Speaker Biographies 2012

 

Shaida Mohammad Abdali, Deputy National Security Advisor and Special Assistant to the President, Afghanistan

Shaida Mohammad Abdali is the deputy national security advisor and special assistant to the president of Afghanistan. He provides the president with policy advice on national security issues and is the chairman of the Deputies Committee Meetings. He took part in the early resistance movement against the Taliban and, in 2001, President Hamid Karzai appointed him as his personal secretary. He has also published articles on the challenges facing the Afghan people in The Washington Times, Diplomatic Courier, Journal of International Peace Operations, and the International Affairs Forum. Mr. Abdali holds a bachelor’s in political science and the natural sciences, and obtained his master’s in strategic security studies from the National Defense University of the United States.

Roberto Abdenur, President, ETC

Roberto Abdenur worked as a Brazilian diplomat for 44 years. He is currently president of ETCO, the Brazilian Institute for Ethics in Competition, and acts as a consultant in international affairs. His past service includes Brazilian ambassador to the United States (2004-2007), Germany (1996-2001), Austria, and international organizations in Vienna (2002-2003), China (1989-1993), and Ecuador (1985-1988). He also served as deputy foreign minister for Brazil from 1993 to 1994. Mr. Abdenur is a member of the Brazilian Center for International Relations, a major think tank, and the Group of International Conjuncture Analysis at the University of Sao Paulo. He sits on the Advisory Boards of the Commercial Association of Rio de Janeiro, the National Confederation of Commerce, and the Commerce Federation of São Paulo. He writes frequently for major national newspapers and is regularly seen on TV speaking on international politics.

Mohammad Al Abdallah, Syrian Political Activist

Mohammad Al Abdallah is a Syrian human rights and pro-democracy researcher and activist. He is currently a researcher at the Syrian Center for Political & Strategic Studies, and is also a freelance journalist. He worked as a research assistant for Human Rights Watch in Beirut from 2007 to 2009, where he covered Syria. Mr. Al Abdallah is a former political prisoner and was imprisoned in Syria on two different occasions (facing military trial in both cases) for his work defending human rights and lobbying for political reform. He moved to the United States in February 2009 after being granted political asylum. Mr. Al Abdallah has been involved in the Syrian revolution from the early weeks in Daraa and has since become one of the revolution’s famous media faces outside of Syria. In March 2012, he testified at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva about the situation in Syria. He received a bachelor’s of law from the Lebanese University in 2007.

Alexander Alvaro, Vice President, European Parliament

Alexander Alvaro is a German member and vice president of the European Parliament. His responsibilities include the further development of the Information and Communication Policy and services of the European Parliament, the formulation of an ICT Innovation Strategy, and the monitoring of exchanges with multilateral assemblies regarding security-related issues and extremism in Europe. He was first voted into the European Parliament as a prime candidate of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP) in 2004 and was re-elected in 2009. Previously, Mr. Alvaro served as a board member of the FDP from 2005-2011, as well as on the board of the German Young Liberals from 2000-2005. He has worked as a deputy chair of the Committee on Budgets and was a member of the Committee for Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, the temporary Policy Challenges Committee, and of the delegation for relations with Iran.

Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, European External Action Service

The Honorable Baroness Catherine Ashton is the vice president of the European Commission and high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs. During her career, she has worked in the Department for Education and Skills (in 2001) and in the Department for Constitutional Affairs and Ministry of Justice. Lady Ashton was appointed leader of the House of Lords and lord president of the Queen’s Privy Council in June 2007. In her position as trade commissioner, she initiated a free-trade agreement with South Korea and promoted trade as a catalyst for global development, strengthening the EU’s relationship with African, Pacific, and Caribbean countries.

Elnur Aslanov, Head of Presidential Political Analysis and Information Department, Republic of Azerbaijan

Elnur Aslanov was appointed chief of the Political Analysis and Information Department of the Presidential Administration for the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2007. He worked previously as a consultant for the Department of Foreign Relations and with the parties of the Central Apparatus of New Azerbaijani Party from 1997-2001. Following these positions, he consulted with the Social-Political Department of the Head of the Administration of the president of Azerbaijan from 2001-2005. He then worked as an assistant to the head of the administration from 2005-2007. Dr. Aslanov graduated with a Ph.D. in political science from Baku State University.

Egemen Bagis, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator, Turkey

Egemen Bagis was first elected to the Turkish Parliament in 2002 as a deputy of Istanbul. He was appointed as minister for EU Affairs in January 2009 and has been negotiating for full EU membership for Turkey since. From 2002 to 2009, Mr. Bagis served as vice chairman in charge of foreign affairs and representative offices, a member of the central executive committee, and a member of the central decision making and administrative committee for the AK Party. He also served as foreign policy advisor to the prime minister, chairman of the Turkey-USA Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Caucus, chairman of the NATO-PA subcommittee on transatlantic relations, and deputy chairman of the Turkish Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. In the 1990s, Mr. Bagis was the president of the Federation of Turkish American Associations in New York. He holds a bachelor’s in human resources management and an MPA from the Baruch College of The City University of New York.

Richard Baldwin, Professor of International Economics, Graduate Institute, Geneva

Richard Baldwin has worked as a professor of international economics at the Graduate Institute in Geneva since 1991. He is also the policy director of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, founder and editor-in-chief of Vox, and an elected member of the Council of the European Economic Association. Prior to these roles, Professor Baldwin was a senior staff economist for the U.S. President’s Council of Economic Advisors in the Bush administration from 1990-1991. More recently, from 2000 to 2005, he was co-managing editor of Economic Policyand program director of CEPR’s International Trade Program (1991-2001). Professor Baldwin has published numerous works on international trade, globalization, regionalism, and European integration. He received his Ph.D. from MIT, master’s from the London School of Economics, bachelor’s from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an honorary doctorate from the Turku School of Economics and Business.

Rubens Barbosa, President and CEO, Rubens Barbosa & Associados

Ambassador Barbosa served as an ambassador to the Court of Saint James, in London, from January 1994 to June 1999 and Brazilian ambassador to the United States from June 1999 to March 2004. He has held a variety of senior positions in the Brazilian government’s Ministry of Foreign Relations. He currently works as a business consultant and occupies, among others, the position of president of the Upper Council of Foreign Trade from FIESP (Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo) and is a member of several boards, such the CSU CardSystem SA Company and Veirano Law Firm. He is also publisher of the Journal Interesse Nacional. He has a master’s degree from the London School of Economics.

Melissa Bean, President and CEO, Executives’ Club of Chicago

Melissa Bean was appointed president and CEO of the Executives’ Club of Chicago in 2011. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Bean served three terms in the U.S. Congress. During her tenure, she was a leader on the House Financial Services and Small Business Committees, and vice chair of the NDC, a coalition committed to trade promotion, global competitiveness, and STEM education. Ms. Bean led a task force that wrote key provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to protect investors without stifling market growth and innovation. She also authored the SAFER Net Internet child safety bill, and co-authored amendments in the Recovery Act and the 2010 Small Business Lending Act. She served on the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, and was chair of both the Serbian American Caucus and China Working Group. She received a bachelor’s in political science from Roosevelt University.

Andrea Beltratti, Chairman, Management Board of Intesa Sanpaolo

Andrea Beltratti became chairman of the Management Board of Intesa Sanpaolo in May 2010. He has been full professor at the “Luigi Bocconi” University of Milano since 2003, where he currently teaches financial economics and equity portfolio management. At that same university, he has worked as director of the Degree in Economics, Statistics and Social Sciences (CLE) and of the Degree in Economics and Social Sciences (DES) from 2000 to 2004 and vice rector for the Undergraduate Department from 2004 to 2008. Mr. Beltratti was scientific coordinator of Foundation BSI-Gamma in Lugano from 1997 to 2010 and has been a member of the Editorial Board of Geneva Paper on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice since 2009. He received his degree in economics from the University of Torino and Ph.D. in economics from Yale University.

Stephen E. Biegun, Vice President, Global Public Policy, Ford Motor Company

Stephen E. Biegun is a corporate officer and vice president for Ford Motor Company, overseeing all aspects of Ford’s international governmental relations including the company’s business development, trade strategy, and political risk assessment around Ford’s global manufacturing locations. Prior to joining Ford in 2004, he was national security advisor to the U.S. Senate Majority Leader. He served in the White House from 2001-2003 as executive secretary of the National Security Council. He also served 14 years as a foreign policy advisor in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, including as staff director of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Mr. Biegun is a third generation Ford Motor Company employee, and serves as Chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers WTO Negotiation Group. He graduated from the University of Michigan where he studied political science and Russian language.

Carl Bildt, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sweden

The Honorable Carl Bildt has been Swedish minister for foreign affairs since 2006. Prior to his current position, he held the post of prime minister (1991-1994). Among his previous assignments, Mr. Bildt was the UN secretary general’s special envoy for the Balkans (1999-2001), high representative of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina for reconstruction and the Peace Implementation Process (1996-1997), as well as the European Union’s special representative for Former Yugoslavia and co-chair of the Dayton Peace Talks on Former Yugoslavia (1995). He is a fellow at the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, University of St. Andrews, Scotland.

Laura Blumenfeld, Senior Transatlantic Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Laura Blumenfeld was most recently a reporter at The Washington Post, where she covered presidential politics, the Middle East, national security issues, and contributed to a regular column for the Post’s Federal Page titled “Off Camera: The Private Side of Public Lives.” Ms. Blumenfeld is a frequent lecturer on counter-terrorism and the Middle East, appearing on Charlie Rose, Good Morning America, Prime Time Live, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, The Today Show, CNN, Fox News, and Oprah. She is also a New York Times best-selling author for her book, Revenge: A Story of Hope, which has been translated into nine languages. Ms. Blumenfeld earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature from Harvard College and holds a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University.

Victor Borges, President, Foundation for Development and International Exchanges

Victor Borges is the president of the Foundation for Development and International Exchanges (FDI-CV). Previously, Mr. Borges was the minister of foreign affairs, cooperation, and communities of Cape Verde from 2004-2008. He also served as minister of education, for culture and sports (2001-2002) and human resources development (2002-2004). Mr. Borges was a fellow-visitor to the Bureau of European Policy Advisers in October 2009, and a member of the Consultative Committee of the Banco Cabo-Verdiano de Negócios. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Atlantic Tri-Continental Initiative in Morocco, as well as serving on the Advisory Board of Casa de Africa. He is also a member of the Governing Body of UNESCO’s Institute for Lifelong Learning in Hamburg. Mr. Borges holds a D.E.A. in education sciences from the University of Paris VIII, as well as a master’s in psychology.

Esther Brimmer, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, Department of State, United States

Esther Brimmer was nominated as the assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs for the U.S. Department of State in 2009. In this role, she leads the Bureau of International Organization Affairs. In her career, she has served as deputy director of research at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University, and consulted on issues involving the European Union, Western Europe, UN, and multilateral security in the State Department’s Office of Policy Planning. In 2000, she was a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, and served as a special assistant to the under secretary of state for political affairs from 1993 to 1995. She has doctorate and master’s degrees from the University of Oxford and a bachelor’s degree from Pomona College, all in international relations.

