H.E. Edgars Rinkēvičs
President of the Republic of Latvia
President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, is a Latvian public and political figure and the long-serving Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia (from 25 October 2011 until 7 July 2023). From October 2008 to July 2011, he worked as Head of the Chancery of the President of Latvia during the presidency of President Valdis Zatlers (2007–2011). Long-serving State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia (from August 1997 to October 2008), serving as Head of the Office for the Organisation of the NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government (2005–2007) and Deputy Head of Delegation for the negotiations on Latvia's accession to NATO (2002–2005). From May 1997 to August 1997, he was Acting State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia, and between September 1996 and May 1997 he was Deputy State Secretary for Defence Policy of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia.
Between March 1996 and September 1996, he worked as Director of the Policy Department of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia, having joined the Ministry in 1995 as Senior Policy Officer.
Dr. Gunda Reire
Head of the Chancery of the President of Latvia
Dr. GUNDA REIRE is the Head of the Chancery of the President of Latvia. Previously, she was Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia (2022–2023), Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia on strategic communication, democracy and public diplomacy (2017–2022). She has extensive professional experience, including as an advisor to several ministers, head of the offices of the Speaker of the Saeima and the Minister of Education and Science, Deputy Chair of the Strategic analysis commission of the President of the Republic of Latvia.
Dr Reire's research interests include multilateral international cooperation, UN issues and relations with Russia. She is the author of a
number of scientific publications on the UN, Latvia’s foreign policy, including Latvia's participation in UN institutions, Latvia-Russia
relations, and has been the scientific editor of several collections of articles.
Dr Reire holds a PhD in Political Science with a specialisation in International Relations from the University of Latvia. Currently, she is
also an assistant professor at Riga Stradiņš University and a guest lecturer at Riga Graduate School of Law, as well as the Director of the
Centre for International Studies. She was a Fulbright Scholar at the Johns Hopkins University SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations in the
USA.
Lt. Col. Valery Sakhashchyk
Representative for Defense and National Security of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus and head of the Department of National Security
Valery Sakhashchyk is Representative for Defense and National Security of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus and head of the Department of National Security. He is responsible for creating the foundation of the future Armed Forces of Free Belarus and participating in combat missions as part of the First Separate Airborne Assault Platoon within the 79th Separate Airborne Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. One of his main tasks is the development of the National Security System of democratic Belarus as a component
of the new European security architecture. Mr Sakhashchyk has a military background, having served as a commander in various capacities and receiving honors for his service. He later pursued a business career and currently owns and manages a large construction company in Poland, Germany, and Denmark. In 2020, Valery Sakhashchyk participated in the protests following the falsification of the Belarusian elections and has been active in the democratic movement ever since.
Prof. Žaneta Ozoliņa
Vice-Chair of the Latvian Transatlantic Organisation
Žaneta Ozoliņa is professor of International Relations, University of Latvia and Vice-Chair of the Latvian Transatlantic Organization. Her research interests focus on European integration, Transatlantic security, strategic communication, regional cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region. Žaneta Ozoliņa is the author of more than 100 scholarly articles and editor of several books, including such as “Rethinking Security” (2010), “Gender and Human Security: a View from the Baltic Sea Region” (2015), “Societal Security: Inclusion-Exclusion Dilemma. A portrait of Russian-speaking community in Latvia” (2016), “Stratcom Laughs. In search of an Analytical Framework” (2017), “Subjective Security Perception of Latvia’s Inhabitants: impact on security policy making”(2021). She is a member of the editorial boards of several
journals, such as Journal of Baltic Studies, Defence Strategic Communications, Lithuanian Annual Strategic Review. She was a chairwoman of the Strategic Analysis Commission under the Auspices of the President of Latvia (2004-2008) and a member of the European Research Area Board (European Commission, 2008-2012). She was engaged in different international projects commissioned by the European Parliament, the European Commission, NATO, the Council of the Baltic Sea States and other international bodies. She is a member of the European Council of Foreign Relations and the Alphen Group. Žaneta Ozoliņa is a representative of the Boston Global Forum in Latvia.
Sławomir Dębski
Director of the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), (2021 - , 2016 – 2021, 2007 – 2010), Ph.D in History holder and a foreign policy expert
Director of the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), (2021 - , 2016 – 2021, 2007 – 2010), Ph.D in History holder and a foreign policy expert. Advisor to all of Poland’s governments since 2000, team leader, institution builder and interagency communication expert. Associated with PISM since 2000, when he joined the Institute as a Russia foreign policy expert. Author of books, volumes of diplomatic documents, studies and essays. Editor-in-Chief of the Polski Przegląd Dyplomatyczny (The Polish Diplomatic Review).
Rebecca Arcesati
Lead Analyst at Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS)
Rebecca Arcesati’s research focuses on China’s technology and digital policy as well as Europe-China innovation relations. She covers the global footprint of Chinese tech firms, digital infrastructure and surveillance tools, governance of data and artificial intelligence, technology transfer and research collaboration. Prior to joining MERICS, Rebecca gained experience helping Italian tech startups scale in China and as a research assistant in the UN Women China office.
She holds an LL.M. in China Studies (Politics and International Relations) from Peking University, where she was a Yenching Scholar. Rebecca received an MA degree in International Studies from the University of Turin and a BA in Language Mediation and Cross-Cultural Communication from the University of Milan. She has studied and worked in Beijing, Shanghai and Dalian.
H.E. Martin Harris
British Ambassador to Ukraine
Martin Harris has been appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to Ukraine and will take up his appointment in September 2023.
Martin joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1991. He was Second Secretary at the UK Delegation to the OSCE in Vienna from 1992 to 1996. After leading the FCO’s Pakistan and Afghanistan Section in 1997 to 1998, he went to the British Embassy in Moscow to run the UK’s programme of technical assistance in the Russian Federation from 1999 until 2003.
Martin then moved to the British Embassy in Kyiv, where he was Consul General and Deputy Head of Mission from 2003 to 2008. He returned to London in 2008 working as an adviser in the Cabinet Office on Afghanistan, Pakistan, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In 2010 Martin was appointed as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Romania, a role he held until April 2014.
Martin was the Minister and Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Moscow from 2014 to 2017. He served as Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) from 2017 to 2022.
Martin was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2010, and a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2023.
Dr. Hanna Shelest
Director of Security Programmes at the Foreign Policy Council "Ukrainian Prism" and Editor-in-chief at UA: Ukraine Analytica
Dr Shelest also is a non-resident senior fellow at CEPA (Washington DC). Before this, she had served for more than ten years as a Senior Researcher at the National Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of Ukraine, Odesa Branch. In 2014, Dr Shelest was a Visiting Research Fellow at the NATO Defense College in Rome. She had experience in PR and lobbying for government and business, as well as teaching at universities and defence academies. Dr Shelest was an adviser of the Working Group preparing Ukrainian Navy Strategy 2035 and was involved in working groups developing the Foreign Policy Strategy of Ukraine, Asian Strategy for MFA, and Ukraine's NATO Public Communication Strategy. She led different policy-related projects, including Scorecards of the Ukrainian Foreign Policy (2015-2021); Ukraine-NATO: Enhanced Level (2021-2022); The Hybrid War Decade: Lessons Learned to Move Forward Successfully (2019), etc.
Prof. Julian Lindley-French
Chairman of The Alphen Group (TAG), Senior Fellow at the Institute for Statecraft in London, Director of Europa Analytica in the Netherlands, and a Fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute
Prof. Julian Lindley-French Ph.D, MA (Oxon.), MA (Distinction)
Professor Julian Lindley-French is Chairman of The Alphen Group (TAG), Senior Fellow at the Institute for Statecraft in London, Director of Europa Analytica in the Netherlands, and a Fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. He was educated at the University of Oxford, UEA and the European University Institute in Florence
He has thirteen published books to his name, many major reports and articles and has held three professorial chairs, including Eisenhower Professor of Defence Strategy. He was also Strategic Advisor to two Chiefs of the British Defence Staff and has held senior policy, operational and project positions for the UK, NATO, EU and UN in London, Brussels, Geneva, New York and elsewhere. He was formerly Director of both the International Training Course (ITC) and the European Training Course (ETC) at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.
In 2022, he published Future War and the Defence of Europe (Oxford: Oxford University Press & Stuttgart: Kosmos) with US General (Ret.) John R. Allen and US Lieutenant General (Ret.) Ben Hodges. In 2022 he also drafted the Shadow NATO Strategic Concept for NATO Secretary-General, and in March 2023 presented “A Comprehensive Strategy for a Secure Ukraine” to NATO and partner defence ministers. In May 2023, he published a new book entitled North Atlantic Treaty Organization (New York: Routledge). He is currently writing The Retreat from Strategy (London: Hurst) with General Lord Richards. He is also Director of the high-level Future War, Strategy and Technology Conference which will take place in October 2023 and will begin work shortly on the TAG Russia Strategy.
Anna Wieslander
Director for Northern Europe at the Atlantic Council and head of the Atlantic Council office in Stockholm
Anna Wieslander serves as Director for Northern Europe at the Atlantic Council and head of the Atlantic Council office in Stockholm. She is also Chair of the Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP), a Stockholm-based think tank with a focus on Central Asia and Asia. Ms. Wieslander concurrently serves as secretary general of the Swedish Defence Association, a non-political NGO which for more than 130 years has promoted knowledge on defence and security among the Swedish public. She is as a life-time member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences and the Swedish Society for International Affairs. She is an Adjunct Professor at George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, a founding member of the Alphen Group and a member of RUSI European Security Advisory Group.
Anna Wieslander is a frequent keynote speaker, lecturer and panelist at international conferences, and comments in national and international mass media, such as the New York Times, BBC, Time, Politico, Reuters, Wall Street Journal and Financial Times. She also publishes extensively related to current international affairs.
Anna Wieslander was previously Deputy Director at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI). She has held positions as Head of the Speaker’s Office in the Swedish Parliament, Secretary of the Swedish Defence Commission and Deputy Director of the Swedish Defence Ministry. She has also served as Communications Director in the private sector.
Her expertise is in security and defence policy, Northern Europe security, NATO and issues affecting the defence industry.
Patrick Boehler
Acting Head of Innovation and Audience Engagement at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
Patrick Boehler is a veteran of digital transformation in media, specializing in the intersection of product innovation and audience engagement at complex, multi-cultural newsrooms.
He is currently the Acting Head of Innovation and Audience Engagement at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), a storied public media organization serving as a bulwark of free press in 21 countries in Asia and Europe. In this role, Patrick oversees a diverse portfolio that includes product, audience , journalism training, and marketing. Additionally, he is spearheading the formation of a Digital Innovation Lab, aimed at incubating forward-thinking solutions to circumvent censorship.
