuro Group: a live country risk map covering 231 countries and territories, a global alerts tracker, an airspace tracker and two assessments. See all five.
Selected press
- Forbes Middle East: How War-Risk Insurance Is Repricing The Cost Of Doing Business In The Gulf (quoted, 2026)
- MBN English: How Gulf Businesses Have Adapted to War as the New Normal (TV interview, 2026)
- International Security Journal: Turning risk into opportunity in the Middle East (exclusive interview, 2026)
Full press list, bio and headshot for journalists.
Contact
Book a 30-minute call, or find him on LinkedIn and X. He writes on Substack.