45 North Strategies is a global advisory firm that provides intelligence and strategy consulting to clients ranging from leading institutional investors to climate-tech startups who want to make informed, strategic decisions.

Founder & CEO, Preston Cory, has over a decade of experience advising U.S. government officials, businesses, and investment managers as they navigate complex problems. Her expertise is backed by a diverse public-private sector background ranging from working in the U.S. Executive Branch to advising global companies across the market cap spectrum with industry expertise in energy, industrials, financial services, TMT, and utilities.

Most recently, she served as Senior Director of Government Affairs at TotalEnergies, advising its Houston-based business lines and Paris-based C-suite across gas, renewables, refining & chemicals, and commodities trading on emerging risks and opportunities. She also managed relationships with government, diplomatic, and industry stakeholders. Prior to this, she spent three years at Meridian Research Group in Washington, D.C. and London, U.K., providing due diligence and advisory services to global asset managers, corporations, and start-ups.  She has supported global macro funds and early-stage companies pursuing market entry, including those navigating opportunities created by international climate agreements, such as the UN Montreal Protocol and its Meeting of the Parties in Nairobi, Kenya.

Prior to her private sector work, Preston spent six years in the federal government as a Legislative Assistant in the U.S. Senate and in the U.S. Executive Branch at the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Air and Radiation, one of the government’s most active regulatory bodies. She also served as the EPA’s Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, liaising with governors, attorneys general, other cabinet agencies, and the White House on national regulatory topics.

Preston holds an M.Sc. in Russian and Eurasian Political Economy and Energy from King’s College London and a B.A. in Global Politics from Washington and Lee University. In her spare time, she serves as an Advisory Board Member for the National Park Trust, a land conservancy and environmental education nonprofit. Preston speaks Spanish and is conversational in French and Italian. 

45 North Strategies is a nod to the 45th parallel which delineates the halfway point between the equator and the north pole. This latitude circle embodies a brand ethos of global, bipartisan reach. The 45th parallel runs through parts of Europe where Preston has spent significant time and serviced clients, including in France and Italy, and through Russia and Eurasia in which she has geopolitical expertise.