Welcome to Albion East! We are an international advisory group with expertise in East Asia dedicated to empowering philanthropic organisations, vulnerable communities, and initiatives that support a fair, safe and equitable world.

We are proud to serve some of the world’s leading philanthropic foundations and high-impact charities. In line with our values, we have taken the Companies Pledge to donate at least 10% of our profits to highly effective charities. In addition, we offer a rate reduction and pro bono support to organisations and individuals in particular need.

  • Albion East exists to turn empathy into effective action. We work alongside philanthropists, advocates, governments and front-line organisations to stretch every pound, dollar, or won as far as it will go—especially where lives and health are on the line. This philosophy  helps us—and the partners we serve—do the most good within the finite resources we can draw upon.

    Three questions guide every project we take on:

    First, does it matter? Is the issue large in scale or severity?

    Second, is it overlooked? Is there a critical gap that we can help to fill?

    Third, can we move the needle? Is there a credible pathway to real world impact?

    By seeking to work on problems that are important, neglected and tractable, we hope to turn targeted effort into outsized gains.

  • From the threat of pandemics and the persistent burden of diseases like malaria and TB to emerging challenges such as the need for effective governance of AI, the scale of global issues can feel overwhelming. Potential solutions exist across many domains, but funding can be tight, and coordination, cultural fluency, and rigorous prioritisation are often lacking.

    Albion East was created to fill this gap. We combine diplomatic know-how, regional insight, and analytical rigour, building bridges between the US, Europe and East Asia, to:

    • surface high-impact opportunities across a range of global challenges—from lead-elimination programmes in Bangladesh to ethical frameworks for AI development

    • marshal evidence and allies to turn good ideas into funded, delivered programmes and effective policies

    • ensure those closest to the challenge are heard, respected, and equipped to lead in finding solutions

  • We act independently and in partnership:

    • Independent initiatives—Our flagship advocacy programme has received strong support from leading international philanthropies. Their backing signals confidence in our judgement and mission, and provides the foundation for us to autonomously pursue the strategies we believe will save or improve the most lives.

    • Collaborative projects—We advise foundations, governments, and NGOs that share our desire to bring evidence to bear on global challenges. Recent examples include work advocating for Global Fund and Gavi replenishments, and helping the Against Malaria Foundation (the world’s most cost-effective charity for saving lives) establish in Korea, and begin to grow its domestic mission.

  • We’re committed to three core principles:

    Giving: We have taken the Giving What We Can Company Pledge to donate ≥ 10 % of profits to the most cost-effective and impactful charities we can find.

    Access: We reserve capacity for pro-bono or at-cost support where resources are scarce but impact potential is high.

    Integrity: We publish clear impact reports, welcome external audits, and subject our own strategy to the same “importance–neglectedness–tractability” test we apply for clients.

Graham Nelson
Principal

Graham is a British diplomat and global affairs specialist who served for more than twenty-two years in HM Diplomatic Service before stepping out in 2026 to lead new global AI safety initiative ADEN full-time. He spent most of his career in East Asia, including five years as the United Kingdom's Political and Public Affairs Counsellor in Seoul, where he led the British Embassy's political reporting and public diplomacy and sat on its senior leadership team. He directed UK consular operations across North East Asia and led the United Kingdom's political and economic work across southern China. In 2016 he founded the Foreign Office's first Open Source Unit, bringing data science, artificial intelligence and behavioural insight into British foreign policy well before they became mainstream concerns of statecraft, and most recently served as Head of the FCDO's Digital Transformation Office.

Graham is Founder and Executive Director of the AI Diplomatic Engagement Network (ADEN), a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Emerging Technology and Security (CETaS) at the Alan Turing Institute, and a Director of Against Malaria Foundation Korea, championing evidence-based interventions against one of the world's deadliest diseases.

At Albion East, Graham leads our global aid advocacy and effective giving work, advising major international philanthropies on high-impact grant-making with a particular focus on public health and development in Asia. He specialises in translating rigorous evidence into policy outcomes and in building coalitions across ministries, multilaterals and frontline organisations.

A mathematician by training and a systems thinker by instinct, Graham combines analytical rigour with cross-cultural fluency. He speaks Korean, Mandarin and Japanese, read Mathematics at Durham University, holds an MA in East Asian Studies from SOAS, and trained in Mandarin at Peking University. He has taken the Giving What We Can Pledge to donate at least 10% of his lifetime income to effective charities.

Henry Haggard
Partner

Henry is a former U.S. diplomat who completed a twenty-five-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service, retiring at the rank of Counselor in the Senior Foreign Service. From 2021-2023, he served as Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the United States Embassy in Seoul, where he managed the bilateral security relationship with South Korea. Previous assignments include Director for European Affairs at the White House National Security Council under the Trump and Biden administrations coordinating United States policy and engagement with Turkey and the United Kingdom, and Director for Energy Diplomacy for Asia and the Middle East, where he built the U.S.-Japan-Korea trilateral energy cooperation in support of the Camp David Summit. He participated in four diplomatic missions to North Korea between 2000-2008.

Henry is the Founding Principal of Seekonk Global Strategy Group, Principal at WestExec Advisors, Non-Resident Fellow at the Baker Institute Center for Energy Studies (CES) at Rice University, Senior Associate Researcher with the KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS), Senior Fellow at Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI), and Senior Advisor at the AI Diplomatic Engagement Network (ADEN).

At Albion East, Henry leads our global aid advocacy work in East Asia for affiliates including major global philanthropies. He specialises in brokering strategic partnerships, public information campaigns, and the implementation of evidence-based developmental aid into complex operating environments.

Henry speaks fluent Korean and French and received a BA in International Relations from Brown University and an MA in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College. He founded The Twenty-Five Year Apprenticeship, a resource for diplomatic tradecraft and frequently contributes to news and media on global affairs and the Korean peninsula.

Albion East was founded with a vision that everything we do should make a positive impact. That drives our focus to build bridges between cultures, and work to support the most vulnerable in the UK and around the world.

We want this to be part of our DNA, which is why we have taken the Giving What We Can Company Pledge to donate at least 10% of our profits to highly effective charities. Our promise to you is that as we work together, we’re truly partnering to make a difference.

Learn more about our Pledge, and the effective charities we support here.