Elmar Brok, Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs

Elmar Brok has served as a German member of European Parliament since 1980 and is currently the chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs. He is a member of the European People’s Party and European Democrats, former substitute of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, and member of the delegation for relations with the United States. Mr. Brok studied politics and law at the Centre for European Governmental Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Before his election to parliament, he worked as a radio journalist and newspaper correspondent.

Eddy Bruyninckx, Chief Executive Officer, Port Authority, Antwerp

Since January 1997, Eddy Bruyninckx has been the CEO of the Antwerp Port Authority. He began his career as an inspector for the Ministry of Finance in 1977 and then worked as the deputy principal private secretary to Mr. G. Greens, then-president of the Flemish government. In 1992, Mr. Bruyninckx became the general manager of the Port of Antwerp. He graduated from Sint-Michiels College, Brasschaat, with a degree in science and math and then studied economic and social sciences at the University of Louvain (KUL).

Reinhard Bütikofer, Member of the European Parliament

Reinhard Bütikofer is a member of the European Parliament for the German Green Party. He is a member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, and the Parliament’s rapporteur for an effective raw materials strategy for Europe. Additionally, Mr. Bütikofer is a member of the Subcommittee on Security and Defense and sits on the Delegation for Relations with the United States as well as the Delegation for Relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Mr. Bütikofer is a vice-chair and the treasurer of his political group, The Greens/European Free Alliance in the European Parliament. Furthermore, he is delegation speaker for the parliamentarians from the German Green Party (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen).From 2002 until 2008, Mr. Bütikofer was the national party chairman of the German Green Party, and was secretary general from 1998 until 2002. He served as a member of the Baden-Württemberg state parliament from 1988 until 1996.

Nicholas Burns, Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations, Harvard Kennedy School

Nicholas Burns is professor of the practice of diplomacy and international politics at the Harvard Kennedy School. He also serves as director of the Future of Diplomacy Project and faculty chair for the Programs on the Middle East, India, and South Asia. He served in the U.S. foreign service for 27 years, during which time he served as under secretary of state for political affairs, ambassador to NATO, ambassador to Greece, and state department spokesman. From 1990 to 1995, he worked on the National Security Council as senior director for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia Affairs, and special assistant to President Bill Clinton and director for Soviet affairs for President George H.W. Bush. Professor Burns has a bachelor’s in history from Boston College and a master’s in international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Andrew Cahn, Vice Chairman, Public Policy EMEA, Nomura International

Sir Andrew Cahn was appointed vice chairman, Public Policy EMEA, in 2010, after holding a number of political and economic positions including chief executive of U.K. Trade and Investment, director of government and industry affairs for British Airways, and chef de cabinet to the vice president of the European Commission, Neil Kinnock. He is the present chairman of the Huawei UK Advisory Board and serves on the franchise board of Lloyds of London. Mr. Cahn was educated at Trinity College in Cambridge and earned a degree in business administration.

Christopher Caldwell, Senior Editor, The Weekly Standard

Christopher Caldwell is a weekly columnist at the Financial Times, a senior editor at the Weekly Standard and a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine. He is the author of Reflections on the Revolution in Europe: Immigration, Islam and the West. Mr. Caldwell graduated from Harvard College, where he studied English literature.

Peter Chase, Senior European Representative, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Peter Chase joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as its senior representative in Europe in 2010. As minister-counselor for economic affairs in the U.S. Mission to the European Union between 2007 and 2010, he galvanized attempts to minimize regulatory divergences that unnecessarily hamper transatlantic trade and promoted U.S.-EU cooperation in third country markets. As director of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of EU Affairs from 2004 to 2007, Mr. Chase led public outreach to business that resulted in the 2005 Transatlantic Economic Initiative, and helped negotiate the 2007 Framework for Promoting Transatlantic Economic Integration that led to the creation of the ministerial-level Transatlantic Economic Council. He also served as chief of staff to the under secretary of economic affairs from 2001 to 2003 and as counselor and minister-counselor for economic affairs in the U.S. Embassy in London between 1997 and 2001.

Iain Conn, Chief Executive Refining and Marketing, and Group Managing Director, BP

In his role as an executive director of the BP Group, Iain Conn is chief executive of refining and marketing and also holds regional responsibility for Europe, Southern Africa, and Asia Pacific. His career with BP began in 1986, and Mr. Conn has worked for nearly all sectors of the BP Group including as group vice president of refining and marketing between 2000-2002, when he was responsible for marketing operations in Europe, and for the integration of Veba Oel into BP. Prior to that he was with BP Exploration in Texas, BP Oil in Ohio, and BP Exploration in Colombia, as well as corporate center roles including as executive assistant to the group chief executive. His career began in oil trading and various commercial roles in refining, supply, and logistics for BP Oil International. Mr. Conn was educated in Musselburgh, Scotland, and then studied chemical engineering and management at The Imperial College, London. He is a fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.

Robert Cooper, Counselor, European External Action Service

Robert Cooper was appointed to the European External Action Service as counselor in 2011. He previously served as director-general for external and politico-military affairs at the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. In the 1990s, Mr. Cooper was director for Asia and deputy secretary for defense and overseas affairs in the U.K. cabinet office. He was head of the policy planning staff from 1989-1993 before traveling as a senior British diplomat between Asia and Europe.

Marta Dassù, Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italy

Marta Dassù was Director General for International Activities of Aspen Institute Italia until her appointment as Under-Secretary. She remains Editor-in-Chief of the journal “Aspenia”. She has been a member of the Scientific Committee of Confindustria and is a member of the Trilateral Commission. She sits on the Board of Directors of IAI (Istituto Affari Internazionali) of Rome as well as of the following institutes: the Turin-based Centro di Alti Studi sulla Cina contemporanea, the Istituto di Studi diplomatici of Rome, and IFRI (Institut Francais des Relations Internationales) in Paris. Ms.  Dassù headed the “Strategic Reflection Group ” of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2007, and was International Relations Advisor to Prime Ministers Massimo D’Alema and Giuliano Amato. She was inducted into the Légion d'Honneur in 2003. She taught International Relations at Rome’s “La Sapienza” University in 2001 and 2002. Ms.  Dassù is an editorial contributor to daily newspaper "La Stampa". She has written or edited various studies and essays on international relations, among which “The Refom Decade in China: from Hope to Dismay” (Kegan Paul International, London), and is the author of “Mondo privato e altre storie” (Bollati Boringhieri, 2009).

Karel De Gucht, Commissioner for Trade, European Commission

The Honorable Karel De Gucht currently serves as the European commissioner for trade. Previously, he had served as the development & humanitarian aid commissioner, Belgian deputy prime minister, and Belgian minister of foreign affairs. He has a law degree from the Free University of Brussels, and at the age of 26 become a member of the European Parliament. After 14 years of active experience, Commissioner De Gucht became a Belgian senator, and a year later was elected to the Flemish Parliament as a member of the Vlaams Liberaal Democraten, and served as party chairman from 1999–2003. In 2002, he received the title of minister of state. Commissioner De Gucht is a lawyer and teaches at the Free University of Brussels.

Peter De Keyzer, Chief Economist, BNP Paribas Fortis

After graduating in 1998 with a master’s in applied economics from the University of Antwerp, Peter De Keyzer worked for a two years as a teaching and research assistant at the Faculty of Economics in Antwerp. Subsequently, he worked as an economist at KBC Asset Management, chief investment advisor at ABN AMRO, and chief economist at Petercam. In 2011, he became the new chief economist at BNP Paribas Fortis. He has been a guest lecturer at the Universities of Antwerp, Antwerp Management School, and Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Mr. De Keyzer regularly publishes in the Belgian and international press and is BNP Paribas Fortis’ spokesperson in all matters related to economics, the financial outlook, and the Belgian economy. His main interests are monetary policy, fiscal policy, and governance of the euro zone as well as structural reforms.

Milica Delevic, Director of European Union Integration Office, Republic of Serbia

Milica Delevic was appointed director of the European Union Integration Office for the government of Serbia in 2008. She has held several roles in political office, including deputy director for the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2003), coordinator for the National Strategy of Serbia for the Accession of Serbia and Montenegro to the EU (2005), and assistant minister for foreign affairs of Serbia (2008). In 2008, Ms. Delevic received the Contribution to Europe for the Year 2008 award from the European Movement in Serbia. She graduated from the University of Belgrade in 1992 with a degree in economics, studied international studies and European relations at Central European University in 1994, and received a doctorate from the University of Kent in Canterbury in international relations and politics in 2003.

Xenia Dormandy, Senior Fellow, Chatham House

Xenia Dormandy is senior fellow at Chatham House. She was previously executive director of the PeaceNexus Foundation. From 2005 to 2009, she was executive director for research, the director for the Project on India and South Asia, and member of the Board of Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. From 2004 to 2005, she was director for South Asia at the U.S. National Security Council. Before that, she was a Foreign Affairs Officer in the Bureau of South Asia and the Bureau of Nonproliferation at the U.S. State Department. She has an master’s from Harvard’s Kennedy School and a bachelor’s from Oxford University.

Lyse Doucet, Senior Presenter and Correspondent, BBC World

Lyse Doucet is a senior presenter and correspondent for BBC World television and BBC World Service radio. She is often deployed to anchor special news coverage from the field on major political events as well as natural disasters. Ms. Doucet plays a key role in the BBC’s coverage of Afghanistan as well as Pakistan and the Middle East. Before joining the BBC’s team of presenters in 1999, she spent 15 years as a BBC foreign correspondent, with postings in Abidjan, Kabul, Islamabad, Amman, and Jerusalem. Ms. Doucet has a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Toronto and a bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University at Kingston.

Kate Dourian, Middle East Bureau Chief, Platts

Kate Dourian joined the Associated Press in Beirut in 1980 as a correspondent, and after three years covering the war in Lebanon, the assassination of Anwar Sadat in Egypt, and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, she moved to Reuters. She spent 17 years working as a correspondent in Beirut and then on assignments in Cairo, London, and Morocco, where she was the first bureau chief. After a few stints on the energy desk in London, she moved to the central editing desk in London as chief editor before leaving in 2000. She joined Platts, the energy information division of the McGraw-Hill Companies, as the Middle East editor covering energy developments throughout the Gulf and North Africa. Ms. Dourian has been published widely on energy matters in recent years and is a regular commentator on radio and television on energy matters. These include regular appearances on BBC television and radio, CNN, Al-Arabiya, and CNBC.

Oded Eran, Director, Institute for National Strategic Studies

Dr. Oded Eran is a senior research associate and director of the Institute for National Strategic Studies in Israel. He was previously a negotiator between Israel, Egypt, and the Palestinians (1999-2000), Israel’s ambassador to Jordan (1997-2002), and ambassador to the European Union (2002-2007). Prior to this post, he was a World Jewish Congress representative in Israel and the secretary general of the WJC Israel branch. Other political positions include deputy director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the deputy chief of the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC. Dr. Eran graduated with a Ph.D. in economics from the London School of Economics.

