Khristo is a strategic communications consultant and public diplomacy analyst with more than 18 years of experience in the Gulf region. With comprehensive insight and appreciation for cultural and political dynamics in the Middle East, Khristo has held several senior positions at global consultancy firms in Qatar and the UAE, where he provided strategic counsel to multiple key organizations in the government, semi-government, and private sectors.

His research activities focus on the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as soft power diplomacy in wider contexts, including the European Union. Among other topics, Khristo has written about the Gulf states’ public diplomacy during the Qatar diplomatic crisis, cyber-diplomacy in Qatar, Western soft power, and the German government’s communication in response to COVID-19.

Khristo has also served as adjunct lecturer for strategic communications and public relations at several universities in the Gulf, and delivered numerous talks and training programs in Germany, Qatar, and the UAE. Khristo speaks German, English and Bulgarian, and converses in basic Arabic and French. He received his MA in Diplomatic Studies from the University of Leicester.