Captain Adam Potter

Earning a commission as a Marine Corps officer in May 2001 after graduating with a degree in international relations and Arabic language, Captain Adam Potter envisioned he would be working in peace-building measures during his service. The events of 9/11 altered that trajectory into constant involvement with war-time efforts during his nine year career.

Adam’s first tour in Iraq was in the civil affairs MOS where he worked directly with Shiite communities in Southern Iraq to organize their communities in the post-Saddam Hussein era and mobilize available resources to build a foundation for development. Adam then moved to Special Operations on his second deployment to Iraq targeting enemy insurgents in the Baghdad area. His final deployment during active duty was in Afghanistan as an executive officer with Marine Special Operations where he worked amongst a strong team of Afghans and Americans to neutralize an insurgency in the western region of Farah Province.

Adam believes that private enterprises, both local and multinational, have a vested stake in preventing conflict or accelerating the restoration of peace, yet do not understand the cost-benefit or their potential contribution to the process. In starting his own consulting company and pursuing a MBA from Stanford University, Adam has positioned himself to bring about a new facet of corporate responsibility in global peace efforts.