Steven Erlanger, Paris Bureau Chief, The New York Times

Steve Erlanger began working at The New York Times in 1987 as a metro reporter and later became bureau chief in Bangkok, Moscow, Central Europe, the Balkans (based out of Prague), and Berlin. He became the Jerusalem bureau chief in 2004, and in 2008, became the Paris bureau chief. He has also been the newspaper’s chief diplomatic correspondent in Washington, DC and cultural news editor. Before he started with The New York Times, Mr. Erlanger was with The Boston Globefor 11 years, where he served as a European correspondent based in London, assistant national editor, assistant foreign editor, and reported from Eastern Europe, Canada, and Iran. He holds a degree in political philosophy from Harvard College, where he was also a teaching fellow.

Nabil Fahmy, Dean, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University, Cairo

Ambassador Fahmy is the founding dean of the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the American University in Cairo. He is also the chair of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies’ Middle East Project. He has been ambassador at large at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry since September 2008, after completing his post as ambassador to the United States, a position he had held since October 1999. He served as Egypt’s ambassador to Japan from September 1997 - September 1999, and before that as the political advisor to the foreign minister from 1992-97. Ambassador Fahmy headed the Egyptian delegation to the Middle East Peace Process Steering Committee in 1993 and the Egyptian delegation to the Multilateral Working Group on Regional Security and Arms Control. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics/Mathematics and his Master of Arts in Management, both from the American University in Cairo.

Daniel Fata, Transatlantic Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Daniel P. Fata is a transatlantic fellow with GMF and is vice president at the Cohen Group in Washington, D.C. He served as the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for Europe and NATO policy from September 2005 to September 2008. He assumed his duties at the Pentagon in 2005, after working on Capitol Hill for four years as policy director for national security and foreign affairs on the U.S. House of Representatives’ Republican Policy Committee and policy director for national security and trade on the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee. From 1997-2001, he was assistant to the vice president and Washington director of the Council on Foreign Relations, research associate to the George F. Kennan Senior Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies, and consultant to the National Program. In the mid 1990s, Mr. Fata worked at the Balkan Institute and the American Enterprise Institute researching and analyzing European security issues.

Elsa Fornero, Minister of Labour and Social Services, Italy

Elsa Fornero is the minister of labour, social policies and equal opportunities, a position she has held since 2011. She is the author of many publications focusing on public and private pension systems, pension reforms, population aging, households saving, retirement, and life insurance. Her research concentrates on financial literacy and financial education. She is a professor of political economy at the University of Turin in the Faculty of Economics; a research fellow of the Network for Studies on Pensions, Aging, and Retirement; and a member of the scientific council of Observatoire de l’Epargne Européenne, Paris. Minister Fornero was awarded the La Mela d’Oro Prize in 2011 for “Women: Innovation and Human Capital” by the Marisa Bellisario Foundation, and in 2001, jointly with Ignazio Musu, she received the Saint Vincent Price for Economics.

Roland Freudenstein, Deputy Director and Head of Research, Centre for European Studies

Roland Freudenstein is the deputy director and head of research of the Centre for European Studies. Previously head of foreign and European affairs of the Berlin Office and director of the Warsaw Office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, he has studied political science, Japan studies, economics, and international relations in Bonn and Los Angeles. He has been a fellow at the Research Institute of the German Council on Foreign Affairs, a member of the planning staff for foreign and security policy of the European Commission, and has produced numerous publications on international security, Central Europe, and German foreign policy.

Stefan Füle, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, European Commission

The Honorable Štefan Füle has served as the commissioner for enlargement and neighborhood policy in the European Commission since February 2010. Prior to his appointment as commissioner, he held the position of minister of European affairs of the Czech Republic (2009) and permanent representative of the Czech Republic to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (2005–2009). He was also appointed ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United Kingdom (2003–2005), and the Republic of Lithuania (1998–2001). In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Mr. Füle served as director of the Security Policy Department (1996–1998) and director of the United Nations Department (1995–1996).

Mahmoud Gebril, Former Prime Minister of Libya

When the Libyan uprising began in February 2011, Mahmoud Gebril helped start what is now known as the National Transitional Council (NTC). Mr. Gebril served as the interim prime minister of Libya during that time and also served as head of international affairs, playing a leading role in securing the recognition of the international community. Mr. Gebril resigned his post as prime minister following the liberation of Libya and instigated, along with a range of political forces, a broad national coalition of political organizations, civil society organizations, independent national figures, and regional community leaders from all over Libya to lay the foundations of a democratic civil state. Prior to the revolution, in 2007, he was appointed the security general of the National Planning Council in Libya. During that period, he also led the National Economic Development Board. Mr. Gebril holds a Ph.D. in strategic planning and foreign policy from the University of Pittsburgh.

Amine Gemayel, Former President of Lebanon

Amine Gemayel was elected to the Lebanese Parliament in 1970. In 1972, he was re-elected and served on the parliamentary committee for foreign affairs and was secretary to the parliamentary council. He became the chairman of the Kataeb Emergency Council in 1975 and continued to serve as a member of parliament until his election to the presidency in 1982. He then became the leader of the Kataeb Party in 2005. Mr. Gemayel oversaw the creation of the Beit al-Mustaqbal, a think tank devoted to the study of Lebanese issues. He also founded and edited a French-language newspaper, Le Réveil. He has published several works in Arabic, French, and English, including: al-Rihan al Kabir and Ro’ya lil-Mustaqbal, Peace and Unity, L’offense et le Pardon, and Rebuilding Lebanon’s Future. Mr. Gemayel received a law degree from the French Law Institute of the University of St. Joseph in 1965.

Kristalina Georgieva, Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid, and Crisis Response, European Commission

The Honorable Kristalina Georgieva has been European commissioner for international cooperation, humanitarian aid, and crisis response since February 2010. Prior to her appointment, she was vice president and corporate secretary of the World Bank Group, and director for strategy and operations, sustainable development for the World Bank Group. She has also worked as a visiting professor in Fiji and Australia, a consultant in environmental policy services, and an environmental economist. She joined the World Bank in 1993 as a sector manager for environment, East Asia, and the Pacific region. Commissioner Georgieva has a Ph.D. in economic sciences and a master’s degree in political economy and sociology from the University of National and World Economy, Sofia.

Terri E. Givens, Associate Professor, Government Department, The University of Texas at Austin

Terri E. Givens is associate professor in the Government Department at The University of Texas at Austin and director of the Texas Language Roadmap. She is formerly vice provost, international activities and undergraduate curriculum, director of the Robert S. Strauss Center’s European Union Center of Excellence, and co-director of the Longhorn Scholars Program. She also directed the Center for European Studies and the France-UT Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies from 2004 to 2006. Her first book, Voting Radical Right in Western Europe, was published in 2005. Her articles have appeared in Political Communication, Comparative Political Studies, the Journal of Common Market Studies, the Policy Studies Journal, and Comparative European Politics. She is currently working on a book on antidiscrimination policy and the politics of immigration in Europe. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her bachelor’s from Stanford University.

Misha Glenny, Broadcaster and Author

Misha Glenny is an award-winning writer and broadcaster whose latest book DarkMarket: Cyberthieves, Cybercops and You on cyber crime and its consequences is now being published in over 20 editions around the world. A former BBC Central Europe correspondent who covered the revolutions in Eastern Europe and the wars in the former Yugoslavia, Mr. Glenny has written for most major publications in Europe, the United States, and Japan. Mr. Glenny’s previous book, McMafia: Journey through the Global Criminal Underworldwas translated into over 30 languages and short-listed for the FT Business Book of the Year, and the Lionel Gelber Prize for International Affairs. In January 2012, Mr. Glenny took up an appointment as visiting professor at Columbia University’s Harriman Institute. In October 2011, he was named the U.K.’s Information Security Journalist of the Year for a series of articles detailing the relationship between IT security and politics.

Nik Gowing, Main Presenter, BBC WorldTV

Since February 1996, Nik Gowing has been the main presenter on BBC World News, the BBC’s 24-hour international television news and information channel. He also fronts the channel’s flagship hour-long news program World News Today. He was a founding presenter of BBC’s Europe Direct, has been a guest anchor on HARDtalk and Simpson’s World, and is a regular presenter for Dateline London. Mr. Gowing regularly anchors BBC World’s live coverage from major international events, including the UN World Sustainability Summit in Johannesburg; the India-Pakistan Summit in Agra, India; and the Kosovo crisis in 1999. He was on air for six hours shortly after the Twin Towers were hit in New York City on September 11, 2001. Mr. Gowing also fronted coverage of the unfolding drama of Diana, Princess of Wales’ accident, and made the announcement of her death to a global audience estimated at half a billion.

Marc Grossman, Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Department of State, United States

In 2011, Marc Grossman was appointed special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan by the U.S. Department of State. Prior to this position, he was a foreign service officer (1977-2005), director general of the Foreign Service and director of Human Resources (2000-2001), and assistant secretary of state for European affairs (1997-2000). Mr. Grossman worked as the executive secretary of the U.S. Department of State and special assistant to the Secretary of State from 1993-1994. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and received a master’s in international relations from the London School of Economics.

Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine

The Honorable Kostyantyn Gryshchenko was appointed to his second term as foreign minister of Ukraine in March 2010, having previously held the position from 2003 to 2005. In the last two years, Minister Gryshchenko has served as the ambassador of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (since June 2008) and, at the same time, the first deputy secretary of the Council of National Security and Defense of Ukraine (since April 2008). From 2006–2007, he was the advisor to the prime minister of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych. Over the course of his diplomatic career, Minister Gryshchenko has also held the positions of ambassador of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg; head of mission of Ukraine to NATO; permanent representative of Ukraine to the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in the Hague (1998–2000); and the ambassador of Ukraine to the United States of America (2000–2003).

Marjut Hannonen, Member of the Cabinet for Commissioner Karel De Gucht, European Commission

Marjut Hannonen is a member of the cabinet of European commissioner for trade, where she focuses on themes of biotechnology, market access, sectoral trade issues, and relations with the European Council, and India, South East Asia, China, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, as well as Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. Prior this position, from 2007-2010, she worked on trade relations with the Americas with responsible for the overall coordination of EU-U.S. trade relations. From 2004-2007, she worked on coordination with the WTO and OECD, and has also held positions in the Directorate General for Competition and the Directorate General for Employment and Social Affairs. Ms. Hannonen has a LL.M.Eur in European Commission law and a bachelor’s law degree from the University of Helsinki.

Alcee Hastings, Member, U.S. House of Representatives

The Honorable Alcee Hastings is a Democratic representative of the state of Florida. He was elected to U.S. Congress in 1992. Rep. Hastings graduated from Fisk University in 1958 and earned his law degree from Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979, he became the first African-American federal judge in the state of Florida and served in that position for ten years. He serves on several committees including, the House Committee, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (vice chairman), Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process (chairman), House Democratic Caucus’ Jobs Task Force (co-chairman), House Democratic Leadership, and as a Senior Democratic Whip.

