The ancient Greeks purposely built temples related to the future such as the oracle at Delphi, or Claros on active seismic fault lines; places prone to earthquakes and other natural disasters. The fault line was seen as the place where worlds collided, bringing new insights, perspectives, and power from tumultuousness.
In other words the friction and volatility was viewed positively by the ancient Greeks. In their eyes, fault lines and seismic activity were integral for emergence - not just of new physical structures but also of new ways of living, being, and knowing. The oracle sat above the fissure, breathing in what the collision released.
Erisian is built on the same principle. Named after Eris, the Greek Goddess of creative discord, most famous for throwing down a golden apple inscribed ‘to the fairest’ into a room full of gods, instigating an argument that reshaped the ancient world.
Erisian surfaces the collision of worldviews, narratives, and ways of knowing. We do not seek consensus. We seek clarity. We don’t create tension; we aim to reveal it. The insights live in the fault lines. We make them visible.
Erisian is a comparative intelligence company building a new analytical layer for high-stakes decision-making.
Its platform makes competing narratives, assumptions, logic and fault lines navigable at scale, preserving the differences conventional analysis tends to flatten into synthesis.
Erisian Institute is an independent global foresight institution that exists to create spaces and capacity for ideas to be challenged, stress-tested and developed without any single government, funder or institutional agenda owning the lens.
It protects the plurality, intellectual independence and the collisions of competing worldviews that emerge in those spaces as it is brought into Erisian’s platform and other work.
The two entities have different roles but the same ethos: reality is contested, disagreement contains information, and understanding the future requires seeing the fault lines rather than smoothing them away.
Founder & Group CEO
Eva grew up playing in the ruins of the temple of Claros. She is Founder and Group CEO of Erisian, CEO of Paradeigma, an award-winning strategic foresight and collaborative design practice. An expert on transformative foresight and Causal Layered Analysis, her work focuses on helping organizations break free from short-term thinking and drive long-term, systems-level change with 13+ years consulting to governments, NGOs, multi-laterals, and corporations. WEF Agenda Contributor, published researcher in the Journal of Futures Studies, Devex World Luminary 2024, and named a Leading Woman to Watch in Futures in 2025.
Partner | Community & Convening
Hugh spent more than three decades building SXSW into one of the world’s most influential platforms for technology, innovation, culture and ideas, serving as President and Chief Programming Officer. Mastermind behind the crowdsourcing approach to content at SXSW that opened agenda-setting to the wider community and revolutionized how SXSW connected with emerging ideas, talent, and voices at scale. Austinite of the Year, EY Austin Entrepreneur of the Year, Kenyon College honorary doctorate, and Austin Business Journal Legacy CEO of the Year 2025. Hugh is a founding shareholder of Erisian.
The Strategic Council is selected for the range of experience, geography, worldview and epistemology its members bring, not because they agree with one another. They are actively involved in Erisian’s development and contribute directly across intellectual direction, strategy, institutional relationships and foresight.
Chair, Strategic Council
Ziad worked decades where incompatible positions must be negotiated rather than averaged away. Candidate for President of Lebanon in 2025. Nominated for President of the World Bank in 2019. Former investment banker, Secretary General of Lebanon's High Council for Privatization, advisor to four prime ministers, Vice Chair of the UN Working Party on PPP, public policy expert, and tech entrepreneur. Currently leads the World Association for Public-Private Partnerships, whose members include 67 governments globally.
Strategic Council
Sohail is the originator of Causal Layered Analysis, the most widely used foresight methodology in the world, UNESCO Chair in Futures Studies and top 2% of scientists globally by citation. Has delivered executive foresight workshops in over 50 countries across three decades, including for the prime ministers of Canada, Australia, and South Korea. Advisor to NATO, the European Commission, and dozens of national governments. Author of 26 books translated into multiple languages.
Strategic Council
Steven has spent over three decades inside the US national security and policy communities, where the same evidence routinely supports opposing conclusions. Former partner at Toffler Associates, the consultancy founded by Alvin Toffler, whose book Future Shock launched the modern futures field. Former Vice President at Monitor 360. Founder and Principal of Foresight Vector, advising governments, corporations, and nonprofits on strategic foresight.
Erisian’s Strategic Council is integrated into the governance of Erisian Institute, creating a direct link between the people shaping Erisian’s strategic and intellectual direction and the institution protecting its editorial independence and pluralistic mandate. Ziad-Alexandre Hayek serves as Chair of the Institute’s Board.
Erisian is independent and pluralistic by design.
We will work with any government, institution or organization. But no client, funder or government gets to determine what sources are included, what perspectives are excluded or what fault lines are surfaced.
We care about the quality of a source, not its politics, ideology or agenda. If a legitimate perspective is shaping the landscape, it belongs in the analysis.
We encourage challenge. If something is missing, tell us. If you disagree with the analysis, challenge it.
Erisian is not captured by any single actor, worldview or agenda. Plurality is how we maintain epistemic independence.