The Terrain Defines the Strategy.
SALT: Strategic Advisory for the Levant. Local Terrain Expertise in Iraq and Syria.
Contact Us →About SALT
SALT — Strategic Advisory, Local Terrain — is a hybrid advisory and deal-origination firm operating at the intersection of capital, policy, and influence in the Middle East.
We partner with local businesses and organizations to attract foreign capital, structure investment into high-impact reconstruction and growth sectors, and advance standing with international policymakers and the global business community.
Our value sits in a combination of access that few firms can offer in one place: senior, on-the-ground relationships in Damascus and Baghdad, and two decades of presence across the Levant, paired with direct lines into Washington's policy, regulatory, and business establishment. We translate that access into capital, validation, and policy outcomes that move local economies forward.
How we work for Syria and Iraq:
Foreign Investment Attraction
Structured outreach to vetted Western and Gulf investors into priority reconstruction and growth sectors, with end-to-end coordination from opportunity scoping to deployment.
Gulf Capital Mobilization
Triangulating Gulf post-war reconstruction priorities, US policy direction, and targeted sector demand to convert sovereign and institutional interest into deployed capital.
Washington Advocacy & Intelligence
Direct engagement with US policymakers, Congressional offices, and the American business community to give Syria and Iraq a fair hearing — paired with real-time intelligence on White House, Congressional, and agency thinking regarding the wider Middle East.
Regional Interconnectivity
Positioning Syria and Iraq as meaningful connectors across the Levant through trade corridors, energy flows, and reconstruction supply chains.
Senior Partners
SALT's senior partners bring nearly six decades of combined on-the-ground experience across the Middle East, with deep presence in Syria, the wider Levant, the Gulf, Iraq, and Washington.
Taylor Luck
Co-Founder, Senior Partner — Levant, Gulf & Sovereign Partnerships
Twenty years on the ground across the Middle East in advisory, risk analysis, and media, with particular depth in Syria, Jordan, and the Gulf. Fifteen years as a political and political-risk analyst specializing in the Levant, post-conflict transitions, energy, GCC economic diversification, and Levant–GCC connectivity. Has advised Western energy companies in Jordan across nuclear, gas, and mining, and counseled Western governments on economic development in Syria and Jordan. A former Global Fellow at the Wilson Center's Middle East Program, he provides regular regional economic analysis for the Riyadh-based SRMG Think, and is regularly interviewed by Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, NPR, and Times of Israel. He previously served twelve years as Senior Middle East Correspondent at The Christian Science Monitor, columnist at The National (UAE), and special correspondent at The Washington Post.
Key Expertise:
- Syria, Jordan & Gulf Political Risk Analysis
- GCC Economic Diversification & Levant Connectivity
- Western Energy Sector Advisory (Nuclear, Gas, Mining)
- Former Global Fellow, Wilson Center Middle East Program
- Senior Media Network (Al Jazeera, NPR, The Washington Post)
Scott McCoubrey
Co-Founder, Senior Partner — Iraq & Europe–Mideast Investment Strategy
Nearly twenty years across the Middle East in development, research, and business advisory, leading monitoring, evaluation, and field research engagements for UN agencies, USAID, DfID, GIZ, and the US Department of State. Maintains extensive ground networks across the region, with particular depth in Iraq, where he has managed field teams in every governorate for more than a decade. Most recently advised DC Energy — a Slovenia-based renewable energy company with portfolios across Serbia, Croatia, South Africa, and Egypt — on projects in Baghdad and Anbar Provinces. He also supports select boutique public relations and political advocacy engagements in Washington, DC, his hometown.
Key Expertise:
- Field Networks Across Every Iraqi Governorate
- UN, USAID, DfID & GIZ Field Research Leadership
- Renewable Energy Advisory in Baghdad & Anbar
- Washington, DC Political Advocacy & PR
Matt Trevithick
Co-Founder, Senior Partner — US Strategic Advisory & Investor Engagement
Advises on strategic growth, investor relations, and partnership development across government, defense, infrastructure, and emerging technology sectors. More than a decade of ground experience across Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, focused on conflict and post-conflict environments, international development, and regional political dynamics. Founder of SREO Consulting, a firm providing frontline research and analysis across the Middle East, and a Persian speaker. Lectures at Yale University's Jackson School of Global Affairs on foreign affairs, post-conflict markets, and entrepreneurial approaches to international engagement. Also Founder and CEO of Blank Slate Technologies, a private equity-backed firm building cognitive performance and operational readiness systems for high-performance teams. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, based in New York.
Key Expertise:
- Investor Relations Across Government, Defense & Infrastructure
- Founder, SREO Consulting (Frontline MENA Research)
- Lecturer, Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs
- Member, Council on Foreign Relations
James R. Harrigan
Senior Partner — US Strategic Advisory
Chief Operating Officer for Polyhymnia and co-host of the Words & Numbers podcast. Previously Senior Research Fellow and Senior Editor at the American Institute for Economic Research, Managing Director of the Center for Philosophy of Freedom at the University of Arizona, Dean of the American University of Iraq–Sulaimani, and Director of Academic Programs at the Institute for Humane Studies and Strata. Holds a PhD in government and politics from Claremont Graduate University. Has consulted widely in the US and abroad — most relevantly for SREO Consulting — on geopolitics, education, and education policy. Hundreds of his articles have appeared everywhere from the Wall Street Journal to USA Today, translated into Korean, Farsi, and many other languages. He is co-author of Cooperation & Coercion.
Key Expertise:
- Former Dean, American University of Iraq–Sulaimani
- PhD, Government & Politics, Claremont Graduate University
- Geopolitics & Education Policy Consulting
- Published in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today & More
Contact Us
We'd love to hear from you. Please fill out the form below to get in touch. You can also reach us directly at secure@saltstrat.com.
Regional HQs: Damascus | NYC