Isaac Herzog, Member, Parliament of Israel

Isaac Herzog’s political career began as secretary of the Economic-Social Council, government secretary, and chairman of the Anti-Drugs Authority. Elected to the Knesset in 2003 as a member of the Israel Labor Party, he served in the Finance, Internal Affairs and Environment, and Anti-Drug Abuse Committees, and as parliamentary group whip. In 2005, Mr. Herzog was appointed to a cabinet position in the Israeli government, and served as minister of housing and construction. In 2006, he was appointed minister of tourism, then minister of welfare and social services and minister of the Jewish Diaspora, society, and the fight against anti-Semitism in 2007. During Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, Mr. Herzog was chosen to be Israel government coordinator for the provision of humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza. In 2011, he resigned as minister and now serves as chair of the Labor Party Parliamentary Group and member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Arik Hesseldahl, Senior Editor and Enterprise Dude, AllThingsD.com

Arik Hesseldahl has been covering technology since 1996, when he launched a weekly column devoted to a new-fangled thing called the Internet for The Idaho State Journal, where he was a business reporter at the time. From 2005 to 2010, he was senior technology writer at Bloomberg Businessweek, and wrote the online column and companion blog called “Byte Of the Apple,” devoted to all things Apple, for Businessweek.com. From 2000 to 2005, he was senior editor and technology columnist at Forbes.com. Mr. Hesseldahl is a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and of the University of Oregon.

Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy, Professor, Lahore University of Management Sciences

Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy is a professor of nuclear and high energy physics at the School of Science and Engineering, Lahore, as well as at Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad. He is the author of Islam and Science: Religious Orthodoxy and the Battle for Rationality and he leads a major translation effort to produce books in Urdu that promote human rights and the emancipation of women. In 2003, he was awarded UNESCO’s Kalinga Prize for the popularization of science. He is a sponsor of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and a member of the Permanent Monitoring Panel on Terrorism of the World Federation of Scientists. In 2010, Dr. Hoodbhoy received the Joseph A. Burton Award from the American Physical Society and the Jean Meyer Award from Tufts University. In 2011, he was included in the list of the 100 most influential global thinkers by Foreign Policymagazine. He received his bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Robert Hormats, Under Secretary For Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Department of State, United States

The Honorable Robert Hormats was sworn in as under secretary of state for economic growth, energy, and the environment in 2009. He was formerly vice chairman of Goldman Sachs (International). Mr. Hormats served as assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, ambassador and deputy U.S. trade representative, and senior deputy assistant secretary for economic and business affairs at the Department of State. He served as a senior staff member for international economic affairs on the National Security Council, where he was senior economic advisor to Dr. Henry Kissinger, General Brent Scowcroft, and Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski. Mr. Hormats has been a visiting lecturer at Princeton University and served on the Board of Visitors of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the Dean’s Council of the Harvard Kennedy School.

Julie Howard, Chief Scientist, Bureau for Food Security, Senior Adviser to the Administrator for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education, U.S. Agency for International Development

Dr. Julie Howard, chief scientist, Bureau for Food Security and senior adviser to the administrator for agricultural research, extension and education, the U.S. Agency for International Development. She was appointed as the U.S. Government’s Deputy Coordinator for Development for Feed the Future, President Obama’s global hunger and food security initiative, in March 2011. Since 2003, Dr. Howard has served as the executive director and chief executive officer of the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa. She holds a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Michigan State University, and master’s and undergraduate degrees from the University of California at Davis and The George Washington University, respectively.

Michael Ignatieff, Senior Resident, University of Toronto

Michael Ignatieff is a writer, teacher, and former politician. Born in Canada and educated at the University of Toronto and Harvard University, he has written 17 books, and worked as a television presenter and documentary film maker, editorial columnist, and university teacher. He has taught at the University of British Columbia, Cambridge University, the London School of Economics, and Harvard University, where he was Director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Kennedy School of Government between 2000 and 2005. Between 2006 and 2011, he was member of Parliament for Etobicoke Lakeshore, and deputy leader and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. He is currently a senior resident at Massey College, University of Toronto. His most recent books include The Rights Revolution (2000), Human Rights as Politics and Idolatry (2001), The Lesser Evil: Political Ethics in an Age of Terror (2004), and True Patriot Love(2009).

David Ignatius, Columnist and Associate Editor, The Washington Post

David Ignatius’ twice-weekly column on global politics, economics, and international affairs began appearing on The Washington Post’s op-ed page in 1999. Prior to becoming a columnist for the newspaper, Mr. Ignatius was its assistant managing editor in charge of business news, a position he assumed in 1993. He served as The Post’s foreign editor from 1990 to 1992, supervising the paper’s Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. From 1986 to 1990, he was editor of the newspaper’s Sunday “Outlook” section. Before joining The Post in 1986, Mr. Ignatius spent ten years as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal,where he covered the steel industry, the U.S. Justice Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Senate, and was the Middle East chief diplomatic correspondent. He has also published six novels. Mr. Ignatius holds degrees from St. Albans School, Harvard College, and King’s College in Cambridge.

Toomas Ilves, President, Republic of Estonia

H.E. Toomas Ilves was elected president of the Republic of Estonia in 2006 and is currently serving his second term in office. He graduated from Columbia University with a degree in psychology and earned a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. President Ilves’ career began as a journalist for Radio Free Europe before he became involved in politics. In 1993, he was appointed ambassador of Estonia to the United States. In later years, he also served as ambassador to Canada and Mexico. President Ilves became the Estonian minister of foreign affairs in 1996, serving until 1998 when he was elected chairman of the People’s Party. He again served as foreign minister for Estonia from 1999 to 2002 and in 2003 was elected MEP for the Estonian Social Democratic Party.

Vladislav Inozemtsev, Director, Center for Post-Industrial Studies

Vladislav Inozemtsev is the director and founder of the Center for Post-Industrial Studies in Moscow, a nonprofit institution that specializes in organizing conferences on global economic issues. In addition, he is the editor-in-chief and publisher of Svobodnaya Myslmagazine, a monthly publication that presents different views on Russian and global affairs, as well as ecological and cultural issues. Prof. Inozemtsev received his Sc.D. in economics from Moscow’s Higher School of Economics (HSE). He is the author of over 600 printed works published in Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, including 15 monographs, four of which were translated into English, French, Japanese, and Chinese.

Masafumi Ishii, Ambassador for Policy Planning and International Security Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan

The Honorable Masafumi Ishii is the ambassador for policy planning and international security policy and deputy director-general in the Foreign Policy Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A career member of the Ministry, he joined the Foreign Service in 1980 and has since served in a number of positions, including director of the Planning Division, director of The Second Southeast Asian Division, and private secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Mr. Ishii was posted in Japan’s embassies in Washington and London, serving in both as minister and head of the political section. He holds a degree in law from the University of Tokyo.

Bruce P. Jackson, President, Project on Transitional Democracies

Bruce Jackson is the founder and president of the Project on Transitional Democracies, a multi-year endeavor aimed at accelerating the pace of reform in the post-1989 democracies and advancing the date for the integration of these democracies into the institutions of the Euro-Atlantic. Mr. Jackson served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 1986-1990 before joining Lehman Brothers. He then worked as vice president for Strategy and Planning at Lockheed Martin Corporation from 1993 to 2002. In the following year, Mr. Jackson served as the chairman of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq. He is the president of the U.S. Committee on NATO, a non-profit formed in 1996 to promote the expansion of NATO and the strengthening of ties between the U.S. and Europe. Mr. Jackson continues to serve on the Board of Directors of the Project for the New American Century, a non-profit corporation involved in educating American opinion on foreign policy and national security.

Martin Jäger, Head of Global External Affairs and Public Policy, Daimler AG

After training as a photojournalist in Paris, Martin Jäger studied ethnology, philosophy, and political science in Munich while working as a freelance journalist for various publications. In 1994, he joined the German Foreign Office where he held a number of posts, including a spell in the European Policy department, speech writer for the Federal Minister, and head of Cultural Affairs at the German embassy in Prague. In 2004, he was responsible for press relations for the head of the Federal Chancellery, and one year later took up the post of spokesman for the Foreign Office and the German foreign minister. Mr. Jäger became head of Global External Affairs and Public Policy at Daimler AG in September 2008.

Robert Kagan, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

Robert Kagan is a senior fellow in foreign policy at Brookings. Dr. Kagan serves as a member of the U.S. Secretary of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board and is co-chairman of the bipartisan Working Group on Egypt. He writes a monthly column on world affairs for TheWashington Post, and is a contributing editor at both TheWeekly Standard, and The New Republic. He served in the U.S. Department of State from 1984 to 1988 as a member of the policy planning staff, principal speech writer for Secretary of State George P. Shultz, and deputy for policy in the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs. Dr. Kagan is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and holds a Ph.D. in American history from American University. His book, Dangerous Nation: America’s Place in the World from its Earliest Days to the Dawn of the 20th Century, was the winner of the 2008 Lepgold Prize. His most recent book is The World America Made.

Natalia Koliada, Founding Co-Artistic Director, Belarus Free Theatre

Natalia Koliada is a producer, journalist, playwright, founding co-artistic director of the Belarus Free Theatre, and one of the most outspoken critics of Belarus’s repressive regime. In 2005, she founded the Belarus Free Theatre (BFT) with her husband, Nikolai Khalezin, in Europe’s last surviving dictatorship. Although forced to operate undercover within Belarus, the Theatre has gained a growing international reputation with support from a diverse group of legends such as Steven Spielberg, Tom Stoppard, and Václav Havel. It was named as "Top Ten Theatre Events" by the New York Times in 2011 and received the major Edinburg Award for outstanding and innovative production. Ms. Koliada and her husband also organize the Global Artistic Campaign Free Belarus, whose aim is the release of all political prisoners in Belarus. This project has most recently merged with Free Belarus Now, a campaign led by Irina Bogdanova, sister of imprisoned Presidential Candidate Andrei Sannikov.

Amy Kellogg, Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent, Fox News

Amy Kellogg is a senior foreign affairs correspondent for Fox News. Based in London, she reports on events in Europe, the Middle East, and the rest of the world and covers terrorism, war, politics, natural disasters, and geo-strategy. Prior to her London posting, she was Fox News Channel’s reporter in Russia. She was present at the Moscow theater for the 2002 stand-off with hostage takers and covered Russia’s war with Georgia in 2008. She also travelled to Chechnya during its second war with Moscow and reported on Boris Yeltsin’s handover of power to Vladimir Putin. Before joining Fox in 1999, Ms. Kellogg worked at WNEP-TV in Scranton, Pennsylvania, WBRE in Wilkes-Barre, News 12 in New Jersey, and Fox 68 in Syracuse. She has a master’s degree in Russian and East European studies from Stanford University and bachelor’s degree in Soviet studies from Brown University. She is fluent in Russian and is studying Persian and Arabic.