With a background as an award-winning reporter and editor, Patrick has worked for various publications in Asia, the United States and Europe, including The New York Times and The South China Morning Post. Beyond his editorial roles, Patrick has taught at the Journalism and Media Studies Center at the University of Hong Kong and worked for Austria's ministries of foreign affairs and defense. He holds a doctorate in political science and was honored as a Sulzberger Fellow at Columbia University in 2023.
Dr. Farid Shafiyev
Ambassador, Chairman of the Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center)
Dr. Farid Shafiyev was educated at Baku State University where he studied history and law. Amidst his professional career, he went on to Harvard University Kennedy School of Government where he obtained a Master Degree in Public Administration. Further, Dr. Shafiyev acquired a PhD in History from Carleton University in Ottawa.
Dr. Farid Shafiyev served in Armed Forces in 1987-1989. His professional career began at the Azerbaijani National Academy of Sciences in the Institute Ethnography and Archeology in 1994.
In 1996 Dr. Farid Shafiyev joined the Foreign Service. Within the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry in Baku, he worked in the Political-Military Issues Division and in the United Nations Affairs Division.
His assignments include postings to the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan to the United Nations in New York in 1998-2001 and the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Canada in 2005-2009.
In 2009 Dr. Farid Shafiyev was appointed Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Canada where he served until July 2014. From July 2014 to February 2019 Dr. Shafiyev was Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the Czech Republic.
On 19 February 2019 he was appointed the Chairman of the Center of Analysis of International Relations.
Dr. Shafiyev is the author of numerous op-eds, articles and several academic publications, including “Resettling the Borderlands: State Relocations and Ethnic Conflict in the South Caucasus” by McGill-Queen’s University Press (2018).
Dr. Farid Shafiyev has been lecturing in the field of International Relations and Foreign Policy in Baku. Currently, he is an Adjunct Lecturer at ADA University.
Joanneke Balfoort
Director Security and Defence policy at the European External Action Service
JOANNEKE BALFOORT is the Director Security and Defence policy at the European External Action Service. Joanneke has been with the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more than 25 years. She graduated from the University of Amsterdam with a law degree, specializing in international law, and a degree in political science. During her career at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she has worked as a project officer for human rights and humanitarian projects, responsible for political affairs at the Netherlands embassy in
Moscow, first secretary within the Netherlands NATO delegation in Brussels, coordinator EU affairs within the Ministry and head of the economic section at the embassy in London. In September 2013, she arrived at the embassy in Washington, D.C. as the deputy head of mission. From 2017 till mid 2020 she was the Dutch Ambassador to the Political and Security Committee of the European Union in Brussels. Since June 2020 she is the Director Security and Defence policy at the European External Action Service.
Dr. Mark Galeotti
Expert on Russian security affairs
Dr. Mark Galeotti is one of the world's leading experts on Russian security affairs, which may explain why Moscow banned him indefinitely from entry last year. He read history at Cambridge and then took his doctorate in government at the LSE, and after a stint with the Foreign Office has been a scholar and thinktanker in London, New York, Moscow, Prague and Florence. He heads the UK-based risk consultancy Mayak Intelligence and is an Honorary Professor at UCL and a senior associate fellow with RUSI, the Council on Geostrategy and the Institute of International Relations Prague. He has been consulted by individuals from prime ministers to CEOs and bodies from the British Foreign Affairs Select Committee to the US National Intelligence Council. A prolific author, his most recent books include Putin's Wars: from Chechnya to Ukraine (Bloomsbury, 2022), The Weaponisation of Everything (Yale, 2022), We Need To Talk About Putin (Ebury, 2019) and The Vory: Russia's super mafia (Yale, 2018)
Eleanor Wragg
Senior reporter at Global Trade Review (GTR)
Eleanor Wragg is a senior reporter at Global Trade Review (GTR), where she covers the trade, export, commodity and supply chain finance markets, as well as the political risk and trade credit insurance, treasury and fintech sectors. She has been a financial journalist for over a decade, with work published in renowned international media outlets. She also produces analytical, research and thought leadership work on digitisation, trade, economics and sustainable development for major global financial institutions as well as organisations such as UNDP, UNWTO, the British Business Bank, the Mastercard Foundation for Inclusive Growth, and the Bill and Melinda Gates-backed initiative Women and Girls Deeply. Eleanor is an experienced moderator and presenter, with recent experience including GLOBSEC, Sibos, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) C4DTI Awards, the Singapore Fintech Festival, the ICC Banking Commission's Annual Meeting, and the Asian Development Bank's Trade and Supply Chain Finance Annual Meeting.
Prof. Elena Korosteleva
Professor of Politics and Global Sustainable Development, and Director of the Institute of Global Sustainable Development (IGSD) at the University of Warwick
Elena Korosteleva is Professor of Politics and Global Sustainable Development, and Director of the Institute of Global Sustainable Development (IGSD) at the University of Warwick. Professor Korosteleva is presently a Co-Investigator on the Horizon Europe project SHAPEDEM-EU (2022-25), and the co-founder of the Oxford Belarus Observatory (2021-23). Prior to that, she was the Principal Investigator for the GCRF COMPASS (2017-22) and GCRF COMPASS+ projects (2022-23) focusing on nurturing resilience and capacity-building in Central Eurasia. The project received high commendation by the Times Higher Education in 2021, under the category of the Best International Collaboration of the Year. Elena's research interests include resilience, complexity-thinking, sustainable orders and governance; as well as community of relations.
Christos Giakoumopoulos
Director General of the Directorate for General Human Rights and Rule of Law (DGI) of the Council of Europe
Christos Giakoumopoulos has been Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe since 1 August 2017.
He was previously Director of Human Rights from 2011 to 2017 and also the Secretary General’s Advisor for Ukraine from June 2014 to September 2016. He was Director of Monitoring in the same Directorate General between 2006 and 2011.
Before joining the Directorate of Human Rights, he was General Counsel and Director General for Legal and Administrative Affairs of the Council of Europe Development Bank (Paris).
Since joining the Council of Europe in 1987, he held posts in the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights and the Directorate of Legal Affairs. He was Deputy Executive Secretary of the Venice Commission (1994-2002) and Director of the Office of the first Commissioner for Human Rights, Alvaro Gil Robles (2002-2004).
David A. Andelman
Executive director of The Red Lines Project
David A. Andelman
Executive director of The Red Lines Project, Andelman is a global affairs columnist for CNNOpinion, and author of the SubStack page Andelman Unleashed. His latest book, A Red Line in the Sand: Diplomacy, Strategy, and the History of Wars That Could Still Happen, was published along with its Evergreen podcast. By decree of President Emmanuel Macron, he was decorated with the rank of chevalier in the Légion d’Honneur. He was awarded the Deadline Club Award for Best Opinion Writing for his CNN commentaries in 2018 and again in 2019 for his Reuters columns. He served as Editor & Publisher of World Policy Journal and previously as an executive editor of Forbes. Earlier, he was domestic and foreign correspondent for The New York Times in New York and Washington, bureau chief in Southeast Asia, then East Europe. Successively he served as CBS News Paris correspondent and news editor of Bloomberg News. He has reported from 86 countries and was awarded the 2017 New York Press Club award for best political commentary for his USAToday columns. He is the author of five books: The Peacemakers; The Fourth World War, which he co-authored with the Count de Marenches, long-time head of French intelligence. His third book, A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919 and the Price We Pay Today was published with a foreword by Sir Harold Evans. He has translated from the French and written an epilogue to An Impossible Dream: Reagan, Gorbachev, and a World Without the Bomb. Andelman has written for Harpers, The Atlantic, The New Republic, The New York Times Magazine, Readers Digest, Foreign Policy and Foreign Affairs. He is a graduate of Harvard University and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and is a member of the Century Association, Council on Foreign Relations, Harvard Club of New York, National Press Club and Grolier Club. He is President-emeritus of the Overseas Press Club of America.
Vladimir Milov
Russian opposition politician, publicist, economist, and energy expert
Vladimir Milov is a Russian opposition politician, publicist, economist, and energy expert, and an economic and international affairs adviser to the Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, as well as Vice President of the Free Russia Foundation based in Washington D.C. In 1997-2002, Mr. Milov had worked with the Russian Government, including as Deputy Energy Minister in 2002. He was the author of concept of breaking up and unbundling Gazprom vetoed by Vladimir Putin. Later, Mr. Milov became one of the major public critics of Vladimir Putin, working closely with late opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, and later - with Alexey Navalny. Research Associate at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies in Brussels, Vice President of the Free Russia Foundation (Washington D.C.). Currently based in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Irene Fellin
NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security
Ms. Fellin is a WPS expert and peacebuilder who has worked as a Senior Gender Adviser with Women in International Security (WIIS), the International Affairs Institute (IAI) in Rome, NATO HQ in Brussels, as well as international consultant for UN agencies and other national institutions for more than 15 years. She was instrumental in establishing and coordinating the Mediterranean Women Mediators Network (MWMN), a project promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy aimed at fulfilling the need to increase the number of women involved in peacemaking efforts and at facilitating the appointment of high-level women mediators at local and international level.
Born in Bolzano (Italy), Ms. Fellin studied Conservation of Cultural heritage in Parma (Italy) and Museology at the Louvre, in Paris, and started her career working at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the field of cultural diplomacy. She later obtained her Master’s Degree in “Gender and Women Studies” from the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara, where she lived for almost 5 years.
Ms. Fellin is a strong supporter of female leadership and in 2016 she founded the Italian chapter of Women In International Security, an organisation dedicated to advancing the leadership and professional development of women in the field of international peace, security and defence.
Since 2017 she has been working with women mediators and peacebuilders across the Globe, supporting projects aimed at facilitating peacebuilding and mediation initiatives at the national and international level. She works on education and training programs about the “Women, Peace and Security” agenda and about “Gendered inclusive mediation and peace processes”. Furthermore, since 2019 she is visiting Lecturer on “Gender, Security, and Post-Conflict Reconstruction” at Durham University (UK) and she continues to mentor young women within the framework of WIIS’s mentoring program “Global Women Leaders”
Ms. Fellin is an Eno gastronomy and art lover. In her free time, she loves hiking, reading and travelling. She is married and is mother of twin girls.
Alena Kudzko
Vice President of GLOBSEC and the Director of the GLOBSEC Policy Institute think tank in Bratislava
Alena Kudzko is Vice President of GLOBSEC and the Director of the GLOBSEC Policy Institute think tank in Bratislava, where she oversees policy development, research, and programming in the areas of defence and security, the future of Europe, global order, technology and society, and strategic communication. Before joining GLOBSEC, she worked at various NGOs and academic institutions in Belarus, Estonia, and Hungary, specializing in the area of foreign relations, democratization, and community development. Alena graduated with honours and as the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award winner from Central European University in Budapest/Vienna with a Master's degree in International Relations and European Studies. She previously studied international politics, languages and music at California State University, Bakersfield (as a U.S. State Department Global Undergraduate Fellow), Belarusian State University in Minsk, and the Estonian School of Diplomacy in Tallinn.
