Oriane Cohen learned the language of power inside institutions. She went into the field to find out what that language left out.
She studied political science, international relations, security and defence at Sciences Po, one of France's selective schools of political and public affairs. She then spent five years in journalism, reporting on Israel and Palestine for television and international media. In a region where war, diplomacy, identity and competing claims to legitimacy meet every day, she saw how quickly an account of events could become an instrument of power.
She went on to spend five years in human intelligence (HUMINT) and influence operations. There, judgment depended on more than obtaining information. It meant assessing the person providing it, the interests behind it, what could be verified, and the consequences of getting it wrong.
She speaks six languages and has spent her career moving between cultures, institutions and professional worlds. That ability to blend in gives her access to different ways of describing the same situation and the distance to notice what each description leaves out.
After a decade spent reporting, observing and operating, Oriane founded The Grey Zone and her strategic advisory firm.
Today, she works internationally with founders, executives and organizations in energy, mining, finance, healthcare and technology, including Silicon Valley. She advises on decisions shaped by human behaviour, geopolitical exposure, influence and uncertain information.
She also speaks to professional and executive audiences on the forces changing how leaders perceive risk and exercise judgment.
Her path has taken her through newsrooms, intelligence operations and executive rooms. She knows how to enter each world and understand its rules. She has also learned not to mistake those rules for reality.
The Grey Zone is where she publishes the analysis that grew out of those years. The Grey Zone Protocol is where she teaches others how to examine evidence, read people and power, and make decisions when certainty is unavailable.