William E. Kennard, Ambassador to the European Union, United States

William E. Kennard is the United States’ ambassador to the European Union. Prior to assuming this position, Mr. Kennard was managing director of The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm. At The Carlyle Group, Mr. Kennard specialized in investments in the telecommunications and media sectors. Before joining The Carlyle Group, Mr. Kennard served as chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission from 1997 to 2001. During his tenure, he shaped historic policies that created an explosion of new wireless phones, and brought the Internet to a majority of U.S. households. Before his appointment as FCC Chairman, Mr. Kennard served as the FCC’s general counsel from 1993 until 1997. He joined the FCC from the law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson, and Hand (now DLA Piper) where he was a partner and member of the firm’s board of directors. Mr. Kennard is a graduate of Stanford University and Yale Law School.

Craig Kennedy, President, The German Marshall Fund of the United States

Craig Kennedy has been president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) since 1995. Under Mr. Kennedy’s leadership, GMF has focused its activities on bridging U.S.-European differences on foreign policy, economics, immigration and integration, and domestic policy. Toward this effort, he has provided GMF with a strong infrastructure throughout Europe, opening new offices in Paris, Brussels, Belgrade, Ankara, and Bucharest to complement the work being done in Washington and Berlin. Mr. Kennedy began his career in 1980 as a program officer at the Joyce Foundation in Chicago, becoming vice president of programs in 1983 and president from 1986 to 1992. He left the Joyce Foundation to work for Richard J. Dennis, a Chicago investor and philanthropist. During this same period, he started a consulting firm working with nonprofit and public sector clients.

Vitali Klitschko, Party Chairman of the UDAR party, Head of UDAR Faction in the Kyiv City Council, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador

Dr. Vitali Klitschko is a Ukrainian professional heavyweight boxer and the current WBC world heavyweight champion. Dr. Klitschko became one of the few men to ever hold a version of the world heavyweight championship three times: WBO (1999-2000), WBC (2004-2005), and WBC (2008-present). He has been a deputy of the Kyiv City Council since April 2006. In 2008, he was appointed to the Ukrainian delegation of the Congress of the Council of Europe. In April 2010, Dr. Klitschko became a leader of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reforms party. In 1995, he graduated from Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky Pedagogical Institute of Dragomanov with a Ph.D. in physical education and sports.

Jim Kolbe, Senior Transatlantic Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Jim Kolbe is currently a senior transatlantic fellow for the German Marshall Fund of the United States. He is co-chair of the Transatlantic Taskforce on Development with Gunilla Carlsson, the Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation. He also serves as an adjunct professor in the College of Business at the University of Arizona, and serves on a part time basis as strategic consultant with McLarty Associates. For 22 years, Mr. Kolbe served in the United States House of Representatives, from 1985 to 2007, representing the southeastern part of Arizona. He was chairman of the Treasury, Post Office, and Related Agencies subcommittee for four years, and for the last six years in Congress, he chaired the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Agencies subcommittee. Mr. Kolbe graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and then from Stanford University with an MBA.

Ivan Krastev, Chair of the Board, Centre for Liberal Strategies

Ivan Krastev is the chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies, Sofia, and permanent fellow at the IWM Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna. He is a founding board member of the European Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the advisory board of the ERSTE. He is also associate editor of Europe’s World and a member of the editorial board of journal Transit - Europäische Revue. His latest books in English are The Anti-American Century, co-edited with Alan McPherson, and Shifting Obsessions: Three Essays on the Politics of Anticorruption. He is a co-author with Steven Holmes of a forthcoming book on Russian politics.

James Kunder, Senior Resident Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States

James Kunder is a senior resident fellow at GMF. He advises on international development issues including the modernization of foreign assistance and the nexus between security and development. He has extensive government and private sector experience in international development. Beginning in July 2004 at the U.S. Agency for International Development, he served as assistant administrator for Asia and the Near East. Previously, he was the deputy assistant administrator for Asia and the Near East, director for relief and reconstruction in Afghanistan, deputy assistant administrator for external affairs and director of the Agency’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance. From 1993 to 1996, he was vice president for program development at Save the Children Federation. Mr. Kunder has a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in political science and a master’s in international relations from Georgetown University.

Yosef Kuperwasser, Director General, Ministry of Strategic Affairs, Israel

Brigadier General (Res.) Yosef Kuperwasser is director general of the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs. He was the head of the Analysis and Production Division of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Directorate of Military Intelligence (Aman) for five years until June 2006. After his retirement, he was vice president of Global CST, a security consultancy firm. During his military career, General Kuperwasser served as assistant defense attaché for intelligence at the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC (1992-1994) and as the intelligence officer of the IDF Central Command (1998-2001). Between October 2006 and January 2007, General Kuperwasser was the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Visiting Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. General Kuperwasser has a bachelor’s in Arabic language and literature from Haifa University and a master’s in economics from Tel Aviv University.

Anton La Guardia, European Union Correspondent, The Economist

Anton La Guardia is the Brussels bureau chief and Charlemagne columnist for The Economist. Previously, he was defense and security correspondent for the magazine. He joined The Economist in October 2006, after spending two decades at The Daily Telegraph where he worked as diplomatic editor, Africa correspondent, Middle East correspondent, and Ireland correspondent. He started working as an international correspondent in 1986, when he covered the “People Power” revolution in the Philippines as a freelance journalist. He is the author of Holy Land, Unholy War: Israelis and Palestinians, an account of the Middle East conflict. It is published in America as War Without End: Israelis, Palestinians and the Struggle for a Promised Land. He is a frequent broadcaster, both on radio and television.

Miroslav Lajcák, Managing Director, Europe and Central Asia, European External Action Service

The Honorable Miroslav Lajcák was appointed managing director for Europe and Central Asia within the European External Action Service in December 2010. He joined the Czechoslovak Foreign Ministry in 1988 and began his diplomatic career in Moscow, serving there through Slovakia’s declaration of independence. He served as ambassador to Japan (1994-1998) and was chef de cabinet to Jozef Moravcik, Slovakia’s then foreign minister (1993-1994), and again for Eduard Kukan (1998-2001). From 2001-2005, he served as ambassador to the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Albania, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. He served as the director general for political affairs before being appointed minister of foreign affairs in January 2009, a position he held until assuming his current role. Mr. Lajcák is a law graduate from the Commenius University in Bratislava and holds a Ph.D. in international relations from the State Institute of International Relations in Moscow.

Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, Member, European Parliament; President, European Liberal Forum

Alexander Graf Lambsdorff has been a member of the European Parliament since 2004 and currently serves as deputy leader of the liberal group ALDE. He also leads the German Free Democrats’ delegation (FDP). Mr. Lambsdorff is a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and of the Committee for Culture and Education. In addition, he is a member of the parliamentary delegation for relations with China and Turkey as well as the African, Caribbean, and Pacific states. He has focused on European Union enlargement and the United Nations, while actively engaging in democracy support policies by leading EU election observation missions to several countries in Asia and Africa. He is the co-founder of the Atlantic Initiative Germany as well as of the German-Turkish Foundation. Mr. Lambsdorff studied history, constitutional law, and international relations at Bonn University in Germany and at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

Georges Landau, Managing Director, Menas do Brasil

Georges Landau started his career in the Brazilian Government in 1959 as an advisor in the National Development Council, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1966 to 1973, he worked with the Organization of American States as an assistant legal advisor and executive assistant to the secretary general. Mr. Landau then worked for 19 years at the Inter-American Development Bank. He returned to Brazil in 1992 to head Hill and Knowlton, subsequently merged with Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, and became vice president for Latin America of the combined operation. In 1994, Mr. Landau formed his own company, Prismax Consulting, an organization active in advisory services to multinational corporations, particularly in the energy field. He is the editor of Brazil Focusand a senior associate at CSIS in Washington, DC.

Christian Leffler, Managing Director for the Americas, European External Action Service

Christian Leffler was appointed by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton as managing director for the Americas (North, Central and South America and the Caribbean). Most recently, Mr Leffler has held the post of deputy director-general at the Commission's Directorate-General for Development. In 2010, he has also acted as an adviser to the High Representative on issues concerning the creation of the EEAS. Prior to this he was head of Cabinet to Commission Vice President Margot Wallström. Mr. Leffler began his career at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He served at the Embassies in Egypt and France before going to Brussels in 1991 to participate in Sweden's EU accession negotiations. He has worked on institutional issues and external relations at the European Commission since 1996.

Ian Lesser, Executive Director, Transatlantic Center, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Ian Lesser is executive director of the German Marshall Fund’s Transatlantic Center in Brussels, where he leads GMF’s work on the Mediterranean, Turkish, and wider-Atlantic security issues. Prior to joining GMF, Dr. Lesser was a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and vice president and director of Studies at the Pacific Council on International Policy. Previous to that, he spent over a decade as a senior analyst and research manager specializing in strategic studies at RAND. From 1994-1995, he was a member of the secretary’s policy planning staff at the U.S. Department of State, responsible for Turkey, Southern Europe, North Africa, and the multilateral track of the Middle East peace process. Dr. Lesser was educated at the University of Pennsylvania, the London School of Economics, and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and received his D.Phil from Oxford University.

Tod Lindberg, Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University

Tod Lindberg is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is editor of Policy Review, Hoover’s Washington, DC-based bimonthly journal. He is the editor of Beyond Paradise and Power: Europe, America and the Future of a Troubled Partnership, co-author with Lee Feinstein of Means to an End: The U.S. Interest in the International Criminal Court, and co-editor with Derek Chollet and David Shorr of Bridging the Foreign Policy Divide. He is the author of The Political Teachings of Jesus, a philosophical study of Jesus’ teaching about worldly affairs. He is a contributing editor to The Weekly Standardand teaches at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

Miriam Maes, CEO, Foresee Ltd

Miriam Maes is the CEO of Foresee Ltd, a climate change consulting company, and has previously worked as a consultant to the U.K. minister of state in the Department for Energy and Climate Change. In this role, she supported the government’s public sector Low Carbon Program and new energy policies. She entered the energy market in 2002 as a member of Texas Utilities’ (TXU) European executive. In her work to finance energy projects, Ms. Maes merged Foresee Ltd with Matrix Corporate Capital to form the Foresee-Matrix alliance, a conglomerate that finances energy policies. In her career, she has served on the boards of ELIA, Dalkia UK, and Metronet. She was recently appointed as an expert consultant to the DECC’s new Energy Efficient Deployment Office. Ms. Maes graduated from Nijenrode International Business School in the Netherlands with a bachelor’s degree of business administration.

Erika Mann, Head of EU Policy, Facebook

Erika Mann is the head of EU Policy for Facebook. Previously, she was executive vice president for the Computer & Communications Industry Association and ran her own consultancy, ErikaMann PGMBH. Since 2010, she has been a board member of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). She is a nonresident senior fellow of the Atlantic Council, a trustee of Friends of Europe, the vice president of the advisory board of the European Policy Center, and chairperson of the evaluation group for the Risk-Sharing-Finance Facility. Ms. Mann was a German member of the European Parliament from 1994 to 2009. She was the European chairperson of the Transatlantic Policy Network from 2003 to 2008 and speaker of the Committee for International Trade in the European Parliament from 2004 to 2009. Ms. Mann is the founder of the European Internet Foundation, which she chaired until 2009.

