Chris Abbott is the founder and CEO of Open Briefing. He has dedicated his life to protecting those at risk. In the late 1990s, he worked alongside environmental defenders and Indigenous communities in Ecuador and the Philippines, supporting their resistance to multinational oil and mining companies. He later moved into the policy arena, where he helped shape strategies to protect civilians in conflict and address the growing threat of climate insecurity.

Chris has served as deputy director of the Oxford Research Group, held honorary research fellowships at the Universities of Bristol and Bradford, and was a founding collaborator in the Civic Ecosystems Initiative. He is the author of two books and more than 50 reports and articles on security, politics, and history. His work has been widely featured in international media, and human rights champion Desmond Tutu described it as “radical in the proper sense.”

Today, alongside leading Open Briefing, Chris sits on the advisory board of the Funders Initiative for Civil Society and serves as a director of Peace Brigades International. In March 2025, he was inducted into the Charity Hall of Fame for his work protecting activists at risk around the world.