Dr. Sara Vakhshouri is the President of SVB Energy International. She was previously an independent consultant based in Washington DC where she advised, energy companies, academic think tanks and investment banks about Middle Eastern geopolitics, economics and energy markets.

She worked as Energy Market Analyst and Advisor to Director of the National Iranian Oil Company International (NIOCI), a division where they priced, marketed, and sold Iranian crude oil. Dr. Vakhshouri has also worked for the Petroenergy Information Network (PIN), and the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum as a Research Fellow. Coupled with her extensive experience in working for the Iranian Government, she has also worked in the private Iranian energy sector, where she served as an Investment Analyst for Pasargad Energy Development Company (PEDC), and as a Senior Market Analyst for the Oil Pension Fund Investment Company (OPIC). Dr. Vakhshouri was also a resident of India for 6 years, where she studied the Indian energy market and closely and advised numerous officials.

Dr. Vakhshouri earned her PhD in Energy Security and Middle Eastern Studies. She has MA in Business Management (International Marketing) and also another MA in International Relations.

She is also a published scholar, having authored various articles that focus on Iran and Middle Eastern geopolitical dynamics, investment and regional and global energy security. Her articles have been published in The Economist, Oil and Gas Journal, Oil and Gas Review, Middle East Economic Survey (MEES), Strategic Affairs, Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Journal and The Huffington Post. She regularly contributes to the BBC, Reuters, Energy Intelligence, Russia Today and National Public Radio. She also authored a book on The Marketing and Sale of Iranian Export Crude Oil Since the Islamic Revolution.