Strategic Foresight for an Unstable World
Elite geopolitical foresight delivered through fractional executive partnership.
About Cypher Strategies
Global risk isn’t slowing down. From China’s economic coercion to rising regional flashpoints and climate-linked instability, the forces reshaping the global operating environment demand more than crisis response. They demand foresight.
The problem? Geopolitical insight is in short supply, and real-world expertise can’t be mass-produced. It’s earned.
At Cypher Strategies, we bring two decades of intelligence and strategic advisory experience to the table. We help forward-thinking leaders develop durable strategies that evolve with the world, not after it.
Our work is grounded in three core principles.
Human-Centric Intelligence
We source signals from a global human network - spanning diplomats, operators, and technocrats - offering insight far beyond sanitized OSINT or open-source modeling.
Foresight Tied to Action
We don’t just identify risk. We co-design decision triggers, red-line playbooks, and opportunity maps so you can act before competitors even register the threat.
Integrated Strategic Insight
From Beijing to the Sahel, from rare earths to regime psychology, we fuse geopolitical, security, and behavioral intelligence to build true global situational awareness.
About the Founder
Erika Lafrennie is a geopolitical strategist, fractional executive, and founder of Cypher Strategies. With two decades of intelligence and advisory experience, including roles supporting US Special Operations and shaping strategy, she helps CEOs, boards, and national security leaders decode global risk and turn it into strategic advantage.
Erika also authors Xinanigans, a premium brief analyzing China's internal dynamics and strategic behavior.