Mikhail Margelov, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Federation Council of the Russian Federation

Mikhail Margelov is chairman of the Committee on Foreign of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, as well as the chairman of the European Democrat group of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He was re-elected to the Federation Council to represent Pskov in December 2004. Prior to his service on the Council, Mr. Margelov served as a consultant to President Vladimir Putin’s electoral headquarters in 2000, and was director of the Russian Information Center from its creation in October 1999 until 2000. From May 1998 to September 1999, he was a manager at RIA-Novosti. Mr. Margelov was head of the Public Relations Department of the presidential administration from 1997 to 1999, after having served as chief coordinator for advertising during President Boris Yeltsin’s 1996 re-election campaign.

Wilfried Martens, President, European People’s Party

Dr. Wilfried Martens co-founded the European People’s Party (EPP) in 1976 and has served as its president since 1990. Prior to this, he was Belgium’s prime minister from 1979 to 1992 and remains a Belgian minister of state. President Martens was chairman of the Belgian CVP from 1972 to 1979, deputy in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives from 1974 to 1991, senator from 1991 to 1994, and a member of the European Parliament, chairing the EPP Group until 1998. In the same year, he was honored with the Charles V Prize for his contribution to the European Union. From 2000 to 2001, he was president of the Centrist Democrat International. Mr. Martens holds a doctorate in law, a degree in notarial studies, and has studied international political science at Harvard University.

Jim McDermott, Member, U.S. House of Representatives

Jim McDermott began his professional career as a chief psychiatrist in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps in 1968. His first political campaign in 1970 won him a seat in the Washington State House of Representatives. Four years later, he was elected to the Washington State Senate and was re-elected three times. In 1980, Mr. McDermott successfully defeated an incumbent governor to become the Democratic Party gubernatorial nominee. He left politics in 1987 to serve as a regional medical officer in the U.S. Foreign Service. He returned to the U.S. Congress in 1988 and is currently serving his 11th term in the House. During his political career, Mr. McDermott created the AIDS Housing Opportunities Act in 1990, the Congressional Task Force on International HIV/AIDS in 1992, and the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans in 1993 (co-founder).

Philipp Mißfelder, Member, German Parliament

Philipp Mißfelder was elected to the German parliament in 2005 and re-elected in 2009 and is currently foreign policy spokesman of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group. He has been federal president of the Junge Union, the largest German youth organization, since 2002, and a member of the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation since 2006. Prior to his election, he was federal president of the Schuler Union (the School Students Association of the Junge Union). In addition, he is a member of the executive board of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and a member of the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) Council. Mr. Mißfelder has a master’s in history and completed a year’s military service in Berlin in 1999.

Jacqueline David Mkindi, Executive Director, Tanzania Horticulture Association

Jacqueline David Mkindi is executive director of the Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA), a position she has held since 2005 where she is a focal representative of the horticultural industry in Tanzania. Prior to this position, was acting managing director of TAHA Fresh Handling Limited. She has previously held positions with Tengeru Flowers Limited, Tanzania National Parks, and the Sokoine University of Agriculture as a tutorial assistant in the Department of Forestry Economics.Ms. Mkindi has an MBA from the Eastern and Southern Africa Management Institute and a first class honors degree in forestry and nature conservation from Sokoine University of Agriculture. She is a member of the directorial boards of the Agriculture Council of Tanzania, Homeveg Tanzania Limited, TAHA Fresh Handling Limited, and CMG Innovation Networks Ltd.

Nickolay Mladenov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bulgaria

The Honorable Nickolay Mladenov was appointed minister of foreign affairs for Bulgaria in January 2010 following a post as minister of defence starting in July 2009. The holder of a master’s degree in war studies from King’s College London, and a bachelor’s and master’s degree in international relations from the University for National and World Economy, Sofia, he has worked as an election observer in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, and Pakistan. Between 2001 and 2005, Minister Mladenov was a member of the Bulgarian Parliament, where he served as vice chairman of the European Integration Committee and sat on the Foreign and Defence Policy Committee. He became a member of the European Parliament in 2007, a position he held for two years, during which time he served on the Foreign Affairs Committee, was vice chairman of the delegation for relations with Iraq, and served on the delegations for Israel and Afghanistan.

Richard Morningstar, Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy, Department of State, United States

Richard Morningstar was sworn in as U.S. special envoy for Eurasian energy in 2009. He began his law career with Peabody & Brown in Boston, Massachusetts. He then served as CEO of Costar Corporation and has been chairman of the board since 1990. He frequently lectures at the Kennedy School of Government and Stanford Law School, and has taught at Brown University and Boston College Law School. Since 2001, Mr. Morningstar has served as senior director with Stonebridge International LLC. During his political career, he has worked as special advisor to the president and secretary of state for Caspian Basin energy diplomacy, as ambassador and special advisor to the president and secretary of state on assistance for the new independent states of the former Soviet Union, and commissioner of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. He received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a law degree from Stanford Law School.

L. Daniel Mullaney, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East

Dan Mullaney is assistant U.S. trade representative for Europe and the Middle East. From 2006 to 2010, Mr. Mullaney was the senior trade representative in the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels. Before that, Mr. Mullaney was an attorney in USTR’s Office of General Counsel, where he led negotiations and provided legal advice for free trade agreements and represented the United States in dispute settlement proceedings at the World Trade Organization. Mr. Mullaney’s substantive area of responsibility in the general counsel’s office included trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary regulations, and trade and environment, among other areas. Prior to joining USTR in 1999, he was a partner in a major international law firm, specializing in international trade law. Mr. Mullaney earned a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College in 1979, and a joint law/foreign service master’s degree from Georgetown University.

Julia Nanay, Senior Director, Markets and Country Strategies Group, PFC Energy

Julia Nanay is the senior director of PFC Energy’s Markets and Country Strategies Group, head of the firm’s Russia and Caspian Service, where she provides clients with risk analyses for investments in the oil and gas industry in that region. She focuses in particular on the oil and gas sectors of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Her clients include international and national oil companies, government agencies, and ministries. Ms. Nanay has published numerous works on the region, including the Russia and Caspian section of Energy and Security, Toward a New Foreign Policy Strategy.Before joining PFC Energy, she was vice president of The Charter Oil Company, heading their Washington, DC, office. Ms. Nanay received a bachelor’s from the University of California at Los Angeles and an M.A.L.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Pauline Neville-Jones, Prime Minister’s Special Representative to Business on Cyber Security, House of Lords, United Kingdom

Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones was appointed special representative to business on cyber security after she resigned from her post as minister of state for security and counter terrorism at the Home Office in 2011. Baroness Neville-Jones was a career member of H.M. Diplomatic Service from 1963 to 1996, serving in Rhodesia, Singapore, Washington, DC, and Bonn. In 1977, she was seconded to the European Commission, where she worked as deputy and then chef de cabinet to Commissioner Christopher Tugendhat. In her political career, she has served as head of the Defence and Overseas Secretariat in the Cabinet Office, deputy secretary to the Cabinet, chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, political director in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, BBC governor, and chairman of the Governor’s World Service Consultative Group.

Theo Notteboom, President, Institute of Transport and Maritime Management Antwerp, University of Antwerp

Theo Notteboom is president of the Institute of Transport and Maritime Management Antwerp, a professor at the University of Antwerp, a part-time professor at the Antwerp Maritime Academy, and a visiting professor at Dalian Maritime University in China and World Maritime University in Sweden. He is also president of International Association of Maritime Economists, co-director of the PortEconomics.eu initiative, and chairman of the Board of Directors of Belgian Institute of Transport Organizers, an institute of the Belgian Federal Government. Mr. Notteboom is a regular invited expert to the OECD, the European Sea Ports Organization, and other leading organizations in the field. He is also associate editor of the journal Maritime Policy & Managementand a member of the editorial boards of four other leading academic journals in the field.

Vartan Oskanian, Chairman, Civilitas Foundation

Vartan Oskanian is the former foreign minister of Armenia and founder of the Civilitas Foundation, an organization that raises awareness for education, media, rural development, and environmental issues, and advocates for peace and stability in the Caucasus. During his term as foreign minister, Mr. Oskanian pursued policies that emphasized inclusion and collaboration between Armenia and its neighbors, consistent engagement in global issues, integration with the Council of Europe, and resolution for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In 2009, he published Speaking to be Heard: A Decade of Speeches, a collection of 100 speeches made during his term as foreign minister. Mr. Oskanian received a bachelor’s in structural engineering from Yerevan Polytechnic Institute in Armenia before pursuing a graduate degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Artis Pabriks, Minister of Defense, Latvia

The Honorable Dr. Artis Pabriks graduated from the University of Latvia faculty of history and continued his studies in the University of Aarhus, Denmark, receiving a Ph.D. in political science in 1996. As an academic, his research activity is focused mainly on political theory, ethnic policy, multiculturalism, and foreign and security policy. In 1996, he became the first rector of Vidzeme University College, and where he later became a professor. He has worked as a policy analyst and researcher for several NGOs. In 2004, Dr. Pabriks was elected as a member of the Latvian parliament, and, later in the same year, he was appointed as minister of foreign affairs, which he served as until 2007. From 2007 until 2010, Dr. Pabriks was a member of the parliament. He has served as minister of defense since November 2010. He also continues his academic career and currently holds is a professor at the Riga International School of Economics and Business Administration.

Tim Pawlenty, Former Governor, Minnesota

Tim Pawlenty is the former governor of Minnesota, former Republican candidate for president of the United States in the 2012 election, and former two-term majority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is currently the co-chairman of Governor Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. He was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1992 and re-elected four times, serving as House Majority Leader in 1998. In October 2011, he led an election monitoring team to observe Tunisia’s first elections since the Arab Spring. He was the only one of his siblings to attend college and graduated with a bachelor’s in political science from the University of Minnesota, earning a law degree from the same university.

Nikola Poposki, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Macedonia

Nikola Poposki was appointed minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Macedonia in 2011, prior to which he was head of mission and ambassador of Macedonia to the European Union from 2010 to 2011. He was a team leader in the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission from 2006 to 2009 and has also held positions in DEPFA Bank and Rouen Port Authorities. Minister Poposki received in master’s in European economic studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, a master’s in languages and international trade from the EU University in Rennes and the University of Skopje, and a bachelor’s in economics from the University of Skopje and the University of Nice. He was the recipient of an Excellence Award for contribution to the EU’s Western Balkans policy by the European Commission.

Wilfried Porth, Member of the Board of Management, Daimler AG

Wilfried Porth is a member of the Board of Management at Daimler AG, a German multinational automotive corporation. He is the director of labor relations, responsible for human resources, IT management, and procurement of nonproduction material sources. After graduating from the University of Stuttgart, Mr. Porth became the executive vice president of MB Van, and prior to that served as CEO of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. In addition to his position on the board of management at Daimler AG, he also is a member of the supervisory board of Daimler Financial Services AG, the board of directors of EADS Participations B.V., and the board of trustees of Hans Martin Schleyer Stiftung.

