HENRY HAGGARD is the Principal of Seekonk LLC. He is a former U.S. diplomat who completed a twenty-five-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service, retiring at the rank of Counselor in the Senior Foreign Service. Henry is a Principal at WestExec Advisors, Non-Resident Fellow at the Baker Institute Center for Energy Studies (CES) at Rice University, Senior Associate of the KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS), Senior Fellow at Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI), and Partner at Albion East Ltd, Global Development Advisors. From 2021-2023, he served as Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the United States Embassy in South Korea. Prior to that, he served as Director at the National Security Council under both the Trump and Biden administrations, coordinating United States policy and engagement with Turkey, Greece, and the United Kingdom.
Previous assignments at the State Department include Director of Energy Diplomacy for Asia and the Middle East, Acting Political Minister Counselor at the United States Mission to the European Union, Chief of Staff to the Secretary’s Special Representative for Syria Engagement, Deputy Principal Officer in Erbil, Iraq, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for European Affairs, three tours in the State Department’s Executive Secretariat for Secretaries Powell, Rice and Kerry, a tour in Baghdad, and one stint as political-military team lead at the United States Embassy in Paris. Participated in four diplomatic missions to North Korea between 2000-2008.
Henry speaks fluent Korean and French and received a BA in International Relations from Brown University and a MA in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College. He founded The Twenty-Five Year Apprenticeship, a resource for diplomatic tradecraft and frequently contributes to news and media on global affairs and the Korean peninsula. CV
CHRIS McKINNEY is a Senior Advisor at Seekonk LLC. A former U.S. Foreign Service Officer, Wall Street trader, and Army Ranger, he brings extensive experience at the intersection of diplomacy and business. His State Department career included assignments in Washington, Brussels, Berlin, Bogota, and Islamabad, where he led teams focused on energy, trade, investment, cybersecurity, and geopolitical risk.
Before government service, he worked for more than ten years as a derivatives trader at the Intercontinental Exchange, NYBOT, and COMEX in New York.
Chris holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from Harvard University. His work at Seekonk centers on strategic advisory, market entry, and risk management for clients operating in complex global environments. CV
JESSICA BRAUN is a Partner at Seekonk LLC and directs operations, communications, and design. Jessica leads STARTUP, a step-by-step guide to set-up a portfolio-based consultation business. Previous work includes siloet.co, University of California Press, and Y&R (now VMLY&R).
Jessica received a BA in Biological Science from Brown University, and a BFA in Graphic Design from CCAC.