Jānis Garisons
State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia
Jānis Garisons is the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense of Latvia since August 2015. In this capacity, Mr Garisons is overseeing rapid defence budget and capabilities increase to prepare the country for the challenges it faces. In his previous position as the Undersecretary of State – Policy Director in Latvia’s Ministry of Defence, he was the architect and organizer of Latvia’s defence policy, defence planning and international operations’ policy, both nationally, and representing Latvia within the NATO, the European Union, and other international cooperation formats. He joined the Ministry of Defence after an
established career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, where he served as the Director of the Security Policy Department. In his nine years of foreign service, he was dealing with arms control issues, Russia and CIS, and was posted as the First Secretary at the Embassy of Latvia in Oslo, Norway.
In 1996 he received a Master degree in History from the University of Latvia, and in 2014 he earned his Master degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. In 2007 he received the State Award of Latvia.
Dr. Balkan Devlen
Senior Fellow at Macdonald-Laurier Institute
Dr. Balkan Devlen is a professor and foreign policy thinker with two decades of experience across three continents. He teaches, speaks, and writes on foreign policy, great power politics, and the best ways of thinking about and preparing for the future - anticipation, forecasting, and strategic foresight. Currently, he is Senior Fellow at Macdonald-Laurier Institute, where he leads the Transatlantic Program and Adjunct Research Professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University. Dr. Devlen teaches graduate-level courses on Transatlantic security, geopolitical forecasting, strategic foresight, and global catastrophic and existential risks. He also provides training, gives talks, and facilitates workshops on forecasting and strategic foresight for a wide variety of organizations. Previous clients include governmental agencies in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, Fortune 500 companies, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, and leading universities in the US, Canada, and Europe. Previously he held faculty positions in Denmark, the US, and Turkey.
Ian Bond
Director of foreign policy of Centre for European Reform
Ian Bond joined the Centre for European Reform as director of foreign policy in April 2013. Prior to that, he was a member of the British diplomatic service for 28 years.
His final appointment was as political counsellor and joint head of the foreign and security policy group in the British Embassy, Washington (2007-12), where he focused on US foreign policy towards Europe, the former Soviet Union, Asia and Africa. He was British Ambassador to Latvia from 2005-07, receiving a CVO (Commander of the Royal Victorian Order) for his work on the Queen's state visit in 2006.
He was posted in Vienna as deputy head of the UK delegation to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) from 2000-04, working on human rights and democracy in the OSCE area, and on conflict prevention and resolution in the Balkans and the former Soviet Union. His earlier career included postings in Moscow (1993-96) and at NATO HQ (1987-90), and working in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the former Soviet Union, on the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy and on NATO and UK defence policy.
Dr. Rihards Bambals
Head of Strategic Communications at State Chancellery of the Republic of Latvia
Rihards is the Head of Strategic Communications at State Chancellery of the Republic of Latvia. Prior to that he was a career diplomat with 11 years of experience in foreign and security policy. It included two years as a seconded stratcom expert at the East Stratcom Task Force, EEAS, (2019-2021), and three years at the Latvian Permanent Delegation to NATO (2016-2019). Rihards holds a PhD in Political Science (International Politics).
Dr. Kristine Zaidi
Associate Director of Programmes, UK Research and Innovation - Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Kristine holds a PhD in Political Science (International Relations). Her research interests include leadership and management, decision-making in foreign policy, Russia’s foreign policy. For the last 14 years she has been working at the UK Research and Innovation where she is currently an Associate Director for Programmes at Arts and Humanities Research Council. Kristine previously worked at the Ministry of Defence and the State Chancellery of the Republic of Latvia.
Jeremy Shapiro
Research director of the European Council on Foreign Relations
Jeremy Shapiro is the research director of the European Council on Foreign Relations. His areas of focus include US foreign policy and transatlantic relations.
Shapiro was previously a fellow with the Project on International Order and Strategy and the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings, where he edited the Foreign Policy program’s blog Order from Chaos. Prior to Brookings, he was a member of the U.S. State Department’s policy planning staff, where he advised the secretary of state on U.S. policy in North Africa and the Levant. He was also the senior advisor to Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Gordon, providing strategic guidance on a wide variety of U.S.-European foreign policy issues.
Col. Liudmyla Kulchytska
Ukrainian Armed Forces
Col Liudmyla Kulchytska, Colonel of the Security Service of Ukraine, Head of the Situation and Information Unit (of SSU) at Battle of Kyiv 2022
Lilach Hadar Ashtar
Territorial defense expert
A strategical advisor. Former Educational Officer, Territorial Defense Officer, Acting Commander of the Heritage and lecturer Unit. Former Advisor to the Minister of Internal Security. For the Last 20 years: Military Security Coordinator, Northern Command, frontline, Syria salient. Author of research papers and lecturer – Territorial defense, arming of citizens and civilian organizational structure. Organizing combat soldiers for combat, relations of border residents with the army. Evacuation of population during a war –Yom Kippur war (subject of doctoral thesis). “Army of the People” – Mandatory military service: Changes and insights over the years. Rank: Major (res.)
Edward Lucas
Non-resident Senior Fellow and Senior Adviser at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA)
Edward Lucas is a Non-resident Senior Fellow and Senior Adviser at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).
He was formerly a senior editor at The Economist. Lucas has covered Central and Eastern European affairs since 1986, writing, broadcasting, and speaking on the politics, economics, and security of the region.
A graduate of the London School of Economics and long-serving foreign correspondent in Berlin, Vienna, Moscow, and the Baltic states, he is an internationally recognized expert on espionage, subversion, the use and abuse of history, energy security and information warfare.
He is the author of five books: The New Cold War (2008, revised and republished in 2014); Deception (2011); The Snowden Operation (2014), Cyberphobia (2015), and Spycraft Rebooted: How Technology is Changing Espionage (2018). His website is edwardlucas.com and he tweets as @edwardlucas.
Pavel Havlicek
Research Fellow at the Association for International Affairs (AMO)
Pavel Havlicek is Research Fellow at the Association for International Affairs (AMO). His research focus is on Eastern Europe, especially Ukraine and Russia, and the Eastern Partnership. He also deals with questions of security, disinformation and strategic communication as well as democratisation and civil society support in the CEE and post-Soviet space.
Pavel Havlíček is a graduate of the two-year-long Erasmus Mundus International Master in Russian, Central and East European Studies hosted by the University of Glasgow and the EU Studies at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.
In 2013, he spent his Erasmus study exchange at the University of Kent, United Kingdom. In 2014, he did a study internship at the Faculty of International Relations of St Petersburg State University in Russia. He had internships in several European and national institutions, including the European Parliament, Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or People in Need NGO and the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) in Brussels. In 2019-20, he was the Rethink.CEE Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States working on a research project “The EU’s Lessons for Supporting Civil Society in Member States”. During 2020-21, he was the James S. Denton Transatlantic Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in the US. In 2021/22, he cooperated with Visegrad Insight as their Marcin Król Fellow. In May 2022, he was re-elected to serve a two-year-long-term as the Board member of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum. Since August 2020, he has been serving as a Russia research coordinator and advocacy coordinator within the MapInfluenCE project. Since January 2023, he has been cooperating with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in the Czech Republic as their Central European Fellow for Security Policy.
Pavel Havlicek has been cooperating with AMO since May 2016.
Since 1 May 2023, Pavel Havlicek has been externally cooperating and advising the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic on implementation of the digital agenda and digital regulation of social media platforms.
Since December 2019, he has been a member of TOP Team Central Bohemia chapter, a youth organization affiliated with the TOP 09. On 8 February 2022, he became a member of TOP 09, centre-right Czech political party.
Viktors Makarovs
Special Envoy on Digital Issues, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia
Viktors Makarovs is the first envoy on Digital Affairs to be appointed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia. Before assuming his current post in October 2021, he focused on international outreach to counter disinformation, resilience building and media support. Viktors Makarovs holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Copenhagen and acquired a background in the Latvian NGO think-tanking community before joining the Ministry in 2011.
Roderich Kiesewetter
Member of the German Parliament (CDU) and former
General Staff Officer of the Bundeswehr (Federal Armed Forces)
Roderich Kiesewetter is Member of the German Parliament (CDU) and former General Staff Officer of the Bundeswehr (Federal Armed Forces), Col (GS) ret. He studied economics in Munich and Austin/Texas, earning a diploma. He served almost 30 years in the German Armed Forces in various command and staff functions as well as in various foreign operations, including the Balkans. From 2006 to 2009, he served as Colonel (GS) at NATO Headquarters Mons (Executive Officer Chief of Staff SHAPE).
Since 2009, he has been a directly elected member of the Bundestag for the constituency of Aalen - Heidenheim. He is representative of foreign affairs for the CDU/CSU-Caucus since 2014 and was chairperson of the Parliamentary Oversight Panel (PKGr) from 11/2020 until 03/2022 and serves now as deputy chairperson of the PKGr. In the Bundestag he serves as member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (since 2009). In 2022 he was elected as Spokesperson for crisis prevention. He is a member of the German Delegation at the Parliamentary Assembly - Union for Mediterranean (PV-UfM) (2010-2022 he served as Head) and he is a member of the German Delegation at the interparliamentary conference for the common foreign and security Policy (CFSP) and the common security and
defence policy (CSDP). Since 2019 Kiesewetter is Speaker of the advisory council of the Federal Academy for Security Policy Council.
Matej Kandrík
Cofounder of Adapt Institute and a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science specialising in Security and Strategic Studies at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia
Matej is a cofounder of Adapt Institute and a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science specialising in Security and Strategic Studies at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia. In 2016, he did a research stay at the National Defence University of Poland. He collaborated as a fellow with Visegrad Insight, the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the International Republican Institute. Matej is George C. Marshall Security Centre's Irregular Warfare/Hybrid Threats Seminar alumnus. His research interests include comprehensive defence, paramilitarism, strategic thinking and information warfare.
Mateusz M. Piotrowski
Senior analyst for U.S. policy and transatlantic relations with the International Security Programme at the Polish Institute of International Affairs
Mateusz M. Piotrowski is a senior analyst for U.S. policy and transatlantic relations with the International Security Programme at the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM). His research area covers topics regarding the United States domestic issues, foreign and security policy. That includes transatlantic cooperation within NATO and with the EU, bilateral relations with most important allies and partners in Europe and other regions, as well as the approach of the U.S. to selected areas of international cooperation. Before joining PISM in 2018, he completed internships at Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, D.C., Polish National Security Bureau and the European Parliament. He is a PhD candidate in political science.
