Marcelle M. Wahba

Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba is the senior advisor for the Gulf Cooperation Council countries at PineBridge Investments, a global asset management firm. She also heads DerMar International, LLC, a consulting firm that assists organizations in establishing a presence or expanding their operations in the Middle East.

Ambassador Wahba retired from the U.S. Department of State in 2008 at the rank of minister counselor after a 22-year career. From 2006 to 2008 she was assigned to the Pentagon as foreign policy advisor to the chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force. She served from 2004 to 2006 as the international affairs advisor and deputy at the National War College of the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.

Ambassador Wahba was confirmed as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the United Arab Emirates in 2001 and served until 2004. She joined the Foreign Service as a mid-level officer and served as the deputy policy officer in the Near East office of the United States Information Agency from 1987 to 1988. Subsequently she served at the U.S. embassies in Cairo, Nicosia, and Amman.

Ambassador Wahba graduated from Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio, with a B.A. in political science and international relations. She received a diploma in national security from the National War College. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, she serves on the board of American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA). She is also the deputy chair of the board of the School of Policy and International Affairs at the University of Maine. She was the recipient of the White House Presidential Meritorious Service Award for her service in the U.A.E., and His Highness President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan awarded her the U.A.E.’s Order of Independence First Class.