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, Logistics Middle East and Arabian Business. Author in Middle East Insurance Review.

About

Scott Wilcox advises governments, state institutions, multinationals and private investors entering difficult markets: from the decision to invest to the protection of people and capital once there. He works across the Gulf, Africa, Latin America and Central Asia, and advises boards on their exposure in those markets.

Before advising independently, he founded Sicuro Group in 2005 and ran it for twenty years. He remains a shareholder.

A former Royal Marines Commando, he served in Sierra Leone, Northern Ireland and Afghanistan.

Firsts

• The first civilian COVID-19 repatriation flights in and out of Iraq, 2020: six governments, three weeks. Stranded Iraqis flew home free on the same aircraft.
• The first private security licence issued under the Taliban government, 2022, which let international organisations return to Afghanistan lawfully.

Recent work

• Middle East, 2025 and 2026: moved the people of American and allied companies out of Iran, Lebanon and the Gulf at short notice, lawfully, with the border crossings, entry permissions and aircraft arranged on the day.
• Venezuela, 2026: in Caracas ahead of US and Gulf investor re-entry.
• Colombia, 2026: opened Sicuro's Latin America office in Bogotá with the support of the UAE Embassy and the Dubai Chamber, to bring Gulf investors into the region and Latin American capital to the UAE, and through it to Africa and Asia.

Recognition

• The Innovators 2026, The CEO Magazine (2026)

Professional leadership

• Steering Committee, OSAC MENA Country Council and OSAC Afghanistan Country Council
• Board Member, Friends of the American University of Afghanistan

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)

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.