London: Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has taken on senior advisory roles at U.S. tech giant Microsoft and artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, effective Thursday. These part-time, internally focused positions are fully compliant with the UK’s Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) regulations governing post-ministerial employment.
At Anthropic, Sunak will concentrate on global strategy, macroeconomic, and geopolitical trends. His role explicitly avoids UK policy or governmental interactions, and he is prohibited from initiating contact with UK government officials on behalf of the company. Similarly, at Microsoft, he will provide strategic perspectives on macroeconomic and geopolitical trends and speak at company events, such as the annual Microsoft Summit. ACOBA's interim chair, Isabel Doverty, confirmed that Sunak will not advise on any UK policy matters.
According to ACOBA's advisory letter, Sunak is barred from lobbying for either company for two years from his last day in ministerial office and cannot draw on any privileged information from his time in government.
In a LinkedIn post, Sunak announced that the proceeds from these advisory roles will be donated in full to The Richmond Project, a charity he co-founded with his wife, Akshata Murty. This follows his earlier advisory role with Goldman Sachs, where he worked as an analyst in the early 2000s.
These developments mark a significant step in Sunak's post-premiership career, aligning with his ongoing commitment to public service and strategic global affairs.