Benjamin Haddad
Expert in European politics and transatlantic relations
Education & professional background:
Graduated from Sciences Po Paris and HEC, researcher in international relations.
Has taught international relations at Sciences Po.
Briefly worked in finance before moving to Brussels, where he worked for the European
Commission. He then joined and worked in think tanks: from 2014 to 2018, member at the
Hudson Institute in Washington DC.
In February 2019, appointed Senior Director of the Europe Centre at the Atlantic Council to
lead the Europe Branch. In his work, he has argued for transatlantic unity in response to Russian
aggression, for greater European accountability and for investment in strategic issues.
Political career:
National Secretary of the UMP from 2011 to 2014
In 2017, he was the representative of La République en marche in Washington, D.C.
Elected deputy for Paris in June 2022, member of the Foreign Commission and the European
Affairs Commission
Spokesman for the Renaissance group in the National Assembly
Author of a parliament resolution on calling France and EU to enroll the Wagner private
military company as a terrorist organization
Rapporteur of the joint committee on the draft law on the prevention of the dissemination of
terrorist content online
Chairman of the committee of enquiry into the revelations of the Uber Files: uberisation, its
lobbying and its consequences
Co-rapporteur of the information report The European Union facing the migration challenge
President of the France-Ukraine friendship group of the National Assembly
Vice-President of the France-Poland friendship group of the National Assembly
Member of the study groups on anti-Semitism, on the Kurds, on the Francophonie and on the
reception conditions of migrants and unaccompanied minors
Author of the book "Paradise Lost: Europe in the World of Trump" arguing for greater European
unity in a world of new challenges and threats.
He is the author of numerous articles in support of the republican model of secularism against
Islamism, anti-Semitism and racism.
Elīna Egle
Co-Founder and Chairperson of the Board of Federation of Security and Defence Industries of Latvia
Elina Egle has remarkable experience in leadership of national and sectoral business organisations. Since 2013 Elīna Egle is Co-Founder and Chairperson of the Board of Federation of Security and Defence Industries of Latvia (FSDI Latvia).
Before that she was Adviser to State President on Economics, Entrepreneurship and Employment in Chancery of the State President of Latvia and General Director of Employers Confederation of Latvia. Corporate experience is gained working with corporate affairs and public relations at Aldaris (part of Carlsberg Group).
International experience was gained working in International Labour Organisation of United Nations where she was consulting employers’ organizations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. E.Egle has been Member of Executive Committees of International Organization of Employers, Business and Industry Advisory Committee to OECD and BusinessEurope for many years.
Her educational background was built within PhD studies and the M.A. degree in Social Sciences of Political Science on European Public Administration and European Studies at the University of Latvia.
She is a member of Society of Political Scientists of Latvia, co-founder and Member of the Board of Women for Security, co-founder of CSR Latvia and Chairperson of the Council of Business Union of Latvia.
More information is available on the website www.elinaegle.lv
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Founder of the Russian Anti-War Committee
Mikhail Khodorkovsky is a founder of the Russian Anti-War Committee.
A successful businessman, Khodorkovsky was head of YUKOS, Russia's largest private oil firm, where he established international management codes of practice, and substantially increased production. An early supporter of democratic change, at a televised meeting with President Putin in early 2003, he criticised endemic corruption. Later that same year he was arrested, and jailed on charges of tax evasion and fraud, charges, which he denied and vigorously defended. Khodorkovsky was sentenced to fourteen years in prison. He was declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International; and finally released in December 2013.
Today, Khodorkovsky advocates an alternative vision for his country: a strong and just state, committed to observing human rights, free and fair elections, and the rule of law.
Jānis Sārts
Director of the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence (Riga)
Janis Sarts is a Director of the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence (Riga), - a multinational, cross – sector organisation
providing comprehensive analysis, advice and practical support in strategic communications to the Alliance and the allied nations. Prior
to that, he has been the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Latvia for seven years, - leading defence sector reforms during an
economic crisis period, developing a new state defence concept, and encouraging regional defence cooperation within NATO and the EU. He has also led the Latvian Government’s efforts to increase its security and defence in cyberspace. As Chair of the National Cyber Security Board, he was responsible for formulating and overseeing the implementation of Latvia’s cyber security policy, as well as for overseeing the work of the National Information Technology Security Incident Response Institution – CERT.LV.
Jānis Sārts ir NATO stratēģiskās komunikācijas izcilības centra direktors. Centrs ir starptautiska organizācija, kas veic analītisko
darbu un sniedz padomus Alianses dalībvalstīm un tās sadarbības valstīm stratēģiskās komunikācijas jautājumos. J.Sārts ir bijis
Aizsardzības ministrijas valsts sekretārs nepilnus astoņus gadus, realizējot aizsardzības sektora reformu ekonomiskās krīzes
apstākļos, strādājot pie jaunas valsts aizsardzības koncepcijas izstrādes, kā arī veicinot reģionālo sadarbību NATO un ES
ietvaros. Esot Nacionālās kiberdrošības padomes vadītāja amatā, viņš ir bijis atbildīgs par Latvijas kiberdrošības politikas
izstrādi un tās ieviešanas pārraudzību, pārraugot arī Informācijas tehnoloģiju drošības incidentu novēršanas institūciju CERT.LV.
María Fernanda Espinosa
Ecuadorian politician and diplomat
María Fernanda Espinosa was President of the United Nations General Assembly. In Ecuador, she served twice as Minister of Foreign Affairs (2007-2008 & 2017-2018), Minister of Defense (2012-2014), and Minister of Cultural and Natural Heritage (2009-2012).
Espinosa is an academic, diplomat, politician, poet, and linguist with graduate studies in social science, anthropology, geography, and Amazonian studies. Her professional experience spans over 30 years in academia, nongovernmental organizations, international organizations, and high-level government positions.
She has a wide range of knowledge and experience in public policy, international relations, and scholarly discussions on peace and security, sustainable development, climate change, gender equality, and the rights of indigenous peoples. She is regarded as an expert in foreign policy, international politics, the United Nations system, and global governance.
Espinosa commenced her career working with local indigenous communities in tropical rainforest stewardship in the Ecuadorian Amazon. She was later involved with civil society organizations. At the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (UICN), she was first an advisor on biodiversity and climate change policy (1999-2005) and later became regional director (2005-2007). Furthermore, Espinosa has a vast experience in multilateral diplomacy and international political affairs. She was the first female ambassador and permanent representative of Ecuador to the United Nations offices in New York and Geneva.
During her two terms as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Espinosa led international negotiations on climate change and environmental, political, and economic bilateral and multilateral agreements and established peace and security strategies with neighboring countries. In 2017, she served as a mediator in the peace dialogues between the Colombian government and the ELN armed group. As Minister of Defense, Espinosa led one of Ecuador’s most sensitive policy issues related to the internal conflict of neighboring Colombia and implemented profound reforms in social security, education, gender equality, and health policy of the armed forces.
In 2018, with a vote of two-thirds of its membership, she was elected as President of the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, becoming the fourth woman in history and the first from Latin America and the Caribbean to preside over this body since its foundation in 1945. In 2019, Espinosa was declared one of the 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world
Currently, Espinosa performs several advisory and advocacy roles in gender equality, sustainable development, health diplomacy, indigenous affairs, global and local governance, and multilateralism. Her multiple duties include Executive Director of the Group of Global Women Leaders for Change and Inclusion; Co-chair of the Coalition for the UN We Need; Member of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, Member of the SDSN Science Panel for the Amazon; Member of the Taskforce on Nature Markets; Member of the Board of Patrons at the World Sustainability Forum; Political Advisor for the Universal Health Coverage 2030 Movement; Chair of the Board of Women in Global Health; UBUNTU Advisor for United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG); Councilor of the World Future Council and Member of the High-Level Advisory Council for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and Member of the Advisory Committee for Club de Madrid. Additionally, she acts as a Goodwill Ambassador for the Latin American and Caribbean Fund for the Development of the Indigenous Peoples FILAC and the Common Home of Humanity.
Eka Tkeshelashvili
President of the Georgian Institute for Strategic Studies (GISS)
Eka Tkeshelashvili is the President of the Georgian Institute for Strategic Studies (GISS) – a non-profit, non-partisan think-tank which serves as a resource for interested parties in understanding political, security and foreign policy choices before Georgia and the wider region and aims to contribute to the success of Georgia’s integration into Euroatlantic space. As an independent consultant she assists companies operating in Georgia or willing to invest in the South Caucasus, Central Asia as well as Central/Eastern Europe in political risk assessment, legal analysis as well as in advancement of their strategic communications. Eka Tkeshelashvili is an expert of international consultancy firms such as Geopolitical Information Service (GIS – based in Lichtenstein) and Gerson Lerhman Group (GLG).
As a senior expert of Justice Cooperation International Eka Tkeshelashvili assisted national stakeholders, primarily Ministry of Justice of Ukraine in implementing Justice Sector Reform Strategy foreseeing a wide-ranging reform of the justice sector, including development of policy and reform coordination capacities of the Ministry of Justice.
Eka Tkeshelashvili is a lecturer at Civil and Political School in Kiev, Ukraine and in the Black Sea University in Tbilisi, Georgia. She teaches courses on State Building, Transformational Leadership, European Studies and International Law.
Eka Tkeshelashvili has served in the government of Georgia in various ministerial positions, including as a Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Secretary of the National Security Council, as well as the Minister of Justice of Georgia. Mrs. Tkeshelashvili also held the position of the Chairperson of Tbilisi Appeals Court and Prosecutor General of Georgia. She has been directly engaged in realization of the reform agenda in the field of good governance and justice. She has been in charge of developing corresponding strategic communication policy of the government, aimed at raising awareness and interest in reform related processes of local as well as foreign audiences. In the capacity of the Secretary of National Security Council of Georgia among other tasks Eka Tkeshelashvii was responsible for strategic communication with foreign media for the President and the Government of Georgia, as well as developing partnerships with opinion making circles in Europe and the US.
Before joining the government, Mrs. Tkeshelashvili was a Deputy Chief of Party at IRIS Georgia implementing USAID rule of law projects. She also worked in ICRC being responsible for the programs on national implementation of International Humanitarian Law. She has work experience with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (Netherlands) and at the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (USA).
Mrs. Tkeshelashvili has master’s degree in International Law from Notre Dame Law School (USA), certificate in Human Rights Law from Oxford University (UK) and Diploma in Law from Tbilisi State University.
