Joseph A. Farsakh

Joseph A. Farsakh is a senior associate (non-resident) with the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He previously served as a senior policy adviser at the U.S. Department of State. He drove peace negotiations to end the civil war in Yemen, developed and executed U.S. foreign policy related to the Gulf, and advanced political and diplomatic efforts with Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf. Joseph also advised a national presidential campaign on U.S. relations with the Arab world, particularly the Gulf, and led policy and outreach efforts toward Americans abroad. Joseph is currently the cofounder and president of Helios, a venture capital–backed technology company that built the first AI-native operating system for public-private interaction. Joseph is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, has been awarded the 40 Under 40 recognition from the Middle East Policy Council, and comanages his family's real estate and entertainment holding company. Prior to government service, Joseph spent nearly 10 years practicing law, including across King & Spalding LLP’s New York, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates offices. He negotiated, documented, and closed multibillion-dollar M&A transactions and investment fund deals for private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds, driving commercial engagement between the United States and the Gulf. Joseph holds a master’s degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, a juris doctor from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.