Vanessa Neumann

Vanessa Antonia Neumann was born in Caracas, Venezuela to Michal (the Czech version of what would be Miguel in Spanish, Michael in English, or Mikhail in Russian) Neumann (1947-1992) and Antonia Donnelly (1947-2015). Miguel Neumann was the son of entrepreneurs Hans and Milada Neumann, Jews who emigrated from Czechoslovakia to Venezuela in 1949.{{Cite book|isbn=978-1982106379|title=When Time Stopped: A Memoir of My Father's War and What Remains|last1=Neumann|first1=Ariana|date=4 February 2020}} Antonia Donnelly de Neumann was an American of Irish and Italian descent.{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Ambassador Neumann|url=https://venembuki.com/ambassador-%2F-embajadora|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Venezuelan Embassy in the UK and Ireland}} Neumann's grandfather, Hans Neumann, co-founded Corimon (Corporación Industrial Montana), which had its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange on March 23, 1993,{{cite web|title=Securities and Exchange Commission Archives: Corimon|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/898778/000110465903029283/a03-6348_120f.htm|access-date=|website=Securities & Exchange Commission Archives}}{{Failed verification|date=September 2021}} and Fundación Neumann, a philanthropic foundation with the twin missions of cultural education and poverty alleviation programs. They also established the Instituto de Diseño Neumann, and were co-founders of the {{ill|Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Sofia Imber|es}} and the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA), which, under the guidance of Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter, taught American business administration.{{Cite web|title=Innovación en procesos y modelos de negocios - IESA Escuela de gerencia con cuatro acreditaciones internacionales|url=http://www.iesa.edu.ve/cursos-y-programas/cursos/564=innovacion-en-procesos-y-modelos-de-negocios/5336|access-date=2020-07-12|website=www.iesa.edu.ve}} For a quarter century, Hans Neumann was also the major shareholder of the Mustique Company,{{cite magazine |last=Haskell |first=Rob |date=January 17, 2017 |title=Why the Jet Set is Obsessed with Mustique, the World's Most Glamorous "Healthy Addiction" |url=https://www.wmagazine.com/story/mustique-island-travel-destination-celebrity-jetset |magazine=W}}{{cite news |last=Aitkenhead |first=Decca |date=February 2, 1997 |title=A Tale of Two Communities |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/a-tale-of-two-communities-1276546.html |newspaper=The Independent |location=London}} which owns the island of Mustique.{{cite news |last=Barker |first=Dennis |date=August 29, 2010 |title=Lord Glenconner obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/aug/29/lord-glenconner-obituary |newspaper=The Guardian}} He also owned two newspapers in Venezuela: the English-language The Daily Journal, and Tal Cual. Mila Neumann was given the Order of Francisco de Miranda. Miguel Neumann founded Intercomunica, which produced a television series interviewing political leaders on the world stage and a series of books on Venezuelan cinema and culture. Miguel Neumann also owned the Spanish winery Vega Sicilia.{{cite news |last=Mount |first=Ian |date=July 19, 2014 |title=A Family Feud, Uncorked in Spain|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/business/international/a-family-feud-uncorked-in-spain.html |newspaper=The New York Times}}

Neumann received her B.A. (1994), M.A. (1998), M.Phil. (2000),{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}{{Cite web|title=Class of 1994|url=https://www.college.columbia.edu/annualreport/2016/givingback/donors/1994}} and Ph.D. (2004) from Columbia University, where she submitted her doctoral dissertation, "Autonomy and Legitimacy of States: A Critical Approach to Foreign Intervention," under the tutelage of Rawlsian scholar Thomas Pogge.{{cite web|title=Doctoral Dissertations Supervised or Co-Supervised – Thomas Pogge|url=https://campuspress.yale.edu/thomaspogge/doctoral-dissertations-supervised-or-co-supervised/|website=campuspress.yale.edu|accessdate=6 January 2018}}

