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Anna Westwell joined J.S. Held in May of 2023 as part of J.S. Held’s acquisition of Africa Matters Limited (AML). Anna is a Managing Consultant at J.S. Held within the Strategy & Risk Advisory team. A South African national, she has a strong understanding of political and regulatory developments across Southern Africa, which she leverages to guide client decision-making. She has worked with a range of FTSE100 and S&P 500 companies, spanning multiple sectors. She has a particular focus on FMCG, logistics, agribusiness, energy and telecoms.
Anna’s recent work includes risk monitoring and risk mitigation strategy development for one of the largest FMCG companies across Africa; strategic stakeholder engagement support for a multinational telecoms company; intel-led reporting on political and regulatory developments for an energy company in Angola; and market-entry risk assessment and strategy formulation for an oil company in Namibia.
Before joining J.S. Held, Anna worked as a Researcher at a South African foreign policy think tank. She has also conducted social research and assisted with stakeholder engagement and campaigns for several NGOs across Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the UK. Anna previously worked as an intern at Control Risks, where she gained experience in monitoring elections. Anna holds an MPhil in African Studies from the University of Cambridge and a BA in History from UCL.
Anna was a contributor to J.S. Held's 2024 Global Risk Report.
