Sir Tom Phillips KCMG joined the VHI Advisory Board in 2014. He is Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies, in London, an Associate Fellow of Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa programme, a member of the Wilton Park Advisory Council and an Honorary Fellow of St Edmund’s College, Cambridge. In his former career as a British diplomat, Phillips’ postings including serving as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as Ambassador to Israel, and as High Commissioner to Uganda, and as the Director responsible for Afghanistan and South Asia at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He has also worked as International Adviser to the Prince’s Charities’ International Sustainability Unit. Before transferring to the FCO, Phillips worked for five years for the Department of Health and Social Security.