Erika Lafrennie is a global strategist, intelligence expert, and trusted advisor with over two decades of experience guiding CEOs, diplomats, and military leaders through the world’s most complex geopolitical challenges. 

In 2024, she concluded a Non-Resident Fellowship at Joint Special Operations University, where her work focused on redefining the strategic mission of US Special Operations Forces in an era of great power competition. This experience prompted her to found Cypher Strategies, an elite geopolitical risk advisory firm where she now delivers exclusive insights and strategic guidance to C-Suites and boards.

Previously, Erika co-founded Luminae Group, the first wholly woman-owned geopolitical risk advisory firm in the US, where she built a reputation for delivering nuanced geopolitical insights. Her earlier career includes senior roles at the US Department of Defense and other government agencies where she provided intelligence that directly shaped national security strategy.

Her extensive experience spans supporting forward-deployed military units, including Special Forces across Africa and the Middle East, providing strategic foresight and hands-on operational expertise in high-stakes environments. This rare combination enables her to address geopolitical challenges from multiple dimensions, ensuring clients receive actionable solutions tailored to real-world complexities.

In addition to her professional work, Erika is a dedicated advisor to families of Americans held hostage or unlawfully detained abroad, providing strategy development and geopolitical analysis, often supplementing government efforts.

Erika holds a Master of Arts in Strategic Intelligence, Middle Eastern Studies, and Terrorism from American Military University, with further studies at the University of St. Andrews and the Arabic Language Institute in Fes, Morocco. Her career has taken her to over 40 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, shaping her as an international strategist capable of guiding leaders through today’s most pressing geopolitical risks.

At Cypher Strategies, Erika’s unmatched ability to combine strategic intelligence with agile, real-world insights ensures her clients turn geopolitical uncertainty into opportunity with precision and confidence.