In the 1990s, Neumann worked as a journalist in Caracas for English-language newspaper The Daily Journal, and then in corporate planning and finance at Venezuelan petrochemicals conglomerate Corimon, the time of its ADR listing on the NYSE.{{Cite web|title=Securities & Exchange Commission Archives|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/898778/000110465903029283/a03-6348_120f.htm|website=Securities and Exchange Commission}}

While pursuing her doctorate, she volunteered for UNICEF for four years, starting in 2001,{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/children/4710313/I-wrote-a-cheque-but-couldnt-stop-there.html|title=I wrote a cheque but couldn't stop there|last=Ryan|first=Susan|date=26 March 2002|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=28 May 2019}} raising funds from individual and corporate donors and traveling to Tanzania to coordinate with the local health administration on tetanus vaccinations. At the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE) in Canberra, Australia, in 2006, she supported Thomas Pogge's research into reform of the global institutional order for the alleviation of extreme poverty. While working as adjunct assistant professor of philosophy at Hunter College of The City University of New York, she was also an analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, where she conducted research into Latin American security, particularly the role of Venezuela in providing haven and funding for the Colombian FARC guerrilla movement. She became editor-at-large for Diplomat, a UK magazine on diplomacy in the UK and EU.{{cite web |url=http://www.aei.org/events/after-hugo-chavez-chinas-strategic-advance-in-venezuela/ |title=After Hugo Chávez: China's Strategic Advance in Venezuela |website=American Enterprise Institute}} In 2009 - 2010, Neumann worked in the field in Colombia on the reintegration of paramilitaries. In 2013, the year Vanessa Neumann, Inc. became Asymmetrica, Neumann was the academic reviewer for the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) teaching text on counterinsurgency in Colombia.{{cite web |url=http://shesummit.com/speaker/dr-vanessa-neumann/ |title=Dr. Vanessa Neumann |website=S.H.E. Summit}}

Neumann's academic talks are centered on three areas of research: Venezuela,{{cite web|url=http://www.el-nacional.com/noticias/politica/neumann-venezuela-esta-regida-por-cartel-drogas-por-gobierno_198993|title=Neumann: Venezuela está regida por un cartel de drogas, no por un gobierno|date=16 August 2017|website=El Nacional|language=es|access-date=26 May 2019}}{{cite web|url=http://elestimulo.com/blog/vanessa-neumann-venezuela-vive-las-consecuencias-del-crimen-organizado/|title=Vanessa Neumann: Venezuela vive las consecuencias del crimen organizado|last=Neumann|first=Vanessa|date=28 December 2017|website=El Estímulo|language=es|access-date=26 May 2019}}{{cite web|url=http://www.el-nacional.com/noticias/literatura/presentaron-blood-profits-texto-sobre-crimen-organizado-venezuela_217117|title=Presentaron Blood Profits, un texto sobre crimen organizado en Venezuela|date=28 December 2017|website=El Nacional|language=es|access-date=26 May 2019}} crime-terror pipelines,{{cite web |url=https://www.fpri.org/event/2013/crime-terror-pipelines-the-case-of-iran-and-latin-america/ |title=Crime-Terror Pipelines: The Case of Iran and Latin America |website=Foreign Policy Research Institute}}{{cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/34529324 |title=Trans-Atlantic Dialogue on Combating Crime-Terror Pipelines: Dismantling Converging Threat Networks to Strengthen Global Security |date=2012 |publisher=|last1=Neumann |first1=Vanessa }}{{cite press release |title=Vanessa Neumann, President and CEO of Asymmetrica, to Discuss Illicit Trade, Organized Crime and Terror Groups at Rutgers University-Newark |url=http://news.rutgers.edu/media-advisory/vanessa-neumann-president-and-ceo-asymmetrica-discuss-illicit-trade-organized-crime-and-terror/20141013#.WbWdutOGMUE |publisher=Rutgers Today}}{{Cite web|url=https://news.rutgers.edu/media-advisory/vanessa-neumann-president-and-ceo-asymmetrica-discuss-illicit-trade-organized-crime-and-terror/20141013|title=Vanessa Neumann, President and CEO of Asymmetrica, to Discuss Illicit Trade, Organized Crime and Terror Groups at Rutgers University-Newark|date=13 October 2014|website=Rutgers Today|access-date=28 May 2019}} and foreign investment (particularly from China) in the Latin American energy sector.{{cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/34529274 |title=China in Venezuela American Enterprise Institute |last=Neumann |first=Vanessa |date=April 12, 2012}}{{cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/34529273 |title=China goes shopping in latin america |last=Neumann |first=Vanessa |date=May 1, 2012}} She is also a cited expert on illicit financial flows from Chinese counterfeiting.{{cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/take-a-tour-of-the-red-hot-center-of-chinese-counterfeiting|title=Take a Tour of the Red-Hot Center of Chinese Counterfeiting|last=Neumann|first=Vanessa|date=25 December 2017|website=The Daily Beast|access-date=28 May 2019}}

