Herizal Hazri is the Senior Advisor to the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Malaya, Malaysia. Previously, he served as Chief Executive Officer at the Institute for Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia (2020-2022), where he advised two Malaysian Prime Ministers on foreign policy and established partnerships like the Sheikh Zayed Al-Nahyan Chair to strengthen UAE-Malaysia relations.

From 2009 to 2020, Herizal was the Country Representative for The Asia Foundation Malaysia, leading socio-economic development projects and fostering regional partnerships with organizations such as ASEAN, APEC, and Google. Earlier, he worked across 11 Asian countries on democratization efforts, including leading election observation missions in Afghanistan and consulting for the UN.

Herizal has been involved in pivotal peace processes, including the Bangsamoro Peace Agreement, and has advised on high-level international engagements, including the US-ASEAN Summit. A Chevening Scholar, he holds a Master's in Global Politics from Birkbeck, University of London, and has authored publications on elections and development.