Brussels Forum Session: Civil Society’s Role in Building Democratic Resilience: Lessons from Central and Eastern Europe
Zsuzsanna Szelényi is a Hungarian political thinker and foreign policy specialist, program director at the CEU Democracy Institute, author of “Tainted Democracy, Viktor Orbán and the Subversion of Hungary”, and nonresident senior fellow with the Center for European Policy Analysis. She was previously Richard von Weizsäcker fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy and a fellow of the Institute for Human Science’s Europe’s Futures program, conducting research on autocratization in the EU.
Szelényi was a founding member of Together, an opposition party, and served in parliament from 2014 to 2018. She worked at the Council of Europe, developing democracy throughout Europe, including in conflict regions such as the Western Balkans and the Caucasus. She also worked with international organizations in North Africa and Central and Eastern Europe.
Szelenyi started her career as a member of the liberal Fidesz party and served in parliament between 1990 and 1994. She holds master’s degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Corvinus University, and the University of Eotvos Lorand.
Brussels Forum Session: Euro-Atlantic Security and Ukraine: Scenarios for the Future
Arseniy Yatsenyuk is chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum, founder of the Open Ukraine Foundation, and leader of the Narodnyi Front (People’s Front) party. He served as Ukrainian prime minister twice and as foreign minister.
During the 2013-2014 Revolution of Dignity, Yatsenyuk was a leader of the United Opposition and head of the largest opposition faction in parliament. Prior to that, he was a member of parliament and leader of the Front Zmin (Front for Changes) party. From 2007 to 2008, he was speaker of parliament.
Yatsenyuk also held the positions of the first deputy chief of the secretariat of the president of Ukraine, minister for economy, first deputy governor of the Odesa Region, acting chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine, and minister for economy of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. He was also adviser to the chairman and deputy chairman of the board of the AVAL Joint-Stock Postal Pensionary Bank.
Yatsenyuk is a graduate of the Chernivtsi Trade-Economic Institute of Kyiv Trade-Economic University and a graduate of Chernivtsi State University. He holds a PhD from the Ukrainian Bank Academy.
Brussels Forum Session: A Conversation with Darren Woods
Darren Woods joined Exxon Company International in 1992 as a planning analyst. He then held a number of domestic and international assignments for Exxon Company International, ExxonMobil Chemical Company, and ExxonMobil Refining and Supply Company.
Woods has been chairman and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil since 2017. He became president and a member of the board of directors in 2016. Prior to that, he held the positions of senior vice president and vice president, and president of ExxonMobil Refining and Supply Company. He has also been that company’s vice president of supply and transportation, and director of refining for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
Woods was earlier vice president of ExxonMobil Chemical Company, managing global specialty-chemical businesses. He holds an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University.