Chris Mahony is a lawyer and a political scientist.
He is co-founder and CEO of Peloria, which uses social science-informed data science to forecast, explain, and advise on change in social phenomena. He also works with multiple World Bank practices, advising on the utility for development policy and operations of emerging data sources and methods.
He previously worked in the World Bank's Finance Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice on social risk finance. He also evaluated policy and operations in the Independent Evaluation Group and worked on criminal justice and citizen security policy in the Governance Global Practice.
Dr. Mahony also worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Strategic Policy and Rule of Law, including as Global Focal Point on Transitional Justice and as faculty and founding Deputy Director of the New Zealand Centre for Human Rights at Auckland University Law School. He has taught Law and International Relations at Peking University, Oxford University, and Auckland University. In 2008, he directed the design of Sierra Leone’s domestic witness protection program.
He was admitted to the High Court of New Zealand bar in 2006 where he appeared for the Crown in criminal and refugee matters. In 2003, he worked in Sierra Leone and Liberia, where, among other work, he worked for Sierra Leone’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission on governance and the historical drivers of the conflict.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) degree and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the University of Otago, as well as a Master’s in African Studies (M.Sc.) and a D.Phil. in Political Science from the University of Oxford. While studying, he played rugby professionally in New Zealand and the UK, including for the Auckland NPC side (winning the 2007 NPC). He won four rugby Blues for Oxford University. Chris has authored, co-authored and co-edited 26 peer reviewed publications including four books across the disciplines of Law, International Relations, Refugee Studies, Development Economics, and Psychology.