Leadership

Having grown up on a farm in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, Larisa Miller’s professional journey began in the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, where she served as the executive assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture. She then transitioned to a role in the office of public policy for Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, who later became the first U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. Shifting her focus internationally, Larisa took on a pivotal role as a head of business development and investment for members of Abu Dhabi’s Royal Family in the United Arab Emirates. Her responsibilities were concentrated on bridging investments in sectors like sustainable development, technology, energy, and agri-tech, while accelerating opportunities for trade, manufacturing, imports, and export. Further amplifying her impact, Larisa led the Royal Family’s extensive non-profit foundation, aimed at empowering women and young people, both in the UAE and beyond, with a focus on refugee camps, providing them with the tools and resources to accelerate opportunity and foster hope. Her work with the foundation had a far-reaching impact, as she spent significant time assisting women and youth in refugee camps, providing tools, knowledge on resources for entrepreneurship across the Middle East, including Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Jordan, as well as in Africa.

As the Chief Executive Officer of Phoenix Global Group Holdings, Inc., Larisa leads the organization with a multifaceted portfolio that includes Phoenix Global, LLC, an international consulting and investment entity with operations in Miami, USA, and Abu Dhabi, UAE; Phoenix Global Media Group LLC; and Phoenix Grove, a defense contracting joint venture in collaboration with Oak Grove Technologies. Strategically positioned between the Middle East and the United States, Phoenix Global Group Holdings, Inc. specializes in delivering a broad spectrum of services across both the public and private sectors.

The firm’s comprehensive suite of services encompasses investment in key sectors, primarily artificial intelligence/technology, agriculture/agri-tech, strategic government and business consultancy, transportation infrastructure development, international trade facilitation, energy sector advancement, defense and security strategy, blockchain and cybersecurity innovation, capital project oversight, and advancements in agribusiness/agritech, alongside ventures in the sports and entertainment industries. With a focus on the MENA region and strategic countries within Sub-Saharan Africa, Larisa helms a distinguished team of American and Emirati experts proficient in a variety of disciplines.

This expertise has not only established Phoenix Global as a leading authority in government transformation, business expansion, international commerce, and strategic foresight but also has enabled the formation of exclusive relationships with influential leaders, government officials, and members of the Royal Families in the Middle East. These critical connections are instrumental in advancing the strategic goals of the Middle East and Africa, promoting cross-national strategic collaborations, and facilitating mutual growth through strategic investments, development projects, and partnerships.

Larisa advocates that the current era of business also heralds a critical and transformative period for sustainability, women in leadership and entrepreneurship and opportunities to architect new ways forward for enterprise development. She argues for the necessity for businesses globally to abandon outdated legacy business models and instead, to envision a new pathway forward by adopting innovative strategies to secure a competitive advantage, such as the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and sustainability strategies. This approach to business is particularly vital given the pressing global crises such as food security, energy generation, globalization and digitization.

An internationally acclaimed motivational speaker, Larisa addresses global audiences on a range of topics, from leadership transformation, business model adaptation, digitization and the integration of technology/AI, globalization, entrepreneurship, impact investment and business expansion across a multitude of sectors, foreign business relations and expansion, sustainability/Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors, and her personal passion and commitment to the empowerment and motivation of youth and women worldwide, particularly in developing nations.

Larisa sits on several international boards, most notably:

• Board of Directors, Manchester 62 Football Club (Gibraltar)
• Board of Directors, International School of Economics and Applied Sciences (London, U.K.)
• Board of Advisors, Inspire Global Ventures (New York, NY, USA)
• Board of Directors, Ansari Group, Ltd. (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
• Board of Trustees, People to People International (Worldwide Organization headquartered in USA)
• President, Business and Professional Women International, Miami Chapter (Miami, Florida, USA)
• Board of Directors, The Bridge Eco-Village (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)
  • http://www.thebridgehbg.com/
• Board of Directors, Geneva Global Initiative (Geneva, Switzerland)
• Board of Directors for Union of Business Ladies (Tbilisi, Georgia)
• Board of Directors, Dafe Oweh Family Fund for Africa (DOFFA)
  • http://www.doffa.org/
• Board of Directors, SensX Africa (London, England)
• Global Ambassador, Association of Businesswomen in Commerce and Industry (New Delhi, India)
• International Liaison, Business and Professional Women International