James Petretta

James Petretta heads the Country Risk Analysis and Forecasting Global Audit team at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

James works closely with the country risk regional desks across the full range of analytical output. James also manages the Aviation Risk Service, and previously managed the Middle East and North Africa desk. He joined in 2015 as a risk auditor focusing on political violence. Previously he had a leading role in quality assurance across all regional teams at Maplecroft, overseeing report production, mentoring analysts, working with the GIS and Design teams and shaping products. Whilst there he worked as Associate Director of their MENA team. Among other things, he has also worked as a consultant to a risk advisory start-up, worked as an analyst in a regional MENA research provider, and was a refugee caseworker, based in Nairobi, with frequent fieldwork in the region.

James has a B.A. with honours in International Affairs, with a focus on the Middle East, from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and an M.A. in Comparative Politics from the American University in Cairo, Egypt, where he lived for several years.