Riyad Insanally retired in June 2021 as Guyana’s Ambassador to the United States and to the Organization of American States. His time as Ambassador to the US coincided with the discovery of huge oil and gas reserves offshore Guyana and his country’s emergence as an increasingly important player in the energy sector of the Western Hemisphere and globally. While in office, Ambassador Insanally focused on assisting American firms as they pursued trade and investment opportunities in Guyana, not only in the hydrocarbons industry but also in infrastructure development, renewable energy, agro-industry, and other sectors. He continues this focus in his current capacity with TSG.

A career diplomat with over 30 years’ experience, Ambassador Insanally specialized in bilateral and multilateral diplomacy; political and cooperation relations with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean; trade and commercial negotiations; and building strategic partnerships with a wide variety of stakeholders in the public and private sectors, civil society, and academia. In 2019, he received Guyana’s third highest national award, the Cacique’s Crown of Honour (CCH), for “long and distinguished service in the field of diplomacy and international relations.”

In addition to his role as Senior Advisor for the Caribbean at TSG, in December 2025, he was elected by acclamation by the OAS Permanent Council to serve as a Commissioner on the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights. Just prior to that he was head of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission for the general elections in Saint Lucia, held on December 1, 2025.

Ambassador Insanally is also, and concurrently, a member of Diplomats Without Borders; a Fellow with the Caribbean Policy Consortium; an Associate of the University of Guyana Foundation; an Inaugural Member of the Global Advisory Council of The Presidential Precinct in Charlottesville, VA; and an Honorary Professor of the Centre for Caribbean Studies at the University of Warwick, UK.

A winner of a prestigious Guyana Scholarship in 1977, Riyad Insanally studied Modern Languages and Latin American Studies and holds MA and MPhil degrees from the University of Cambridge and a PhD from Harvard University. He is fluent in English and Spanish, and proficient in French.