Chairman
Peter Williamson

Peter Williamson, MA (Oxon). Chairman and founder of R2G. Peter is a former senior British government foreign official, who retired with ambassadorial rank. He was head of station in Malaysia and Kenya, and played a key role in the UK's negotiations with China during the Hong Kong handover, and the ANC transition to power in South Africa in 1994. 

Following his time in government, Peter worked at a global risk consultancy as a senior adviser, chairman of the operational risk committee, and head of the Africa department. Subsequently, Peter was senior vice president at an Africa-focused risk consultancy, founding their London office.

Peter specialises in Africa, Asia and Russia. He has advised African and Asian presidents, the British and US governments, the UN, and the boards of some of the world’s largest companies on political, security and intelligence problems on the African continent. 

While serving in government, Peter played key roles in political developments in  Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, the Horn of Africa, South Africa and Hong Kong. He has since chaired extended seminars on security and intelligence matters for several African governments and helped set up intelligence academies for two major African countries.

Managing Director
Hugo Williamson

Hugo has over a decade of experience advising senior corporate and finance executives on major transactional risks in Africa, Asia, Russia and Eastern Europe. 

He has managed sensitive intelligence gathering investigations in the extractives industry and strategic market entry assessments across a range of sectors. He also has significant experience conducting complex fraud, IP and counterfeit investigations and asset searches into high profile political and business figures in Africa and Asia, as well as providing litigation and crisis management support to companies that have faced asset seizures and disruptions to business in Russia and Eastern Europe.  

Hugo is an expert on FCPA and UK Bribery Act compliance matters and has worked with a number of corporations to design proportionate anti-bribery and corruption processes, and in-house due diligence and risk assessment frameworks. He has also advised multilateral organisations on the means of mitigating the risk of bribery and corruption impacting their government loans. 

Hugo is frequently invited to speak at industry events and is widely published on business and political matters in Africa and Asia. His views are frequently sought by international news outlets and broadcasters, including the BBC. 

Prior to R2G, Hugo worked as a senior manager at a global risk firm for over 8 years where he served as deputy head in their Johannesburg office and subsequently as a director in their Asia division. 

Hugo has also worked as a consultant at a large management consulting firm and in-house at Shell. He holds an MBA.

Operations Director
Fay Ferguson

Prior to R2G, Fay was a journalist in the Middle East and the managing editor of a leading publication in the region. She was based in Damascus for 3 years where she reported extensively on political, economic and human rights issues in Syria.  A Syria specialist, Fay has also reported on political developments and security issues in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and the Gulf and worked as an investigator tracking human trafficking networks in the region.

Fay has travelled extensively throughout the Middle East and North Africa, and has developed a strong network of high level sources in the region. She has interviewed key decision makers about issues related to business and politics in the Middle East and her work on Syria has been cited by international development organisations, parliamentary committees and think tanks. Following her time in the Middle East, Fay worked in broadcast journalism in Russia, reporting out of Moscow.

At R2G Fay supports clients in managing transactional difficulties. She speaks German, Arabic, Italian and French and has significant field experience conducting complex due diligence and market entry investigations in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East across a range of sectors. 

Special Advisor - Far East
Michael Dalton

Michael has over 35 years experience advising on corporate and litigation and dispute matters in China and the Far East. Based in Hong Kong, he is currently a consultant solicitor at the law firm Oldam, Li & Nie. He has served on the board of directors of the World Law Group, an international association of independent leading commercial law firms.

Michael spent many years as a partner at a firm in Hong Kong. While initially head of litigation, after 1997 Michael began concentrating on corporate commercial work, advising both Western corporate clients and overseas SMEs interested in opportunities in Asia. He remained with the firm until 2007 when he joined a well established local law firm as a consultant specializing in corporate and commercial matters, China- related investments, and the establishment in China of Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises and Joint Ventures.

Michael acted for many years as chairman of the board and legal representative of a WFOE actively engaged in trading in China internally and internationally.  He was a non-executive director of the Hong Kong holding company for some 30 years and established one of the very first WFOEs in China before it joined the WTO.  Michael acts currently as non-executive director of a number of foreign controlled enterprises with investments in China. 

In the United Kingdom, Michael was a founding member of the Coventry Community Relations Council and a member of the Law Society's Legal Aid Committees.