Vineta Kleine
Head, NATO Information and Documentation Centre, Kyiv, Ukraine
Vineta Kleine has more than two decades of experience in high-level public information and communication, both in Latvia and internationally, which has been gained working for the EU and NATO. Covering all roles from press officer to head of strategic communications and public diplomacy, she has been responsible for planning and implementing communication doctrines, policies, and concepts, and running a variety of public information and diplomacy events and engagements. Vineta Kleine has provided both advice and coaching to senior leaders and government authorities in the Western Balkans and in Eastern Partnership countries, including as Public Relations Adviser to the Ministry of Security Forces in Kosovo, Head of Strategic Communications Team of the European Advisory Mission in Ukraine and Communication and Public Partnership Adviser in Moldova. In September 2020, she took up office as Head of the NATO Information and Documentation Centre in Ukraine.
David Cattler
NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security
David Cattler is NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security. Mr. Cattler ensures the NATO intelligence organizations operate as an enterprise to meet the challenging demands of the Alliance. He also is the senior advisor to the Secretary General for intelligence and security matters.
Prior to his appointment as Assistant Secretary General he was a senior national and defense intelligence official of the United States. He served multiple times as an intelligence enterprise mission manager and led complex efforts across organizational and functional boundaries. He has significant collection management and analytic experience at the national, joint, and service levels, and has advised the President, civilian agencies, Defense department and military leaders, and operational forces.
He helped form and coordinate national policy as Deputy Assistant to the President for Regional Affairs within the US National Security Council. He ensured unity of effort, advised national, interagency, and military policy and action, and was a senior advisor to the Director of National Intelligence in multiple roles, including service as the Chairman of the National Intelligence Management Council, National Intelligence Manager for the Near East, and Principal Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Military Issues. He advised strategic decision-making and supported combat operations within the Department of Defense while directing the Defense Intelligence Agency’s counterterrorism efforts, and serving as the Joint Staff’s Deputy Director for Intelligence.
He began his career as a naval surface warfare officer and served in operations, combat systems, and engineering roles in two Aegis cruisers, USS ANTIETAM and USS CHANCELLORSVILLE, and ashore as a military and civilian officer with the Office of Naval Intelligence. He joined the Navy staff at the Pentagon in 2003 and served as the Deputy Assistant Director of Naval Intelligence for Intelligence Support and Director of Deep Red.
He has earned academic degrees from the United States Naval Academy (Bachelor of Science, Political Science, 1993) and Georgetown University (Master of Policy Management, 2008). He also is a graduate of the National Intelligence University, the US Naval War College, and was a Senior Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Seminar XXI: Foreign Politics, International Relations and the National Interest.
Dr. Tosh Minohara
Professor of International Relations and Security Studies at the Graduate School of Law and Politics, Kobe University
Dr. Tosh Minohara is Professor of International Relations and Security Studies at the Graduate School of Law and Politics, Kobe University where he holds a joint appointment with the Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies. He received his B.A. in International Relations from University of California, Davis, and his Ph.D. in Political Science and Diplomatic History from Kobe University. He is also the founder and chairman of the Cabinet Office certified non-profit organization, Research Institute of Indo-Pacific Affairs (RIIPA). For the past four years, he has been a lecturer the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Command and Staff College in Tokyo.
His core academic interests deal with the diplomatic, political, and security dimension of US-Japan bilateral relations. His academic achievements have been recognized as a recipient of both the Shimizu Hiroshi Prize and the Japan Academic Research Award.
John Barter
Senior Vice President GLOBSEC
A seasoned Defence and Security Professional with 17 years' experience as a Commissioned Officer in the Royal Air Force Regiment followed by 21 years in the Defence Industry. John joined GLOBSEC in March 2019 and has been actively involved in the organisations Defence initiatives and Chairs the Defence Roundtable at the annual GLOBSEC Forum.
John has established a reputation as a creative thinker and skilful negotiator who regularly thinks out of the box to deliver success. He is a natural leader who injects energy into anything he takes on and can be relied on upon to get things done. In addition to his Defence and Security portfolio John is passionate about subjects such as climate change, climate security, countering disinformation and combatting the impact of poverty. He is honoured to be part of the GLOBSEC Team and believes that he has found his true vocation for his third career.
Thierry Breton
European commissioner for the internal market
Thierry Breton is the European commissioner for the internal market, a position he has held since December 1, 2019. Before that, he was the chief executive officer of the French technology company Atos from 2008 to 2019. He was also minister for the economy, finance and industry for France from to 2005 to 2007, as well as chief executive officer of France Telecom from 2002 to 2005 and of Thomson Multimedia from 1997 to 2002. Prior to that, he was director for strategy and development, then director-general of the computer company Bull from 1993 to 1997. His previous political experience also includes the vice-presidency of the Poitou-Charentes Region in France from 1986 to 1986 and his role as an adviser to the French Minister for Education René Monory from 1986 to 1988. Breton received a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science from École Supérieure d’Électricité (Supélec, now CentraleSupélec) in 1979 and later graduated from the Institut des Hautes Etudes de Défense Nationale (IHEDN).
H.E. Baiba Braže
NATO Assistant Secretary General (2020-2023)
Ambassador Baiba Braže just completed her term as Assistant Secretary General of NATO for Public Diplomacy. In that role, she advised the NATO Secretary General, oversaw the coordination of all strategic communications activities across all NATO civilian and military bodies and commands, and directed all public diplomacy activities. She led work on elaborating NATO’s approach to engagement in the Indo-Pacific, specifically on understanding and counterattacking hostile actors’ hybrid and influence activities in the Alliance. In her diplomatic career, Ambassador Braže has served as Latvia’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Netherlands, OPCW, as the Director General of Security Policy and International Organisations, DG Communications, Europe Director, as the Foreign Policy and National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister, and held numerous other posts since joining the Foreign Ministry in August 1993, both at home (Legal Department, International Organisations Department) and abroad (UN, New York). She holds two master’s degrees from the University of Latvia, in law (1990) and in communication science (2002), and has studied Southeast Asian Studies and Thai Buddhism at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. In addition to Latvian, Ambassador Braže is fluent in English and Russian and has proficiency in Dutch.
Álvaro Imbernón Sáinz
Director, Strategy and Foresight Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, EU, and Cooperation (Spain)
Álvaro is a political scientist specialized in European affairs and International Relations. Currently he leads the Strategy and Foresight Division of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has recently served as an advisor on economic and international affairs at the Cabinet of the Vice-Presidency of the Spanish Government and at the Secretary of State for the EU. Previously, he was a researcher on
political risk and foresight at ESADEgeo and an associate professor at Nebrija University. In the past, he has worked as a consultant in
Belgium and Myanmar and has collaborated with the United Nations University (Tokyo) and think tanks such as the European Council on
Foreign Relations (ECFR) or FEPS.
Michał Baranowski
Managing director for GMF East
Michał Baranowski is a managing director for GMF East. Previously he was a senior fellow and the director of GMF's Warsaw office, where he provides overall strategic direction and leadership for the organization’s work in Poland, the Baltic states, and the V4 countries. He writes and speaks extensively on NATO, transatlantic relations, and U.S. foreign policy, and is frequently quoted in outlets such as Associated Press, Financial Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Die Welt, Rzeczpospolita, Reuters, Axios, Le Soir, Washington Post and Foreign Affairs. He publishes in Polish, American, and European media and policy journals. He is a member of the Polish-German reflection group established by presidents of Poland and Germany. He holds a master's of European public affairs from Maastricht University, and has studied at Mercer University in the United States and the University of Oxford.
Magda Jakubowska
Executive Vice President of Visegrad Insight, Res Publica Foundation
Magda Jakubowska is the executive Vice President of Visegrad Insight, Res Publica Foundation since 2017, where she manages and supports key ventures, including institutional cooperation and partnerships, strategic development, and management of security, regional, EU and transatlantic related programmes. She is involved in all democratic security and strategic foresight projects at Visegrad Insight. Magda has a strong interest regarding women empowerment in security which led to internationally recognised NATO's campaign: #WomenAreNATO that she created a few years ago. Earlier Magda worked at the U.S. think tank Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) and at the Polish Institute of International Affairs
Ieva Tetere
CEO at SEB Latvia
Ieva Tetere, CEO at SEB Latvia, Chairperson of the Council of the Finance Latvia Association
Ieva Tetere is the Chair of the Board of SEB Latvia for more than 8 years. She also holds the position as the Chairperson of the Council of the Finance Latvia Association. At the SEB Baltic Division she is directly responsible for the sustainability area, both in terms of fulfilling the regulator’s requirements and offering new sustainable services to clients. Ieva Tetere has been working in the financial sector for more than 20 years with experience in London and the Baltic States.
Lieutenant-General Frances Allen, CMM, CD
Vice Chief of the Defence Staff
Lieutenant-General Frances Allen enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1983. After graduation from Queen's University in 1987 with an Honours Degree in Statistics, Lieutenant-General Allen completed her CELE Air training in 1988. Following CELE training, her early operational postings were to 764 Communications Squadron, the Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics in Kingston, Canadian Forces Station Carp and 76 Communications Group.
Lieutenant-General Allen has commanded at multiple levels throughout her career including Officer Commanding the National Systems Management Centre in Ottawa, at the Aerospace and Telecommunications Engineering Support Squadron in Trenton as well as the Canadian Forces Network Operations Centre and the Canadian Forces Information Operations Group.
Staff appointments have included the Operations Officer for the Information Protection Centre, Executive Assistant to the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, Director Support Operations in the Strategic Joint Staff. On promotion in 2014 to Brigadier-General, she assumed the post of Director General Defence Security at NDHQ. Lieutenant-General Allen also served as Director General Cyberspace, Director General Information Management Operations at NDHQ and Joint Force Cyber Component Commander. She was appointed Deputy Vice Chief of the Defence Staff after being promoted to Major-General in June 2018.
In July 2020, Lieutenant-General Allen was promoted to her current rank and was subsequently appointed to serve as Military Representative of Canada to the NATO Military Committee in Brussels, Belgium. She returned to Canada in June 2021 to assume the role of Vice Chief of Defence Staff.
Lieutenant-General Allen is a graduate of Queen’s University, the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College and Canadian Forces College National Security Program. She holds a Masters’ Degree in Defence Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) and has been invested as a Commander of the Order of Military Merit.
Viktors Toropovs
Head of Sustainability Development at SEB Latvia
Viktors Toropovs is Head of Sustainability Development at SEB Latvia focusing on implementation of sustainability regulatory requirements across organisation on the Baltic level and various sustainability related areas on local level. He is also a member of sustainability working group at the Finance Latvia Association by dedicating efforts to support market development at the state level.
Viktors has been working in the financial sector for almost 20 years focusing on driving ambitious agenda in various strategic business areas – sustainability, business development and technology. Viktors Toropovs holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Riga International School of Economics and Business Administration.
