Alexander Benard is Managing Partner of SGI in charge of deal structuring across all investments. He previously was Managing Director of Gryphon Partners, an advisory and investment firm focused on the Middle East and Central Asia. Prior to that, Mr. Benard worked on cross-border mergers, acquisitions, and private equity transactions at Cleary Gottlieb. He has published articles on business strategy in frontier markets and other related topics in Foreign Affairs, World Affairs, Foreign Policy, the Wall Street Journal, and Forbes, among others, and he serves as a non-resident visiting fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Mr. Benard holds a Bachelor's degree from Claremont McKenna College and a JD from Stanford Law School.