Joseph Quinlan, Managing Director and Chief Market Strategist, Bank of America

Joseph Quinlan, a nonresident transatlantic fellow with GMF since 2003, is a leading expert on the transatlantic economy and well-known global economist. He has also been a fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations of Johns Hopkins University since 2002. In addition, he is the chief market strategist of Bank of America Capital Management, where he is charged with the development and implementation of domestic and global investment strategies. Mr. Quinlan joined the firm in June 2003 after working as a global economist at Morgan Stanley (1994-02). Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, he worked as director of economic research at Sea-Land Services, a $3 billion global transportation firm. He is the author or co-author of several articles and five books including Deep Integration: How Transatlantic Markets are Leading Globalization, coauthored with Daniel Hamilton. Mr. Quinlan has been on the faculty at New York University since 1992.

Gideon Rachman, Chief Foreign Affairs Columnist, Financial Times

Gideon Rachman became the Financial Times’ chief foreign affairs columnist in 2006. Prior to joining the Financial Times, he spent 15 years working at The Economist in various positions, including as the publication’s foreign correspondent in Brussels, Washington, and Bangkok. He was also The Economist’s deputy American editor, Asia editor, Britain editor, and business section editor. Mr. Rachman began his journalistic career in 1984 with the BBC World Service. From 1987–1988, he was a Fulbright scholar at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public International Affairs and later became a reporter for The Sunday Correspondent. Mr. Rachman holds a first class honors degree in history from the Gonville and Caius College of Cambridge University.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Secretary General, NATO

The Honorable Anders Fogh Rasmussen has been active in politics most of life, beginning in 1978 when he won a seat in the Danish Parliament (Folketing). He became minister for taxation in 1987, and three years later, minister of economy and taxation, a position he held for two years. In 2001, he became Denmark’s prime minister, and during the last half of 2002, he held the rotating presidency of the EU. Mr. Rasmussen became the 12^thsecretary general of NATO on August 1, 2009. During his political tenure, he has held many positions within his political party (Liberal Party), including being its spokesman and chairman of the national organization. He is also an author with several books on taxation and government structure to his name. He has a master’s degree in economy from the University of Aarhus.

Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, and European Affairs, Belgium

The Honorable Didier Reynders is a former lawyer who was appointed Belgian deputy prime minister and minister for institutional reforms in 2004. Minister Reynders has served as the minister of finance since 1999 and was chairman of the Eurogroup in 2001. He has also worked as the minister of foreign affairs, foreign trade, and European affairs since December 2011. From July 2001 to December 2011, he was the president of Ecofin, the economic and foreign affairs council for the EU. Minister Reynders was the minister for justice and institutional reforms from 1987 to 1988. He has been a member of parliament since 1992, serving as deputy chairman of the Mouvement Reformateur from 2004 to 2011. Minister Reynders graduated with a law degree from the University of Liège.

Barbara Ridpath, Chief Executive, International Centre for Financial Regulation

Prior to her current position at the International Centre for Financial Regulation, Barbara Ridpath was executive managing director and head of Ratings Services, Europe, for Standard & Poor’s from 2004-2008, responsible for the organization’s rating activities in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Before that she was managing director and chief credit officer, Europe, based in Standard & Poor’s London office, where she was responsible for the development and application of ratings policy in Europe including its global consistency. Ms. Ridpath joined S&P in 1983 after three years as an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. She worked in S&P’s European network from 1986, holding a broad range of positions. Ms. Ridpath spearheaded S&P’s move into international securitization based in London in the late 1980s, and ran S&P-ADEF in Paris from 1990 to 1993. From 1993 to 1998, she was a senior credit officer at JPMorgan Europe, rejoining S&P in 1998.

Edgars Rinkevics, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Latvia

The Honorable Edgars Rinkevics was appointed Latvian minister of foreign affairs in 2011. Prior to his current post, he held several political posts including chancery of the president of Latvia (2008-2011), secretary of state to the Ministry of Defense (1997-2008), and deputy head of the Latvian delegation for accession negotiations with NATO (2002-2003). From 1995 to 1997, he worked in the Ministry of Defense in several roles, and was a journalist for Latvijas Radio. He earned a master’s degree in political science from the University of Latvia in 1997 and a master’s in national resource strategy from the U.S. National Defense University, Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

Sergey Ryabkov, Deputy Foreign Minister, Russian Federation

Sergey Ryabkov was designated deputy foreign minister in 2008. He began working at the Russian Foreign Ministry after graduating from the Moscow State University of International Relations in 1982. After several years at the ministry, he began working in the Department of European Cooperation in 1995 and was later appointed head of the department in 2006. Mr. Ryabkov also served as a counselor at the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC, prior to becoming the deputy foreign minister.

Mahmoud Salem, Blogger, Activist, Writer, and Entrepreneur, Egypt

Mahmoud Salem is an Egyptian blogger, activist, writer, and entrepreneur. His is the most prominent English-language blog in Egypt, entitled “Rantings of a Sandmonkey,” www.sandmonkey.org. It won the best Middle East and Africa blog awards in 2006 and 2007, and has over 5.5 million unique views. His Twitter account has over 25,000 followers. He focuses on freedom of speech, human rights, religious rights, and women’s rights. He was one of the leading voices in the January 25 revolution that brought down Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak, and he is currently creating a political party and is involved in many development and transparency projects for a better Egypt. His writings have appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, The New York Times, The Daily Star, The Guardian, and on various websites.

Loretta Sanchez, Member, U.S. House of Representatives

Loretta Sanchez serves in the U.S. House of Representatives for California’s 47th congressional district. Formerly a Republican, she changed political parties in 1996 and ran for Congress as a moderate Democrat, winning her seat. She is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of U.S. congressional representatives from the Democratic Party who identify themselves as moderates. During her time in office, she has served on the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Homeland Security, and the Joint Economic Committee. Ms. Sanchez has a strong record of supporting human rights and is a member of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. She defended the Head Start program from Republicans with the argument that her career success could be attributed to the government’s expenditures on public education.

Stefano Sannino, Deputy Director General for Enlargement, European Commission

Stefano Sannino joined the European Commission in 2002 as diplomatic advisor to President Romano Prodi and his sherpa to the G8. He was then director for crisis management and representative of the Commission to the PSC, director for relations with Latin America, and deputy director general in DG External Relations in charge of Asia and Latin America. At present, he is the deputy director general for enlargement. In his previous capacity as an Italian diplomat, he was head of the OSCE mission to Yugoslavia, and head of cabinet to the minister for foreign trade. He holds a degree in political science from the University of Naples.

Marietje Schaake, Member, European Parliament

Marietje Schaake is a Dutch member of the European Parliament with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) political group. She serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, where she focuses on neighborhood policy, human rights, and Iran. In the Committee on Culture, Media, Education, Youth and Sports she works on Europe’s digital agenda and is rapporteur of a report on the role of culture and new media in the EU’s external actions. Ms. Schaake is a member of the delegation for relations with the United States and a substitute member of the delegation with the Balkan countries. She is also a founder of the European Parliament Intergroup on New Media and Technology. Before joining the European Parliament, she worked as an independent advisor to governments, diplomats, businesses, and NGOs on issues of transatlantic relations, diversity and pluralism, civil and human rights, and integration.

Christian Schmidt, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Defense, Germany

Christian Schmidt was appointed a parliamentary state secretary to the federal minister of defense in November 2005. Previously, he was defense spokesman for the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CSU) parliamentary group in the German Parliament, a member of the Defense Committee, and an alternate member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Mr. Schmidt was elected as a member of the German Parliament in 1990, where he held the position of foreign and security affairs spokesman of the CSU group of parliamentarians from Bavaria and was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Since 1999, he has been a member of the Advisory Council of the German-Czech Discussion Forum and chairman of the German-British Parliamentary Friendship Group. He studied law in Erlangen and Lausanne.

Daniela Schwarzer, Head, Research Division EU Integration, Stiftung für Wissenschaft und Politik

Dr. Daniela Schwarzer is currently the head of the Research Division of EU Integration at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Stiftung für Wissenschaft und Politik, in Berlin. She holds a Ph.D. in political economy from the Freie Universitat in Berlin and began her political career as the chargée de mission of the Information Department at the Association for the European Monetary Union in Paris. She served there until 1999, when she became an editorialist and France correspondent for the Financial Times Deutschland. Dr. Schwarzer is the co-founding editor of eurozonewatch.eu and of the European Political Economy Review. From 2007 to 2008, she was a member of the Europe working group of the Whitebook Commission on Foreign and European Policy in the French Foreign Ministry. Dr. Schwarzer was recently a member of a team of academic advisors to the Polish secretary of state for European affairs.

Jeanne Shaheen, Member, United States Senate

The Honorable Jeanne Shaheen is a Democratic Senator from New Hampshire. She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2008. Senator Shaheen earned a bachelor’s degree from Shippensburg University and a master’s degree from the University of Mississippi. She became the first woman elected governor of New Hampshire, serving three terms from 1997 to 2003. During her governorship, she led trade missions to Europe and later spent time in Nigeria, Armenia, and the Middle East as an election monitor for the National Democratic Institute. In 2005, she became the director of Harvard University’s Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government. She currently serves on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and is chair of the European Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She also sits on the Committee for Energy and Natural Resources and Committee for Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Radoslaw Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Poland

The Honorable Radoslaw “Radek” Sikorski is the current Polish minister of foreign affairs and was previously the Polish minister of defense. He is a politician, journalist, and former Solidarity activist who was stranded in Britain in 1981, after Poland declared martial law, and eventually become a British citizen in 1984 after seeking asylum. He served as Poland’s deputy defense minister in 1992, and as deputy foreign minister in 1998. As a journalist, Minister Sikorski worked as a war correspondent in Angola and Afghanistan, and won the 1988 World Press Photo prize for one of his photographs taken in Afghanistan. He was a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and was executive director of the New Atlantic Initiative, an international nonpartisan organization dedicated to revitalizing and expanding the Atlantic community of democracies.

Anne-Marie Slaughter, Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University

Anne-Marie Slaughter is a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University. From 2009 to 2011, she served as director of policy planning for the U.S. Department of State. Prior to her government service, Dr. Slaughter was the dean of Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs from 2002 to 2009, where she rebuilt the school’s international relations faculty and created new programs. Dr. Slaughter contributes to mainstream and new media by publishing op-eds in major newspapers, magazines, and blogs and curating foreign policy news on Twitter. She has written or edited six books, including A New World Order (2004) and The Idea That Is America: Keeping Faith with our Values in a Dangerous World(2007). From 1994 to 2002, Dr. Slaughter was the J. Sinclair Armstrong Professor of International, Foreign, and Comparative Law and director of the International Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School.

