Dr. Ebtesam al-Ketbi is the president of the Emirates Policy Center (EPC), which she founded in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates in September 2013. EPC undertakes the task of studying and foreseeing future regional and international geopolitical projects and their impact on the Gulf region based on the region’s self-perception of its concerns and interests. The center also focuses on exploring current and future issues that have an impact on the security of the UAE and the region as a whole. EPC provides strategic analysis and policy papers on these issues that serve the UAE and Gulf governments. The center is considered now as one of the most renowned think tanks in the region. Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate, which is organized annually by EPC, has also become one of the key platforms for dialogue in the world to discuss regional and international security. EPC has ranked seventh in the Middle East and North Africa region in the annual global think tank index report 2018 released by the University of Pennsylvania. The center has also ranked tenth in think tank conferences worldwide.

In recognition of her role as a leader of one of the most important think tanks in the Arab world, Dr. al-Ketbi was appointed in 2015 as member of the Consultative Commission of the Cooperation Council of the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC). She was also chosen by Arabian Business magazine in July 2018 in its list of 50 Most Influential Women in the Arab World as she was the first woman to lead one of the most important think tanks in the Arab world. Dr. Al-Ketbi also received the Women Super Achiever Award during the World Women Leaderships Congress that took place in Mumbai, India in February 2019, and the Arab Social Media Influencers Award in the Politics Category by Dubai Press Club in December 2018.

Before she founded EPC, Dr. al-Ketbi was a professor of political science at the United Arab Emirates University. She also held several posts such as the general coordinator of the Gulf Development Forum, and served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Arab Association for Political Science and as a member in the board of trustees in the Center for Arab Unity Studies, the Arab Thought Foundation, and the Arab Anti-Corruption Organization. She is currently member of the Board of Directors of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and the Global Advisory Board of Observer Research Foundation in India. Dr. al-Ketbi published a number of research papers on Gulf Security, US-GCC relations, and War on Terrorism. Moreover, she has participated in many conferences that address regional and global affairs and is frequently hosted by many Arab news channels as an expert in the Gulf and Iranian affairs. She holds a PhD in political science from Cairo University.