Mame Fatou Diagne
Head of Division, Country Studies, Economics Department, OECD
Mame Fatou Diagne is Head of Division in the Economics Department of the OECD. She leads macroeconomic and structural country analyses for the European Union, Germany, Israel, Latvia, Switzerland and several countries of Eastern and Central Europe. Prior to joining the OECD, she worked for the World Bank, where she managed loan programs and led analytical work on public finance, inequality and poverty. She has also worked as a sovereign ratings analyst at Standard & Poor's and as an economist at Société Générale. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley; a Master’s degree in International Affairs – International Economic Policy from Columbia University; and a Diplôme from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris.
Major General Jette Albinus
General Officer Commanding Multinational division North
Major General Jette Albinus enlisted in 1988 as a Reserve Officer, and commissioned into The Danish Army in 1989.
Jette subsequently attended the transition course for Reserve Officers, the Advanced Officers Course in 1995-1996 and later the General Staff Course in 2002-2003.
She has served in several staff and unit positions in both the Army and Home Guard.
Her deployments include Bosnia in 1999-2000 as an intelligence officer in Stabilization Forces (SFOR), as a military Advisor to the African Union in 2004-2006 and as Second-in-Command of the Danish Battalion in Kosovo (KFOR) in 2006-2007. Throughout 2014 Jette was deployed as the Chief of Staff at the COM ISAF Advisory and Assistance Team (CAAT).
After promoting to Lieutenant colonel, and the position as Commanding Officer the Home Guard District of Western Jutland Jette advanced to the position as Chief of the Operation and Planning branch at the Danish Home Guard Command from 2010 to 2012.
From 2012 to 2014 Jette was the Head of the Officers Basic Course at The Royal Danish Military Academy in Copenhagen, and from this position Jette deployed to Kabul and the position as Chief of Staff at the CAAT.
Returning to Denmark after her deployment Jette promoted to colonel and took command of The Danish Veteran Centre in Copenhagen.
As Brigadier Jette served as the Chief of Staff of the Home Guard Command from 2017 to 2020 and during this time in 2019 she attended Higher Command and Staff course in United Kingdom. Subsequently she took over as the Deputy Chief Joint Operations at the Danish Defence Command from 2020 to 2023.
In august 2023 Jette Albinus promoted to Major General and assumed command of Multinational Division North based in Adazi, Latvia.
Jette is married and lives with her family in Copenhagen when she is not staying in Latvia. Jette has a long and successful career in sports and holds a Master in Physical Exercise and Well-Being. She is today an Executive Board Member of the National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark.
Hanno Pevkur
Estonian Minister of Defense
Hanno Pevkur is an Estonian politician who is currently the Minister of Defence. From 2017 to 2018 he was the chairman of the Estonian Reform Party. He has served as the Minister of Social Affairs from 2009 to 2012, as the Minister of Justice from 2012 to 2014 and as the Minister of the Interior from 2014 to 2016. From 2000 to 2005, Pevkur worked in the Nõmme City District Government, first as Administrative Secretary and later as Head of City District. From 2005 to 2007, he was on the Tallinn City Council and served as an adviser to the Minister of Justice. Minister Pevkur is married and has a son and a daughter. In addition to Estonian he also speaks Russian, English, German and Finnish.
Kaspars Pollaks
Head of Business for Defence and Public Safety at LMT
Kaspars Pollaks is Head of Business for Defence and Public Safety at LMT. In this role, Kaspars leads the development of ideas, products, and innovations in areas like C2, C4ISR, 5G for defence, autonomous systems and the Internet of Military Things. His primary focus is on driving growth and business development and delivering solutions that meet needs of the customer.
Before LMT, Kaspars had a military career that gave him a unique perspective. As a retired Navy Officer with a decorated service record,
including the position of Commanding Officer, he brings professional experience to the industry and innovation.
Kaspars is a distinguished graduate of the National Defence Academy of Latvia and the US Navy Surface Warfare Officer School. Additionally, he holds a Master of Engineering degree from Riga Technical University Maritime Academy and an mMBA in Innovation Management from Riga Business School.
Dr. Stuart Lau
Correspondent, EU-China and NATO affairs at POLITICO
Stuart Lau is the Correspondent, EU-China and NATO affairs at POLITICO. He’s a journalist based in Brussels, previously in London and Hong Kong. He’s a Reuters Journalism Fellow at Oxford University.
John Jacobs
One of the founders of Atlantic Forum
John is one of the founders of Atlantic Forum, a grassroots start-up NGO promoting NATO and the transatlantic values of the Washington Treaty. Atlantic Forum focuses on the age group 18-35. Through this role, John is frequently in contact with NATO Public Diplomacy Division.
Between 2016 and 2018 he was the president of the Youth Atlantic Treaty Association, and between 2017 and 2019 he has been a board member of the Dutch based Atlantische Commissie (Atlantic Commission).
A captain in the Netherlands military, John is currently working at both the Defence Ministry (The Hague), as well as on an 'acting' post at the Netherlands Defence Academy (Breda). He is currently studying a second Political Science master's degree part-time at Radboud University (Netherlands), where he has previously taken a degree in Social Geography at the same university. Previously he has studied at King's College London.
H.E. Andrejs Pildegovičs
Ambassador at Large for Global and Multilateral Affairs – Special Envoy for Latvia’s UNSC Candidacy 2026-2027 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia
H.E. Andrejs Pildegovičs is Ambassador at Large for Global and Multilateral Affairs – Special Envoy for Latvia’s UNSC Candidacy 2026-2027 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia.
Since joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia in 1994, he has been posted as Ambassador of Latvia to the United Nations (New York), the United States of America and the United Mexican States as well as serving as State Secretary, Under - Secretary of State – Political Director, Head of Asia and Africa Division, Press Secretary, Assistant to the State Secretary, and Senior Desk Officer for Central Asia (Asia and Africa Division).
In the course of his career, Andrejs Pildegovičs also held several positions at the Chancery of the President of the Republic of Latvia: Head of the Chancery, Deputy Head of the Chancery, and Foreign Affairs Advisor to the President.
In 1994, he earned his Master’s degree in Chinese History and Language from St. Petersburg University.
Kristīne Bērziņa
Managing Director for the German Marshall Fund North
Kristīne Bērziņa is the Managing Director for the German Marshall Fund North, responsible for leading programming on Baltic, Nordic, Arctic, and US security and territorial defense concerns. She is based in Washington, where she also heads the office's security and defense portfolio including analysis on NATO, US foreign policy towards Europe, and US-EU geostrategic ties. Bērziņa appears frequently in international media, including the BBC, CNN, France 24, NPR, Deutsche Welle, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. Kristīne also is a co-host of a Ukraine-focused podcast and program on Latvijas Radio called "Drošinātājs."
Before taking on this role, Bērziņa worked on countering autocratic influence as head of GMF's Alliance for Securing Democracy's geopolitics team. She previously worked on transatlantic security and energy issues in Brussels and Berlin. She received her Master's degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge and her Bachelor's in political science and history from Yale University.
Jurgis Vilčinskas
Deputy Head of Strategic Communications and Information Analysis, European External Action Service
Prior to joining the EEAS, Jurgis served at Lithuania's diplomatic service and on President Valdas Adamkus’ team as a speech-writer on foreign policy issues and advisor on EU affairs. He is alumni of Vilnius and Oxford Universities and a researcher at Oslo and Creighton universities, with professional trainings at IMF Institute, D.C. and Clingendael Institute of International affairs in The Hague.
Jurgis’ overseas postings included secondments to the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and for the European External Action Service - holding diplomatic posts in Sarajevo and Kyiv, where he headed the Political, Trade, EU integration and Communications sections respectively.
He was a speaker at Krynica Economic Forum, Davos Communication Forum, Wilton Park and other events dedicated to media, information manipulation and public diplomacy in the EU's Eastern neighbourhood. Jurgis is a co-founder of the EU affairs experts’ network and led diverse media and EU affairs training projects.
Serik Beissembayev
Director of PaperLab Public Policy Research Center
Mr. Beyssembayev is a renowned Kazakh sociologist who currently serves as the Director of PaperLab Public Policy Research Center headquartered in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Serik Beissembayev has been also a sociologist at the “Strategy” Center for Social and Political Studies (Almaty, Kazakhstan), and the Head of the department for sociological research in International Scientific Center "Astana", Astana, Kazakhstan.
He received his M.A. in sociology from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. In 2014-2015 he was a fellow of the Bolashak International Scholarship of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and of the Soros Foundation Kazakhstan Public Policy Initiative. He has extensive experience in planning and concept development of sociological investigations. He is an author of several analytical publications on social and political issues in Kazakhstan and has conducted research on Kazakh nationalism.
Jānis Bērziņš
Director General for EU Coordination and Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia
Jānis Bērziņš is the Director General for EU Coordination and Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia. After studying in Riga and Berlin, he started working at the foreign service specializing in EU matters and economic relations. He has been posted twice to the Embassy of Latvia in Berlin and did a short stint at the Permanent Representation to the EU as the spokesperson for the Latvian presidency of the EU Council in 2015. Over the past 19 years he has been involved in the negotiations for the MFF 2014-2020, euro introduction in Latvia and prepared dossiers for various Prime Ministers ahead of European Council meetings, as well as been a national delegate in various EU Council working group formations.
Marija Golubeva
Head of the Board, Baltic Initiative on European Reform
Marija Golubeva is a Distinguished Fellow with the Democratic Resilience Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).
Marija Golubeva has been a Member of the Latvian Parliament (2018-2022) where she chaired the European Affairs Committee. In 2021- 2022, she has been the Minister of Interior and has been responsible for home affairs and migration policy. She has developed and implemented the Latvian response to the Ukraine refugee crisis after the outbreak of the Russian aggression in Ukraine. Marija has a PhD in History from the University of Cambridge. She has taught Politics at Riga Stradins University and briefly worked for the Latvian government before joining the think-tank PROVIDUS where she led public policy research on a range of topics, including democratic participation and migration. As a public policy expert, she has worked for the consultancy company ICF in Brussels and also as an independent consultant for European institutions in Western Balkans and Central Asia.
Justinas Mickus
Senior Policy Analyst, STRATA
Justinas Mickus' analytical work focuses primarily on EU politics and European integration, strategic foresight, and policy evaluation. Justinas has extensive analytical experience and is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Lithuanian Government's Centre for Strategic Analysis (STRATA), an Associate Research Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, and an Associate Fellow at the Eastern Europe Studies Centre. While at STRATA, Mickus contributed to the development of the forthcoming State Progress Strategy "Lithuania 2050". In 2022 he also became a fellow at the German Marshall Fund in the United States' ReThink.CEE programme and completed a Blue Book traineeship at the Cabinet of EVP Dombrovskis at the European Commission in 2023. Justinas holds degrees in Political Science and International Relations from the Universities of Cambridge (MPhil, 2021) and Princeton (BA, 2020).
