Brett McGurk Joins Tidal Partners as Senior Advisor
"The quest for AI leadership has inextricably linked geopolitics and technology. For today's leading companies, this moment presents a rare opportunity to create meaningful value—or risk falling behind," said David Handler, Co-Founder of Tidal Partners. "Brett's deep global and strategic experience enhances Tidal's role in driving outsized outcomes for our clients in today's fast-moving and uncertain environment."
"I'm honored to lend my experience to Tidal Partners' distinguished clients as they wrestle with what could be the most significant decision-making of their careers," said Brett McGurk. "This is a transformational, hinge-point moment, with unprecedented risks and opportunities for our country and companies navigating the AI revolution."
Brett is a veteran diplomat and national security expert with decades of service across four administrations leading high-stakes, breakthrough negotiations in the most complex geostrategic environments. His distinguished career includes serving as White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa in the Biden Administration where he negotiated two Gaza ceasefires, securing the release of over 100 hostages, organized the defense of Israel against Iranian missile attacks, negotiated the release of American hostages from Iran, and managed highest-level U.S. relations with the Gulf states, including UAE and Saudi Arabia, at the leading edge of the global AI competition.
Brett also served as Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS under the Obama and Trump administrations. In that role, he helped to design and lead the diplomatic and military campaign to defeat ISIS through a historic coalition of more than 80 countries that remains in place to this day. In the Obama administration, Brett also led secret negotiations with Iran to secure the release of multiple American hostages, later receiving the James W. Foley Hostage Freedom Award for these efforts.
In addition, Brett held senior posts in the George W. Bush administration. As Senior Director on the National Security Council, he is credited for helping to develop the "surge" strategy for Iraq in 2007, and he later negotiated the Strategic Framework Agreement that continues to guide relations between Iraq and the United States. Brett had earlier spent nearly a year in Iraq as a legal advisor during the transition to an interim Iraqi government and helped negotiate Iraq's interim constitution.
Early in his career, Brett served as law clerk to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. He was at the Supreme Court on September 11, 2001, a day that changed history and led to his dedicating over two decades to nonpartisan service in Washington and overseas.
Currently, Brett is a Global Affairs Analyst for CNN, a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center and the Atlantic Council, where he advises the N7 Initiative. He is also a Venture Partner at Lux Capital and Senior Advisor for the Middle East and International Affairs at Cisco Systems, Inc. He is finally writing a book about presidential decision-making and high-stakes diplomacy to be published by Crown.
Tidal Partners is an M&A strategic advisory boutique dedicated to driving long-term value creation for leading technology companies in an era of global and digital transformation.
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