Preston Keat

Who is Preston Keat?

Preston Keat is an American political scientist specializing on global political risk. He is a the Head of Political and Country Risk, and a Managing Director at UBS. Prior to joining UBS, he was a director or research and head of the Europe Practice at Eurasia Group, the global political risk consultancy. He holds a PhD in political science from UCLA, a master's degree from the London School of Economics, and a bachelor's degree from the College of William and Mary.

Preston's professional experience has included work on economic and political transition at the German Marshall Fund of the US, and research and consulting on a number of sectors ranging from finance to heavy industry. He has also established and trained local teams to monitor and analyze social and political developments is a range of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Eastern Europe. He spent several years living and working in Europe, most recently as a Fulbright scholar in Poland. Preston currently teaches courses in political risk assessment and management as a visiting professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. His most recent book is The Fat Tail: The Power of Political Knowledge for Strategic Investing, published in March 2009.