Etienne Ranaivoson
Head of the European Union External Relations Department & European Correspondent
Since August 2022, Mr. Ranaivoson is the head of the EU External Relations Department at the EU Directorate of the French MFA, and the European Correspondent of the Political Director.
From 2020 to 2022, he was Political Assistant to the EEAS Political Director in Brussels.
From 2017 to 2020, he was Deputy Europe Adviser to the Prime minister, Mr. Edouard Philippe.
He worked at the French Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels and started his career at the MFA’s Legal Service.
Mr. Ranaivoson graduated from Sciences Po Paris, Sorbonne University and Ecole nationale d’administration (ENA).
Milica Pejanović-Đurišić
Chairwoman of the Atlantic Council of Montenegro and founder of its Digital Forensic Lab
Milica Pejanović-Đurišić is Chairwoman of the Atlantic Council of Montenegro and founder of its Digital Forensic Lab. She has completed
her term as Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Montenegro to UN in July 2021. Before, she served as Minister of Defence in the Government of Montenegro from March 2012 to November 2016, having one of the leading roles in the process of Montenegro’s accession to NATO. Prof. Pejanović-Đurišić was the first Ambassador of independent Montenegro to France, Monaco and UNESCO in the period 2007-2010. From 2004 to 2006, she was Ambassador of the State Union Serbia&Montenegro to Belgium and Luxembourg. In the period 1992-2002, Prof. Pejanović-Đurišić was Member of the Parliament and in one term Chairman of its Committee for Foreign affairs. She was elected Member of the State Presidency (1990-1992) at the first democratic elections in Montenegro. With the PhD in Telecommunication Engineering, Milica Pejanović-Đurišić continuously pursues her academic carrier as a full professor in Telecommunications and Wireless Communications at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Montenegro. She has been cooperating with numerous universities, research centers, international and think tank organizations worldwide as a visiting researcher and lecturer. In her research work she is focused on various aspects of wireless communications and networks, where she has achieved notable results that were published in several hundred scientific papers in international journals and international conferences, in scientific and professional papers in domestic journals and conferences, as well as in a number of books and other publications.
Her current activities also include participation in the Mediterranean Women Mediators, Next Generation Internet Forum, Advisory Board of Montenegro SDG Acceleration Fund, Member of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center… Experience in security and defence sectors,
gained in a specific environment and time, and combined with her expertise in ICTs, resulted in active engagement of Prof. Pejanović-Đurišić in cybersecurity domain. She is working on initiatives leading towards more safe and secure ICT eco-system, so that the conditions for the mitigation of ICT-related security challenges would be created and benefits of global digital transformation on the
international security and stability achieved.
Max Seddon
Financial Times' Moscow bureau chief and leads coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Max Seddon is the Financial Times' Moscow bureau chief and leads coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He was previously a correspondent in the Moscow bureau, where he wrote about the tug-of-war over money and power between the Kremlin, Russian oligarchs, and state companies, as well as topics from the Orthodox Church to football. Before that, he covered Russia and Ukraine for BuzzFeed News and the Associated Press.
Hanna Malyar
Former Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine
Hanna Malyar is a lawyer, stateswoman, Former Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine from 2021 to 2023. She coordinated strategic communications of all security and defense forces of Ukraine.
Ms Malyar is also a scientist. PhD. Author of draft laws. Her research interests include crimes against the foundations of national security, crimes against peace, human security and international law and order, strategic communications in hybrid warfare. Author of more than 40 scientific papers. She developed the concept of legal assessment of events in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, which is used in investigative and judicial practice.
Ms Malyar is a trainer of strategic communications units of the Security Service of Ukraine.
Ms Malyar received a certificate from the Netherlands Institute of International Relations "Clingendael" on subject of the negotiations in armed conflicts.
Dr. Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga
President of the Club de Madrid and former President of Latvia (1999-2007)
Vaira Vike-Freiberga was President of Latvia from 1999 to 2007 (re-elected in 2003 by the Latvian Parliament). She was President of Club de Madrid from 2014 to 2019.
She was Special Envoy on the United Nations reform and official candidate for UN Secretary General in 2006, Vice-chair of the Reflection group on the long-term future of Europe, and Chair of the High-level group on freedom and pluralism of media in the EU in 2011-12, as well as a member of two High-level groups on European security and defence in 2015 and of the Team of Advisors to UN ECOSOC on UN development in 2016.
Dr. Vike-Freiberga is a former professor and interdisciplinary scholar at the University of Montreal, has published 17 books and over 200 articles, in addition to her extensive speaking engagements. She is member of 26 international organisations and five Academies, as well as Honorary Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford University. After a distinguished career as Professor of psychology and international scholar at the University of Montréal, she returned to her native country in 1998 to head the Latvian Institute.
Ms Vike-Freiberga is currently Co-chair of the Nizami Ganjavi International Centre, 2020-2021 member of the UNESCO International Commission on the Futures of Education and member of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission. She is fluent in English, French, Latvian, Spanish and German.
Régis Brillat
Senior Advisor for the follow-up of the 4th Summit of the Council of Europe
Régis Brillat
Senior Advisor for the follow-up of the 4th Summit of the Council of Europe
DGI Human Rights and Rule of Law
Council of Europe
Lawyer and Political scientist working for the Council of Europe Secretariat since 1983.
Main positions:
Registry of the European Court of Human Rights (1983-1986),
Office of the Jurisconsult (1986-1991),
Secretariat of the Venice Commission (1991-1993),
Executive Secretary of the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) (1993-2018),
Special Adviser of the Secretary General for Ukraine and Representative to the Verkhovna Rada (2016-2019),
Executive Secretary of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) (2018-2023),
Senior Advisor for the preparation and the follow-up of the 4th Summit of the Council of Europe (since April 2023).
Jonathan Berkshire Miller
International affairs professional with expertise on security, defense and geo-economic issues in the Indo-Pacific
He has held a variety of positions in the private and public sector. Currently, he is Director of the Foreign Affairs, National Security, and Defence program at the Ottawa-based Macdonald Laurier Institute. He is also concurrently a senior fellow with the Japan Institute of
International Affairs (JIIA) and senior fellow on East Asia for the Tokyo-based Asian Forum Japan. Miller also is the Director and co-founder of the Council on International Policy. He also holds appointments as Canada’s ASEAN Regional Forum Expert and Eminent
Person (EEP) and as a Responsible Leader for the BMW Foundation
Previously, he was an international affairs fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, based in Tokyo. Other former appointments and roles include terms as a Distinguished Fellow with the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada, and Senior Fellow on East Asia for the New York-based EastWest Institute. Miller also held a fellowship on Japan with the Pacific Forum CSIS from 2013-16, and has held a number of
other visiting fellowships on Asian security matters, including at JIIA and the National Institute of Defense Studies (Ministry of Defense - Japan).
In addition, Miller previously spent nearly a decade working on economic and security issues related to Asia with the Canadian federal government and worked both with the foreign ministry and the security community. He regularly attends track 1.5 and track 2 dialogues in the region and lectures to universities, think-tanks, corporations and others across the Asia-Pacific region on security and defense issues. He regularly consults, provides advice and presents to the private sector, multilateral organizations and governments on regional geopolitics.
Jonathan is a regular contributor to several journals, magazines and newspapers on Asia-Pacific security issues including The Economist Intelligence Unit, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy and Nikkei Asian Review. He has also published widely in other outlets including Forbes, Newsweek Japan, the Globe and Mail, the World Affairs Journal, the Japan Times, the Mainichi Shimbun, the ASAN Forum, Jane’s Intelligence Review and Global Asia. Miller has been interviewed and quoted on regional security issues across a wide range of media including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg, Le Monde, Nikkei, the Japan Times, Asahi Shimbun, the Voice of America, the Globe and Mail, CBC, CTV and ABC news.
CONTACT Jonathan: [email protected]; [email protected]
Airis Rikveilis
Defence counsellor at the Embassy of Latvia in the United States
Airis Rikveilis is working in the Ministry of Defence of Latvia since 2001. He currently serves as a defence counsellor at the Embassy of Latvia in the United States. His previous assignments include an expert`s position on the Common Security and Defence Policy in the Secretariat General of the European Commission as well as Chairmanship of NATO Allied Ground Surveillance Management Organization.
From 2013-2019 Airis Rikveilis took the position of defence counsellor at the Latvian delegation to NATO and the EU. His earlier positions in the in the Ministry of Defence, also entail a Director of Strategic Communication, Chief of Staff and National security advisor in the Defence Minister`s office as well as Policy officer in the International relations department.
Airis Rikveilis also worked as visiting faculty member of the Latvian University, Baltic Defence College and National Defence Academy of Latvia, where he led courses on international organizations, media and diplomacy, Russian foreign policy and civil-military relations.
Airis Rikveilis holds a MS degree (cum laude) in National Security Affairs from the United States Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. He has been author of various publications about Strategic Culture, Latvia-Russia relations as well as evolving defence and security agenda in the Baltic Sea region. In parallel to professional expertise in defence policy and planning, his research interests also include areas of military mobility, resilience and cognitive warfare.
Miguel Otero-Iglesias
Senior Analyst at the Elcano Royal Institute and Professor at IE School of Global and Public Affairs
Miguel Otero-Iglesias is Senior Analyst at the Elcano Royal Institute and Professor at IE School of Global and Public Affairs. He is also Research Associate at the EU-Asia Institute at ESSCA School of Management in France. Previously he was Assistant Professor in International Political Economy (IPE) at ESSCA in Paris, Adjunct Lecturer at Queen Elisabeth House at the University of Oxford, postdoctoral Research Fellow at LSE and Associate Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University, where he obtained his PhD in IPE. He also holds a MA in IPE from the University of Manchester. He has been a Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of International Relations (Pontificia Universidade Catolica – PUC of Rio de Janeiro), the Institute of World Economics and Politics (IWEP) at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) in Berlin and the College of Business at Alfaisal University in Riyadh. He is the co-founder and coordinator of the European Think Tank Network of China (ETNC)
Research areas: International Political Economy, broadly speaking. His main areas of expertise are European Monetary Union (EMU) and other regional monetary cooperation projects worldwide; international monetary and financial affairs; Globalisation and its effects; the power triangle between the EU, China and the US; Europe (especially Germany) in the era of the digital revolution, models of capitalism and theories of money and power.
Julia Jacoby
Deputy Chief of Mission in Riga, Latvia
Julia Jacoby is the Deputy Chief of Mission in Riga, Latvia. She arrived in September 2023. Ms. Jacoby most recently was the Political and Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Prior to that assignment, Ms. Jacoby was the Deputy Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece where she advanced bilateral defense cooperation.