Neumann is a commentator on politics and a vocal critic of the Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro regimes, and she cites organized crime conducted by them as a cause of oppression in her native Venezuela. Her book Blood Profits: How American Consumers Unwittingly Fund Terrorists has drawn support from exiled Venezuelan opposition leaders and she cites organized crime by the Maduro regime as a cause of the economic collapse and human rights violations in her native Venezuela.

Neumann has published articles in The Wall Street Journal,{{Cite news|last=Neumann|first=Vanessa|date=2017-07-10|title=The Venezuelan Regime Is Coming Apart|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-venezuelan-regime-is-coming-apart-1499726829|access-date=2020-07-09|issn=0099-9660}} The Daily Beast,{{Cite news|last=Neumann|first=Dr Vanessa|date=2017-06-01|title=How Goldman Sachs Is Ruining My Venezuela|language=en|work=The Daily Beast|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/05/31/how-goldman-sachs-is-ruining-my-venezuela|access-date=2020-07-09}}{{Cite news|last=Neumann|first=Dr Vanessa|date=2017-04-27|title=Russia Gave to Citgo, Then Citgo Gave to Trump|language=en|work=The Daily Beast|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/04/27/russia-gave-to-citgo-and-citgo-gave-to-trump|access-date=2020-07-09}} The (London) Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Weekly Standard, Standpoint and many other publications.{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}} She appears regularly on CNN, CNNE, Fox Business,{{Cite web|title=U.S. hits Venezuelan president with sanctions|url=http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/5527183793001/|access-date=2020-07-09|website=Fox Business|language=en}} Al Jazeera, NTN24, GloboTV, and other networks.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}} She is a regular guest on Varney & Co. She was once introduced as a panelist by a Department of State official.{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/inl/rls/rm/194199.htm |title=The Crime-Terror Panorama: Converging Threat Networks Across the Global Illegal Economy/Criminalized Markets and Their Impact on National Security |website=U.S. Department of State}} Her written work has been used by the American Enterprise Institute. Neumann's research on Venezuela and crime-terror pipelines has been cited in Matthew Levitt's book Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon's Party of God (Washington, DC: Georgetown UP, 2013) and Louise Shelley's Dirty Entanglements: Corruption, Crime and Terrorism (New York: Cambridge UP, 2014), among other works.

In New York in 2010 Neumann founded her business, named Asymmetrica.{{Cite web|title=Dun & Bradstreet|url=https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.asymmetrica_inc.15f94a1b342339e80d8078938c687ef0.html#company-info}} It is part of the research network for the UN Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate.

