McLarty Associates hires Geoffrey Pyatt as head of new energy and critical minerals practice

McLarty Associates, a commercial diplomacy consulting firm owned by Ankura, has hired Geoffrey Pyatt, former US ambassador to Ukraine and Greece, as head of its new energy and critical minerals practice.

“Energy, critical minerals, and supply chain strategies are remaking geopolitics, creating enormous economic competition, and galvanizing changes in governance around the world in dramatic ways,” said Lee Feinstein, president of McLarty Associates and former US ambassador to Poland. “Geoff Pyatt is an esteemed diplomat uniquely experienced in these arenas, with insights and relationships spanning the globe.”

Pyatt spent the last 35 years in the US foreign service. Between 2022 and 2025, he was the US’ chief energy diplomat, serving as assistant secretary of state for energy resources. Between 2016 and 2022, Pyatt was ambassador to Greece, and between 2013 and 2016, he served as ambassador to Ukraine. During his posting, Pyatt helped execute the Obama administration’s response to the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014.

Before that, Pyatt was principal deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs.

He holds a master’s degree in international relations from Yale University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Irvine.

“McLarty Associates invented commercial diplomacy, and this new initiative will ensure that market entry, energy resilience, advanced energy partnerships, and diversification of supply chains for key energy materials and technologies will continue to drive success for our clients and growth of the firm,” Pyatt said.

McLarty Associates was founded in 1998 by Thomas McLarty, former chief of staff to president Bill Clinton. The firm advises businesses and non-profits on international affairs issues such as market entry, political risk management, government relations, public-private partnerships, and regulatory change. (Work that must be especially simple under the current administration’s stable and coherent trade and foreign policy).

At the time of Ankura’s 2021 acquisition of McLarty Associates, the DC-based firm had approximately 100 advisors.