In over 20 years as a Foreign Service Officer, Ms. Jacoby has also served abroad in Israel, Germany, and at the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna, Austria. At the State Department in Washington, Ms. Jacoby served in the office of the Under Secretary of State of Political Affairs, in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, and in the Economic Bureau.
Ms. Jacoby speaks Latvian, French, German, and Hebrew. She received a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service, and a M.P.A. in Energy Economics from Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs.
Fredis Bikovs
Managing director of the Riga Investment and Development Agency
Fredis Bikovs is Managing director of the Riga Investment and Development Agency, whose primary focus is on attracting Riga investors and strengthening the sales capacity, identifying and solving the challenges of Riga's investment environment, and strengthening Riga's brand vision internationally.
Fredis Bikovs has a double master's degree in business management and finance, and his previous work experience is related to customer service, international project and financial management in international companies. Fredis has been the director of the information technology company "EVRY Latvia", held the position of chairman of the board of the business services industry association "ABSL Latvia", and was the operational manager of the Finnish company "Wolt" in Latvia.
H.E. Krišjānis Kariņš
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia
Krišjānis Kariņš is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia as from September 15, 2023. Before that he held the post of Prime Minister becoming one of the longest serving Heads of Government (from January 23, 2019 till September 15, 2023) in Latvia.
From 2009 till 2019 Mr. Kariņš was elected to the European Parliament. From 2002 till 2009 he was elected to the Saeima (the Parliament of Latvia) and served as Minister of Economics from 2004 till 2006.
Before entering politics, Mr. Kariņš worked in the private sector: after moving from the United States of America to Latvia in 1997 he founded a frozen foods business, and briefly served as president of an automobile and office supplies company from 1999 till 2000.
Krišjānis Kariņš was born in the US to parents who were forced to flee Latvia after the Soviet occupation.
Maria Mezentseva
Head of the Permanent Delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the PACE
Anaiyt Khoperiya
Acting Deputy Head of the Centre for Countering Disinformation, National Security and Defence Council
Julia Jacoby is the Deputy Chief of Mission in Riga, Latvia. She arrived in September 2023. Ms. Jacoby most recently was the Political and Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Prior to that assignment, Ms. Jacoby was the Deputy Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece where she advanced bilateral defense cooperation.
In over 20 years as a Foreign Service Officer, Ms. Jacoby has also served abroad in Israel, Germany, and at the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna, Austria. At the State Department in Washington, Ms. Jacoby served in the office of the Under Secretary of State of Political Affairs, in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, and in the Economic Bureau.
Ms. Jacoby speaks Latvian, French, German, and Hebrew. She received a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service, and a M.P.A. in Energy Economics from Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs.
Alexandre Escorcia
Assistant Policy Director for Europe, North America and Multilateral Action at the Ministry of Armed Forces of France
Agnese Alksne-Bensone
Founder of the Sustainability partners
Arvils Ašeradens
Minister of Finance of the Republic of Latvia
Tobias Winkler
Member of the German Bundestag
Thomas Patterson
Harvard Kennedy School Professor, Co-Founder of BGF
Robin Shepherd
Executive Director, GLOBSEC
Richard Gowan
Director of the International Crisis Group at the United Nations
Nguyen Anh Tuan
Co-Founder and CEO of BGF
Natalia Pouzyreff
Member of the Defence Committee of the National Assembly of France
Mārtiņš Čakste
Chief Executive Officer of Latvenergo AS
Karl Stoltz
Deputy Coordinator at the US State Department’s Global Engagement Center
Imants Lieģis
Associated Researcher at the Latvian Institute of International Affairs
Grigory Okhotin
Russian Journalist and Human Rights Activist
Elisabeth Bauer
Policy Analyst, Member of the Board of the Women in International Security, Germany
David Merkle
Advisor for China and Southeast Asia Konrad Adenauer Foundation
H.E. Christopher Robinson
The United States Ambassador to the Republic of Latvia
Caroline Louveaux
Chief Privacy Officer, MasterCard
Camille Grand
Distinguished Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations
H.E. Borut Pahor
President of Slovenia (2012-2022)
Dr. Andris Sprūds
Minister of Defence of the Republic of Latvia
Brigadier (Ret’d) Robbie Boyd OBE
Associate Fellow at the at the Royal United Services Institute
Bruno Lete
Senior Fellow for Security and Defense at the German Marshall Fund of the United States
Barry C. Lynn
Executive Director of the Open Markets Institute
Anastasia Stognei
Correspondent of the Financial Times covering Russia
Ana Birchall
Deputy Prime Minister, Romania (2018-2019)
Alan Riley
Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council
Dr. Joris Van Bladel
Senior Associate Fellow at the Egmont Institute
Dr.habil.oec. Inna Šteinbuka
Head of the Fiscal Discipline Council of the Republic of Latvia
H.E Sharon Rappaport Palgi
Ambassador of Israel to Latvia
Mrs. Rappaport Palgi serves as Ambassador of Israel to Latvia since August 2021.
After joining The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2006 as a professional diplomat she was posted at the Embassies of Israel in India, Japan and the delegation of Israel to the European Union.
Prior to her nomination as Ambassador Mrs. Rappaport Palgi held the positions of Head of the North Europe Department in the European Directorate, and Deputy Head of Department , South East Asia in the Asia Pacific Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel.
H.E holds a B.A in Economics and International Relations from the Hebrew University, as well as an MA in Public Policy- Leadership Executive Program, Federman School of Public Policy and Governance, Hebrew University.
During her army service she served as Squad Leader and Sargent in the Israeli Defense Force.
Married with 4 children.
Peter Jennings
Executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI)
Peter Jennings is one of Australia’s foremost experts in geo-politics, national security and defence matters. Until early 2022, he was Executive Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a position he held for a decade. Peter was responsible for expanding ASPI’s research remit from defence to cybersecurity, policing and international law enforcement, border security, national resilience, and counter-terrorism studies.
He has worked at senior levels in the Australian Public Service on defence and national security issues and led the ‘External Expert Panel’ appointed by Government in early 2014 to advise ministers and the Defence Department on the Defence White Paper, released in February 2016.
Prior to joining ASPI, Peter held several senior roles in the Department of Defence, including Deputy Secretary for Strategy, Deputy Director of Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation, Head of the Strategic Policy Branch, and Chief of Staff to the then-Minister for
Defence Ian McLachlan. He also served as Senior Adviser for Strategic Policy to Prime Minister John Howard.
In 2023, Peter was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the development of strategic and international policy.
Paschal Donohoe
Irish Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and President of
the Eurogroup
Paschal Donohoe TD is the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery, and Reform. He previously served as Minister for Finance from June 2017 to December 2022, having been re-appointed to the role in June 2020.
Minister Donohoe was elected President of the Eurogroup on 9 July 2020, taking up his first two-and-a-half-year term in July 2020. He was re-elected on 5 December 2022, beginning his second mandate in January 2023.
He has served as the Irish Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, and the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. He also held the position of Minister for European Affairs at the Department of An Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Paschal was first elected as a TD in February 2011 for the Dublin Central constituency. Prior to this he was a member of Seanad Éireann and also served as member of Dublin City Council.
Before entering political life he worked in Sales and Marketing for Procter & Gamble.
Paschal is a graduate of the Trinity College Dublin, with a degree in Politics and Economics and has attended St. Declan’s Christian Brothers School.
He is a lifelong supporter of Tottenham Hotspur and Bohemian FC and NaFianna in Dublin.
Giorgi Badridze
Senior Fellow, Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (Rondeli Foundation)
Ambassador Giorgi Badridze is a senior fellow at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (Rondeli Foundation). He also is an expert at the European Research Executive Agency of the European Commission. Giorgi Badridze has been a career diplomat since 1991. He has held various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, including head of the Western European
Department (1996-98) and director of the Directorate for the Americas (2004-2006).
He served as the minister plenipotentiary at the Georgian embassies in Turkey (1999-2002) and the United Kingdom (2007-08). In 2009-2013 Mr. Badridze served as Georgia's ambassador to the United Kingdom. Since 2014 he has taught international relations at Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and Caucasus University. Giorgi Badridze studied history at Tbilisi State University and international relations and European studies at Central European University, Prague and Budapest.
Matej Tonin
Chairman of the Slovenian National Assembly delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and Vice-Chairperson to the Sub-Committee on Technology Trends and Security (STCTTS)
Matej Tonin, M. Sc. was born on July 30, 1983 in Ljubljana and comes from Zgornji Tuhinj. After finishing elementary and grammar school in Kamnik, he studied Political Science at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana where he earned his Master’s Degree in 2010 with the thesis on Slovenia’s independence and its economic effects. He is a Member of Slovenian Parliament since 2011. He was Chairman to the Deputy Group of the NSi between 2011 and 2018. Since 2018 he is the President of New Slovenia – Christian Democrats. Between 2020 and 2022 he was Deputy Prime Minister of Slovenia and Defense Minister. Mr Tonin is the Chairman of the Slovenian National Assembly delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and Vice-Chairperson to the Sub-Committee on Technology Trends and Security (STCTTS).
Ben Wallace
Former Secretary of State for Defence (from 2019 to 2023), UK
The Rt Hon Ben Wallace entered politics as a Member of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, later he was elected to the UK House of Parliament in 2005. His first job in Government was as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Veteran Cabinet Minister the Rt. Hon Ken Clarke QC, as Justice Secretary. He has served as a whip, the Northern Ireland Minister and lastly the UK’s longest serving Security Minister. Ben Wallace was Minister of State for Security at the Home Office from 17 July 2016 to 24 July 2019.
The Rt Hon Ben Wallace, former Secretary of State for Defence (from 2019 to 2023), UK
Alexandre Escorcia
Assistant defence policy director
Career diplomat, Mr Escorcia has been assigned in September as Assistant defence policy director, especially in charge of Europe, North America and Multilateral Action, at the Directorate General for International Relations and Srategy of the Ministry of Armed Forces of France. Previously, he held positions as Diplomatic advisor to SACT, as Advisor on strategic affairs to the French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs and, more recently, Deputy permanent representative at French delegation to NATO.
Evita Goša
Environmental and Legal Director, Member of the Management Board of SCHWENK Latvija
Ambassador Giorgi Badridze is a senior fellow at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (Rondeli Foundation). He also is an expert at the European Research Executive Agency of the European Commission. Giorgi Badridze has been a career diplomat since 1991. He has held various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, including head of the Western European
Department (1996-98) and director of the Directorate for the Americas (2004-2006).
He served as the minister plenipotentiary at the Georgian embassies in Turkey (1999-2002) and the United Kingdom (2007-08). In 2009-2013 Mr. Badridze served as Georgia's ambassador to the United Kingdom. Since 2014 he has taught international relations at Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and Caucasus University. Giorgi Badridze studied history at Tbilisi State University and international relations and European studies at Central European University, Prague and Budapest.