On 13 March 2019, Dr. Neumann testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States Congress, as part of Hearing on H.R. 1004: Prohibiting Unauthorized Military Action in Venezuela Act.{{Cite web|last=Neumann|first=Vanessa|title=HHRG-116-FA00-Wstate-NeumannV-20190313.pdf|url=https://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA00/20190313/109113/HHRG-116-FA00-Wstate-NeumannV-20190313.pdf|website=House of Representatives documents}}{{Cite web|title=Hearing on H.R. 1004, Prohibiting Unauthorized Military Action in Venezuela Act|url=https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/2019/3/hearing-on-h-r-1004-prohibiting-unauthorized-military-action-in-venezuela-act|website=US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs}}

During the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis, a plenary session of Venezuela's National Assembly endorsed acting president Juan Guaidó's appointment of Neumann as his Ambassador and Chief of Mission to the Court of St. James (the UK).

Neumann was a central figure in a landmark trial on who controls Venezuela's national gold reserves held at the Bank of England (Nicolás Maduro or Juan Guaidó) that took place in London's High Court, 22–25 June 2020.{{Cite news|date=2020-06-22|title=Venezuela's rival leaders begin tug-of-war over London gold|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-gold-bankofengland-idUSKBN23T2SJ|access-date=2020-07-08}} On the day the trial started, Neumann stated clearly the purpose of the trial: “The gold in the vaults in the Bank of England is our national reserves. It belongs to our people, to secure our nation’s future.”{{Cite web|last=Meredith|first=Sam|date=2020-06-24|title=Venezuela's rival leaders in legal battle to determine fate of over $1 billion gold reserves held in London|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/24/venezuela-legal-case-to-decide-fate-of-over-1-billion-gold-reserves.html|access-date=2020-07-08|website=CNBC|language=en}} On 2 July 2020, Justice Nigel Teare issued his decision: Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom "unequivocally" recognizes{{Cite news|last1=Peltier|first1=Elian|last2=Kurmanaev|first2=Anatoly|date=2020-07-02|title=Nicolás Maduro Can't Sell Venezuelan Gold at Bank of England, Court Rules|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/world/europe/venezuela-gold-uk-nicolas-maduro.html|access-date=2020-07-09|issn=0362-4331}} Juan Guaidó as the president of Venezuela.{{Cite web|last=Stott|first=Michael|date=2020-07-02|title=UK court rejects Maduro's claim on $1bn of Venezuelan gold held by Bank of England|url=https://www.ft.com/content/55aa103a-c142-40a0-be7c-1d41ec002498|access-date=2020-07-08|website=www.ft.com|language=en-GB}} In The Wall Street Journal,{{Cite news|last=Colombia|first=Jason Douglas in London and Kejal Vyas in Bogotá|date=2020-07-02|title=Venezuelan Leader Maduro's Claim for Gold Held in U.K. Is Rejected|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuelan-president-maduros-claim-for-gold-held-in-u-k-is-rejected-11593683902|access-date=2020-07-08|issn=0099-9660}} Juan Guaidó stated: “This is a grand victory for us in the area of international law," and Neumann stated: "It’s a national reserve, it’s safeguarded for the future, for the reconstruction of the country in the democratic system.” To the Financial Times, Neumann declared: "The verdict is a victory for the people of Venezuela and for the rule of law more generally. It highlights the importance of a judiciary that is independent and non-political." On 5 July 2020, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II sent a letter to Juan Guaidó congratulating the Venezuelan people on their Independence Day celebrations.{{Cite web|date=2020-07-05|title=Reina Isabell II felicita al Presidente Guaidó por el Día de la Independencia de Venezuela|url=https://presidenciave.com/internacional/reina-isabel-ii-felici-president-guaid-por-el-dia-de-la-independencia-de-vzla1/|access-date=2020-07-08|website=Presidencia Venezuela|language=es}}

In November 2020, Neumann's LinkedIn profile was changed to reflect her return to the helm of Asymmetrica.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=LinkedIn profile of Vanessa Neumann, Ph.D.|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessaneumannphd/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}} Her resignation as Guaidó's ambassador to the UK appeared on page 2 of the December 1, 2020 edition of The Financial Times.{{Cite news|last=Stott|first=Michael|date=December 1, 2020|title=Venezuelan opposition envoy quits as anti-Maduro coalition frays: Vanessa Neumann resigns as Juan Guaidó's representative to the UK after setbacks|work=The Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/783b7c6c-9d95-445d-a260-e61a11c093d8|access-date=September 7, 2021}}

