Alexander Waddington Oakes (born November 1968) is a British businessman, and the co-founder and an executive of Behavioural Dynamics Institute and SCL Group (formerly Strategic Communication Laboratories), the parent company of Cambridge Analytica and her sister AggregateIQ; the companies became known to a wider audience as a result of the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal involving the misuse of data. From the early 1990s, Oakes' companies, operating under succession of names, were involved in influencing elections in developing countries, and with the onset of the War on Terror they were also contracted by the British military.
Alexander Waddington Oakes | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alexander Waddington Oakes 1968 (age 55–56) |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Eton |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Cambridge Analytica scandal |
| Title | Co-founder and executive of SCL Group |
| Parent | Major John Waddington Oakes |
| Relatives | Nigel John Oakes |
Early life
editAlexander Oakes' brother Nigel John Oakes was also an executive (CEO) with SCL Group/Cambridge Analytica.[1]
Career
editIn 2005, Oakes co-founded the London-based SCL Group (formerly Strategic Communication Laboratories), along with his older brother Nigel Oakes and Alexander Nix, described as a polo playboy whose father Paul David Ashburner Nix also became an investor in the company.[2][3]
In 2013, SCL established Cambridge Analytica, a subsidiary aiming to target the American elections market and led by fellow Old Etonian Alexander Nix, a director of SCL for 14 years.[4] The company was engaged by the Ted Cruz and Donald Trump campaigns during the 2016 US presidential election, and reportedly also worked on dozens of other elections in the U.S. during its existence. The company went bankrupt in 2018 following the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal.[5] Cambridge Analytica claimed to use honey traps, bribery stings, and prostitutes, among other tactics, to influence more than 200 elections globally for its clients.[6][7]
References
edit- ^ Bureau, NH Political (22 March 2018). "Growing evidence of JD(U), BJP links with Cambridge Analytica". National Herald.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ Brown, David (21 March 2018). "SCL Group's founders were connected to royalty, the rich and powerful". Retrieved 21 March 2018 – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ^ "Rollo Gabb not linked to Cambridge Analytica case". www.thedrinksbusiness.com. 23 March 2018.
- ^ "Trump's Data Gurus Leave a Long Trail of Subterfuge and Dubious Dealing". Bloomberg. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2018 – via www.bloomberg.com.
- ^ Confessore, Nicholas; Rosenberg, Matthew (2 May 2018). "Cambridge Analytica to File for Bankruptcy After Misuse of Facebook Data (Published 2018)". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "Cambridge Analytica CEO 'admits to dirty tricks'". The Week. 20 March 2018. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
- ^ "Cambridge Analytica: Facebook row firm boss suspended". BBC News. 20 March 2018. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.