Khawaja Hammad (Maddy) Akbar, APF
Khawaja Hammad (Maddy) Akbar, APF is a Pakistani Geo-Political Scientist, Futurist, and Decolonization Strategist based in Islamabad. He is the Executive Director of the Council on Global Policy in Islamabad, a Decolonization Strategist at Future Resources, a Co-Teacher at Laurea University of Applied Sciences in Finland, and a Fellow at Mangroves — a Collaboratory in Surging Life.
With over seven years of experience in leadership, strategic foresight, and transformative futures research, Khawaja has demonstrated expertise in spearheading forward-thinking initiatives and shaping policy discussions at the intersection of geopolitics, decolonization, and futures studies.
As Executive Director of the Council on Global Policy since 2021, Khawaja has been pivotal in shaping policy discussions and driving strategic shifts through initiatives like the Strategic Dialogue Series, which brought together diverse stakeholders to address critical global issues.
His leadership in managing a global participatory think tank illustrates his ability to guide forward-looking thought leadership on a global scale. His work in futures research, particularly on artificial general intelligence (AGI), showcases his capacity to anticipate and influence emerging global challenges. Read AGI race outpaces global governance and From fault line to frontier of hope: The Durand Line and future of regional peace.
Since May 2024, Khawaja has served as Decolonization Strategist at Future Resources, where he implements inclusive foresight strategies that challenge systemic biases and reshape future narratives. In this role, he applies decolonial frameworks to strategic foresight, working to ensure that futures research reflects the perspectives and priorities of the Global South.
In February 2025, Khawaja joined Laurea University of Applied Sciences in Vantaa, Finland, as a Co-Teacher for the MBA PRO course in Future Studies and Foresight Methods (5 ECTS). In this role, he provides expertise in futures studies and foresight methodologies, contributes to curriculum development and course delivery, mentors students in applied foresight projects, and collaborates with academic professionals to integrate foresight applications into business and governance frameworks.
Since November 2025, he has been a Fellow at Mangroves — a Collaboratory in Surging Life, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit collaboratory based in North Carolina that brings together thinkers across disciplines to engage with questions about life, growth, and more-than-human futures.
Khawaja has been a Member of the Association of Professional Futurists (APF) since September 2024, a Member of the Global South Futures Community since July 2024, and the Pakistan Node Member of The Millennium Project since May 2024. The Millennium Project is a global participatory think tank of futurists, scholars, scientists, and policy makers that has been assessing the future of humanity since 1996.
Through his involvement with the Global South Futures Community, Khawaja is coordinating a Special Issue for World Futures Review: A Journal of Strategic Foresight titled Global South Futures: Decolonizing Foresight in, with, and through Plural Perspectives, inviting contributions from scholars, practitioners, and community voices across the Global South.
Since 2023, Khawaja has been the Co-Host of Geopolitics: Exploring Myths and Realities, a platform for analyzing and discussing geopolitical developments from Islamabad. He is a regular Op-Ed Contributor to two of Pakistan’s prominent English-language publications: Pakistan Observer since February 2022 and The Nation since September 2019, where he writes on geopolitics, futures research, and South Asian security dynamics. Read No, Ukraine won’t be the next war theatre, but why?
Between August 2023 and April 2024, Khawaja served multiple roles at the Pakistan Health Parliament, a social project of HarFi that connects and enables future health leadership through dialogue, industry stakeholder engagement, policy-making, and advocacy. He served as Secretary General from December 2023 to April 2024, Secretary General of the Capital Cabinet from September 2023 to April 2024, and Member of the Central Consultation Council from August 2023 to April 2024. In these capacities, he led strategic health initiatives and aligned them with long-term foresight and policy goals.
In 2023, Khawaja cofounded Acmenex, a digital management and consultancy organization headquartered in Islamabad that engaged in partnerships with various enterprises on a global scale, providing customized approaches to effectively navigate the digital landscape, stimulate expansion, and attain remarkable results. He served as Co-Founder from January 2023 to December 2023.
Between April 2022 and December 2023, he served as Information Secretary at Tehreek-e-Tarrqi-e-Kamal, a political and civic organization in Islamabad. Khawaja began his career as a Research Fellow at the Center for Global and Strategic Studies (CGSS) in Islamabad from 2017 to 2019. CGSS is a public policy institution with a mission to help improve policy and decision-making through analysis and research, focusing on subjects of relevance such as counter-terrorism, politics, energy, education, health, justice, environment, and national and international security affairs.
Khawaja completed coursework in Geopolitics and Peace Studies at Stanford University, with a focus on the program Living at Nuclear Brink: Yesterday and Today. His top skills include Problem Solving, Communication, Project Management, Analytical Skills, and Volunteer Management, and he holds 41 professional skills including University Teaching and Futures Thinking.
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