Victor J. Willi received his DPhil in Middle East History from the University of Oxford and his Master of Arts in History, Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Zurich. He has lectured widely, taught courses on the Middle East in Oxford, worked as academic coordinator at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. He is a former Global Leadership Fellow of the World Economic Forum, and is the recipient of several full-time research scholarships, including from the Swiss National Science Foundation. He is currently employed at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, working on geopolitics, political economy and business in the Middle East and North Africa region.