Before Incisive

Ahmad Attia graduated in 2005 with a degree in computer engineering from the University of Toronto. He landed his first job in IBM and then Deloitte consulting in enterprise risk management and was one of the youngest consultants to fast track the corporate ladder.

While he enjoyed his time with Deloitte, he realized that he could not continue to suppress his entrepreneurial spirit and formed RisQ Consulting at the age of 25. Ahmad consulted in technology planning and risk management for a wide range of industries and clients internationally, and RisQ continues to this day.

As RisQ grew, Ahmad was still able to balance the demands of a high pressure work environment with starting and growing a family. He and his wife Lyla now have three children.

But in 2013 Ahmad’s life took a sudden, drastic turn.

On July 3, 2013, the day of the military coup in Egypt, Ahmad’s brother-in-law,  Khaled Al-Qazzaz, who was serving as a presidential aide, was unlawfully detained and disappeared.  

No one knew what had happened but all feared the worst.

Ahmad reflects, “Human rights was not part of my life at this time, but at that point my sister and I dropped everything and fought for his freedom. We dedicated our lives to free him.”

Working with several governments, the United Nations, other human rights organizations, and mobilizing a large grassroots campaign,  Ahmad and his sister Sarah were instrumental in organizing one of the most internationally recognized human rights campaigns. They secured Khaled’s release in 2015. By this time, Khaled had spent an astonishing 1.5 years in forced disappearance and solitary confinement. He was never charged or tried for a single crime of any kind and was reunited with Sarah and their children in 2016.

Incisive Strategy is Born

Forming a successful public relations and crisis management firm was the furthest thing from Ahmad’s mind through all those years in school and the corporate world. Yet, witnessing rampant human rights abuse first hand galvanized him, raising his awareness of just how prevalent this problem is.  

Word about Ahmad’s involvement in Khaled’s release spread and he suddenly found himself fielding calls from families desperate to find missing loved ones or from NGOs looking to launch international and social issues campaigns.

Saying “no” never entered his mind. After all he and his family had been through, and the support people gave across the world, Ahmad made it his mission to help in any way possible.

Today, Incisive Strategy has grown into a multi-service public relations firm and welcomes clients of all types. Our team remains most passionate about assisting individuals, civil society groups, and governmental institutions to design and execute purpose-driven campaigns. We are dedicated to shining the spotlight on human rights violations and international crimes when it means someone innocent can be freed or a civilian can be saved. But we also work on corporate communications, political campaigning, and litigation support as well as professional and discrete reputation management.

Incisive Strategy specializes in situations that are complex yet need an immediate reaction. We are equipped to handle strategic campaigns, media relations, crisis communications, government affairs, as well as the myriad of unexpected situations that may invariably rise in the midst of human rights abuses.