Robert Bassett Cross MC is a nonresident senior fellow at the Forward Defense practice of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. He is also the chief executive officer and founder of Adarga, a United Kingdom-based company that develops artificial intelligence software for organizations in national security and defense. Bassett Cross has applied his experience as a former British Army officer, leading teams on counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere around the world, to develop an intelligent software platform that allows users to analyze vast volumes of in-house and publicly available information at speed to discover the deep and mission-critical insights that drive better decisions. Organizations across the UK Ministry of Defence, wider government, and the commercial sector are using this technology to more rapidly identify threats and opportunities, provide decision advantage, and retain a competitive edge. Bassett Cross is based in London, where Adarga is headquartered, but the company also has presence in the United States and Australia. 

After leaving the British Army and before founding Adarga, Bassett Cross joined J.P. Morgan as an investment banker in the corporate finance team where he was involved in over thirty billion dollars’ worth of transactions across the spectrum of corporate finance advisory, mergers and acquisitions, and offerings roles. His specific coverage responsibility was for the natural resources and defense and aerospace sectors. 

Bassett Cross is a leader in digital transformation and innovation, supporting organizations through technology, data science, and artificial-intelligence solutions. He graduated with a degree in law (LLB (Hons)) from Exeter University.