How Dylan Welch Maps Stakeholders and Builds Cross-Sector Pipelines

Dylan Welch is the founder and CEO of Welch International, an international relations and strategic advisory firm based in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is an expert in business development, strategic partnerships and communication strategy. This feature, part of the Intelligence Report leadership series, looks at how Dylan Welch approaches business development: opening the right doors, mapping stakeholders and building pipelines that work across sectors.

Why does business development matter more across sectors?

Partnerships between governments, companies and multilateral bodies now carry much of the weight in sustainable development. At the 2026 United Nations Private Sector Forum, held at UN Headquarters in New York, business, government and UN leaders called for stronger public-private cooperation to accelerate investment in clean energy. Sanda Ojiambo of the UN Global Compact said “ambition and capital alone are not enough”. That forum is a separate UN event and is cited here only as context. Dylan Welch and Welch International were not part of it.

The point still bears on the work of Welch International. Capital and intent do not become projects without the right introductions, a clear picture of who decides what, and a pipeline someone is accountable for. That gap between shared goals and measurable results is where Welch International positions itself. Its stated aim is to help governments, companies and multilateral institutions “build the partnerships, pipelines, and operations that turn shared goals into measurable results.”

What does Welch International do?

Welch International specializes in business development, strategic partnerships and operations across the public sector, the private sector and the multilateral system. Its services follow three verbs: Develop, Partner and Operate. Business development sits under Develop, which covers three tasks:

• Mapping markets and stakeholders: establishing who the relevant institutions, buyers, regulators and decision-makers are before any outreach begins.
• Securing decision-maker introductions: getting a mandate in front of the people with authority to act on it.
• Shaping pipelines: turning individual conversations into an organized sequence of opportunities.

The firm’s focus areas include market entry and expansion, government relations, public-private partnerships, United Nations and multilateral engagement, and sustainable development. Its clients are governments, corporations, multilateral institutions (including UN entities) and nonprofits and foundations. Its stated principles are trusted access, cross-sector fluency, discretion, execution and senior attention. Dylan Welch is directly involved in every mandate.

Develop is the first of the three services. Partner designs public-private alliances, builds coalitions and guides engagement with the UN system. Operate stands up programs, cross-border operating models and high-level convenings. For a closer look at the multilateral side, see How Dylan Welch Guides Organizations Through the UN System.

How does Dylan Welch build access and credibility?

Dylan Welch works as a private contractor for the United Nations, which gives him working familiarity with the multilateral system his firm advises on. He is also co-founder of the Global Leadership Network and Chief Development Officer of the Roosevelt Alliance, a land and nature conservation policy organization. His background includes broadcast production, UN-adjacent foundation operations, and co-founding and exiting a green media company. Before that he spent about a decade as an international expedition guide, leading expeditions across Europe, South America and Asia, and he has organized philanthropic expeditions internationally.

His convening work shows business development in practice. Dylan Welch is the founder and host of the Global Leadership Forum. Its 2026 edition, the New York Innovation Forum for Sustainable Development, took place on September 21 and 22, 2026, at 777 UN Plaza in New York. It was timed to Climate Week NYC and the 81st UN General Assembly. Peace Boat US, which holds ECOSOC Special Consultative Status, and Welch International co-hosted it.

Partners and sponsors included Siemens, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, RMI, the Roosevelt Alliance, Blue Planet Alliance, HNO International and the Global Leadership Network. The program had three parts: a Business and Innovation Forum, a Nature Conservation Forum for a Renewable Energy Future and a Climate Week Family Office Forum. A gathering built this way puts corporate, foundation, nonprofit and multilateral participants in the same room during the busiest week of the diplomatic calendar. That is a practical way to widen a pipeline.

Communication strategy is the other half of his expertise. Dylan Welch also founded Intelligence Report and hosts The Intelligence Report Podcast. For more, read Dylan Welch and Intelligence Report: A Platform for World Affairs.

What should organizations take from this approach?

The method Dylan Welch applies at Welch International is simple to describe. Map the stakeholders first. Secure introductions with people who can decide. Build the pipeline as an operating asset, not a list of contacts. Keep senior attention on the mandate throughout. For executives weighing a new market, a government relationship or an engagement with the UN system, that sequence is a useful test of any advisor, including this one.

Work with Welch International

Governments, companies, multilateral institutions, nonprofits and foundations that want to open new markets or build cross-sector partnerships can speak directly with Dylan Welch. Book a confidential 30 minute consultation with Welch International.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Welch International
• UN Private Sector Forum calls for faster public-private action to deliver a clean, just and secure energy future
• Welch International

Intelligence Report is published by Welch International. This article is part of our series on the leadership behind the publication.

This article was produced by the Intelligence Report Desk. Sources are linked below.