ON 4 February 2022, Neumann was appointed to the board of Tintra, a UK bank and fast growing regtech firm listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.{{Cite web |date=2022-02-04 |title=Tintra PLC announces appointment of Dr Vanessa Neumann to its Board - UK News Group |url=https://www.uknewsgroup.co.uk/tintra-plc-announces-appointment-of-dr-vanessa-neumann-to-its-board/ |access-date=2022-04-02 |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |title=Tintra welcomes Dr. Vanessa Neumann to its Board as Independent Director |url=https://talent4boards.com/tintra-welcomes-dr-vanessa-neumann-to-its-board-as-independent-director/ |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=talent4boards.com}} In a 10 March 2022 interview with Finance Monthly, she discussed how biases and prejudices within the Western Financial System pose challenges for emerging markets and why she thinks advanced technology and AI, like Tintra is developing, is key to creating efficiencies and promote development.{{Cite web |title=Connecting Emerging Markets: Dr Vanessa Neumann On The Need For Frictionless Financial Bridging Of Business |url=https://www.finance-monthly.com/2022/03/connecting-emerging-markets-former-venezuelan-ambassador-on-the-need-for-frictionless-financial-bridging-of-business/ |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=Finance Monthly {{!}} Monthly Finance News Magazine |language=en-GB}}

Current affiliations{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Vanessa Neumann LinkedIn profile|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessaneumannphd/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}

• Global Counter-Terrorism Research Network (GCTRN), United Nations Security Council, New York, NY. Since 2015.
• Fellow, Global Justice Program, Yale University; New Haven, CT. Since 2014.{{Cite web|title=Global Justice Program|url=https://globaljustice.yale.edu/people/vanessa-neumann|website=Yale University Global Justice Program}}
• Associate, University Seminar on Latin America, Columbia University; New York, NY. Since 2010.

Neumann dated Mick Jagger in 1998. Their relationship ended in 2002. She was later engaged to Scottish landowner William Stirling. Neumann married William Cash, son of Sir William Cash, a British Conservative politician and Member of Parliament for Stone. They divorced in 2010.{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/londoners-diary/never-mind-the-age-gap-lets-hope-its-third-time-lucky-for-william-cash-8794370.html|title=Never Mind the Age Gap: let's hope it's third time lucky for William Cash|date=2 September 2013|newspaper=Evening Standard|access-date=28 May 2019}}

Vanessa Neumann is a passionate horseback rider and a certified open water, advanced deep water diver. In January 2014 she attained her PADI certification as an enriched air diver, known as nitrox diving.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}{{Cite web |title=PADI Certifications and Credentials |url=https://account.padi.com/login/sign-in?client_id=7l7c6rgndimr802cfhva7akdsh&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Flearning.padi.com%2Fcertifications%2Fecard%2F27585150}}

• Neumann, Vanessa Antonia (2004). [https://philpapers.org/rec/NEUTAA-3 Autonomy and Legitimacy of States: A Critical Approach to Foreign Intervention.] Dissertation, Columbia University.
• {{cite book |last=Neumann |first=Vanessa |year=2017 |title=Blood Profits: How American Consumers Unwittingly Fund Terrorists |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-1-250-08935-9}}
• Neumann, Vanessa (2018). Lucros de sangue: Como o consumidor financia o terrorismo. Matrix Editora. {{ISBN|978-8-582-30500-3}}

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• [http://www.vanessaneumann.com Vanessa Neumann] Official Website

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Category:Venezuelan emigrants to the United States

Category:Venezuelan women journalists

Category:Living people

Category:1972 births

Category:Venezuelan people of Czech descent

Category:American women journalists

Category:Writers from Caracas

Category:Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni

Category:21st-century American women

Category:Venezuelan women ambassadors

Category:Ambassadors of Venezuela to the United Kingdom