Ali Hajizade

Ali Hajizade is a Washington, D.C.-based entrepreneur, information warfare analyst, and communications specialist born in Baku, Azerbaijan, on February 26, 1984. He holds a bachelor's degree in the theory and history of fine arts from the Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts.

In 2007, Mr. Hajizade began his career as an independent PR and communications consultant. Since 2008, he has conducted extensive research on information warfare tactics, methods, and concepts.

In 2012, he founded Hajizade Group, a pioneering PR firm in his home country. Over time, the group expanded its focus to include education and media production. By 2023, the company had been recognized as the largest PR firm in the country.

From 2015 to 2021, Mr. Hajizade led the Greater Middle East Project, a platform dedicated to regional analysis and the study of malicious information activity. Under his leadership, the project brought together leading experts and analysts specializing in the Middle East.

In January 2022, amid a global surge in disinformation, Mr. Hajizade launched Tarand.io, a U.S.-based startup dedicated to combating malicious information activity. Tarand develops educational solutions designed to empower students, public servants, military personnel, and civil society activists with the tools to identify, classify, and respond to disinformation and other types of malicious information activity. The platform's innovative solutions aim to build resilience and strengthen societal immunity against the risks posed by information threats.

In the fall of 2022, Mr. Hajizade was selected as a fellow in the Donald Rumsfeld Foundation's Central Asia-Caucasus Fellowship Program, further underscoring his commitment to addressing regional and global challenges in information warfare.

Mr. Hajizade has authored numerous analytical articles on hybrid wars, information warfare, and malicious information activity. His insights have been cited by mainstream media outlets, journalists, and researchers. He is also a frequent speaker at think tanks and policy forums, where he delivers presentations on combating disinformation and understanding the evolving tactics of information warfare.