James Steinberg, Dean, School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University

James Steinberg is dean of the Maxwell School, Syracuse University, and university professor of social science, international affairs, and law. Prior to this post, he worked as deputy secretary of state, principal deputy to Secretary Clinton. From 2005 to 2008, he was dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Steinberg was vice president and director of foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution. Mr. Steinberg served as deputy national security advisor to President Clinton from 1996 to 2000. During that period, he was also the president’s personal representative to the 1998 and 1999 G8 summits. Prior to becoming deputy national security advisor, Mr. Steinberg was director of the State Department’s policy planning staff and deputy assistant secretary for analysis in the bureau of Intelligence and Research. Mr. Steinberg’s most recent book is Difficult Transitions: Foreign Policy Troubles at the Outset of Presidential Power(2008) with Kurt Campbell.

Philip Stephens, Associate Editor, Financial Times

Philip Stephens began working for the Financial Times in 1982 and served as the newspaper’s economics editor, political editor, and editor of the U.K. edition, before his current position as associate editor and senior commentator. Prior to working for the Financial Times, Mr. Stephens worked as a correspondent for Reuters in London and Brussels. He has also written two books, one a biography of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the other entitled, Politics and the Pound, a study of the British government’s exchange rate. He attended Wimbledon College and Oxford University, was a Fulbright fellow, and won the 2002 David Watt Prize for outstanding political journalism.

Mona Sutphen, Managing Director, UBS AG

Mona Sutphen is the managing director at UBS AG covering geopolitical risk, macro-policy trends, and their impact on the global economy. Until February 2011, she served as White House deputy chief of staff for policy for U.S. President Barack Obama. From 2001-2008, Ms. Sutphen was managing director at Stonebridge International, a global strategy consulting firm advising multinational corporations, financial institutions and other organizations on worldwide challenges and opportunities. She was also vice president at Currenex, the first Internet-based trading platform for the institutional foreign exchange market. She served as a U.S. foreign service officer from 1991 to 2000, serving in the Clinton administration on the staff of the National Security Council, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, the Office of the High Representative in Sarajevo, the State Department Human Rights bureau, and at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok.

Ellen Tauscher, Special Envoy for Strategic Stability and Missile Defense, Department of State, United States

Ellen O. Tauscher was sworn-in as the Special Envoy for Strategic Stability and Missile Defense On February 7, 2012.  Prior to this position she served as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security and represented California’s 10^th Congressional District for 13 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. Special Envoy Tauscher chaired the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces since 2007 and was a senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. She also chaired the New Democrat Coalition, a group of more than 60 centrist House Democrats. Before winning a seat in Congress, Under Secretary Tauscher spent 14 years working on Wall Street and was one of the first women to hold a seat on the New York Stock Exchange and later served as an officer of the American Stock Exchange. Special Envoy Tauscher graduated from Seton Hall University.

Sylke Tempel, Editor-in-Chief, Internationale Politik, German Council of Foreign Affairs

Sylke Tempel is the editor-in-chief of Internationale Politik, published by the German Council of Foreign Affairs. She also teaches international relations at the Stanford Study Center in Berlin and at Stanford University. She has served as Middle East correspondent for numerous German magazines. Her collaborative work on the book We Just Want to Live Herewon the prestigious Quadriga Prize in 2003. Dr. Tempel holds a master’s degree from the Universität München and was awarded a Ph.D. from the Universität der Bundeswehr.

Mostafa Terrab, Chairman and CEO, OCP Group

Dr. Mostafa Terrab serves as president and director general/general manager of the OCP Group and as a member of the executive board at La Banque Centrale Populaire SA. He started his career with Bechtel Civil and Minerals Inc. as an analyst in transportation systems. From 1989 to 1993, he served as a consultant with Draper Laboratory. In 1995, he became secretary general of the executive secretariat of the Middle East/North Africa Economic Summit. He served as director general of National Telecommunication Regulatory Agency, before leading the World Bank’s Information for Development program and served as lead regulatory specialist from 2002 to 2006. He has been an assistant professor at MIT and at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York. Dr. Terrab received a master’s and a Ph.D. in operations research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an engineering diploma from the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées.

Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili, Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Reintegration, Georgia

Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili was appointed to the minister of reintegration for Georgia in November 2010, following two years as national security advisor to the president of Georgia. She graduated from Tbilisi State University International Law Faculty with honors in 1999 and went on to study international human rights law at the University of Notre Dame, having been awarded the Muski/FSA Graduate Fellowship. After internships at the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights in New York and the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, she worked in the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Foreign Policy Research and Analysis Center, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Georgian Ministry of Justice, and the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs. She has also lectured at the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, Tbilisi State University, and is an associate professor of public international law at the Caucasus School of Law in Georgia.

Nathalie Tocci, Deputy Director, Instituto Affari Internazionali

Dr. Nathalie Tocci is deputy director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali and associate editor of The International Spectator. She held previous research posts at the Transatlantic Academy, Washington; the European University Institute, Florence; and the Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels. Her book publications include Turkey’s European Future: Behind the Scenes of America’s Influence on EU-Turkey Relations; Turkey and its Neighbours (with R. Linden et al); The EU Civil Society and Conflict; Civil Society, Conflict and the Politicisation of Human Rights (ed. with R. Marchetti); Cyprus: A Conflict at the Crossroads (ed. with T. Diez); The EU and Conflict Resolution; and EU Accession Dynamics and Conflict Resolution.

Dmitri Trenin, Director of Carnegie Moscow Center, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Dr. Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, has been with the Center since its inception in 1994. Serving in the Russian Army from 1972 to 1993, he earned a Ph.D. from the Institute of the USA and Canada in 1984. From 1993 to 1997, Dr. Trenin held a post as a senior research fellow at the Institute of Europe in Moscow, and in 1993, he was a senior research fellow at the NATO Defense College in Rome. During his term in the Soviet and Russian armed forces, he gained experience working as a liaison officer in the External Relations Branch of the Group of Soviet Forces (stationed in Potsdam) and as a staff member of the delegation to the U.S.-Soviet nuclear arms talks in Geneva from 1985 to 1991. He also taught at the war studies department of the Military Institute from 1986 to 1993. Dr. Trenin currently chairs Carnegie’s Research Council and the Foreign and Security Policy Program.

Michael Turner, Member, U.S. House of Representatives

The Honorable Michael Turner is a Republican representative of the state of Ohio. He was elected to the U.S. Congress in 2002. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio Northern University, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Dayton, and a law degree from Case Western University. Rep. Turner was in private practice and corporate law for 13 years before entering public office. He also served two terms as mayor of Dayton, Ohio. He has pursued trade opportunities with Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Croatia as a result of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords, and developed Sister City partnerships with Holon, Israel; Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Zagreb, Croatia. Rep. Turner now serves on the committees of Oversight and Government Reform and Armed Services, where he is ranking minority member of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee.

Niki Tzavela, Member of the European Parliament

Niki Tzavela is a member of the European Parliament and coordinator of the Industry, Research & Energy Committee (ITRE), vice chairwoman of the delegation for relations with the United States, and a member of the delegation to the European Union-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee. Prior to joining the European Parliament, she was executive director for international development of the Antenna TV Group of Greece, vice president of the Kokkalis Foundation, and member of the Greek parliament for the New Democracy Party from 1994 to 1996. Ms. Tzavela has a bachelor’s degree in industrial psychology from Howard University and has a master’s in labour economics from Leeds University.

Sinan Ülgen, Chairman, Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies, Turkey

Sinan Ülgen’s first post with the Turkish Foreign Service as a career diplomat in 1992 was to the Turkish Permanent Delegation to the European Union in Brussels, where he became part of the team that negotiated the Turkey-EU customs union. Mr. Ülgen is currently the chairman of the Istanbul-based think tank, Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM) and a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe. He has been published by many U.S. and European think tanks as well as Le Figaro, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The International Herald Tribune. He is also the co-author of a book on Turkey-EU relations with Kemal Dervis. Mr. Ülgen graduated from the University of Virginia with a double major in computer sciences and economics. He received a master’s degree in European economic integration at the College of Europe in Brugge, Belgium.

João Vale de Almeida, Ambassador to the United States, European Union

Ambassador João Vale de Almeida is the head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United States. Prior to his appointment, he served as the director general for external relations at the European Commission. From 2004 to 2009, Ambassador Vale de Almeida was the head of cabinet for the European Commission president. Before joining President Barroso’s team in 2004, Ambassador Vale de Almeida held a senior position in the Directorate General for Education and Culture and served as deputy chief spokesman of the European Commission. He joined the European Commission in 1982 at the European Commission Delegation in Lisbon, after spending seven years as a journalist. He holds a degree in history from the University of Lisbon and has studied journalism and management in the United States, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

Harlan Ullman, Chairman, The Killowen Group 

Dr. Harlan Ullman’s company, The Killowen Group, advises leaders of business and government at the highest levels and his main business activities currently include investment banking, a project to store used nuclear fuel in Russia, and infrastructure protection for the water industries. Dr. Ullman advises the U.S. Department of Defense on how to conduct business, as well as on conflicts in South Asia. From 2006-2007 he co-chaired a major project on the security of the Port of New York and New Jersey. A career naval officer, he has served at sea in command and ashore in senior assignments including two years with the Royal Navy. He was a professor at the National War College where he directed the course of study in military strategy for three years before returning to sea in command. Dr. Ullman has a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Harvard University in international politics and finance, and is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.

Alfredo Valladão, Pofessor, Sciences Po

Alfredo Valladão is a professor at the Institut d’études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and a visiting professor at the ESSEC (Paris). He is also the president of the Advisory Board of EUBrasil Association, a member of the Board of Trustees of UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research), and a senior research fellow at the European Union Institute for Security Studies. As a journalist, he is columnist for Radio France International and contributes regularly to the BBC and CBN (Brazil), as well as being a former diplomatic and defense correspondent for the daily Libération (France). Mr. Valladão is a member of the Editorial Board of the review Economia(Morocco). He organizes and participates regularly in high-level conferences and workshops on international trade, regional integration, global diplomacy and security, Brazil and Latin America affairs, and has published extensively on these subjects.

Steven Vanackere, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and Sustainable Development, Belgium

The Honorable Steven Vanackere is the current Belgian deputy prime minister and minister for finance and sustainable development. He is the former vice prime minister and minister for foreign affairs and institutional reforms. He was a member of the Flemish Parliament; chairman of the City of Brussels Committee for economic, trade, port; Flemish affairs’ Flemish minister of public health, welfare, and family; and deputy prime minister of civil service, public enterprise, and institutional reforms. Prior to his political career, he was director general for the Port of Brussels and assistant director general of the Society for Inter-Communal Transport in Brussels. Minister Vanackere has a bachelor’s degree in political science, a master’s in law, and a master’s in economic science, all from Katholiek Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.

Alexander Vershbow, Deputy Secretary, NATO

Alexander Vershbow is currently the deputy secretary of NATO and was previously U.S. assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs. In this capacity, Ambassador Vershbow had responsibility for coordinating U.S. security and defense policies relating to the nations and international organizations of Europe (including NATO), the Middle East, and Africa. He joined the U.S. Department of Defense after a 32-year career with the U.S. Foreign Service. He served as U.S. ambassador to NATO (1998–2001); U.S. ambassador to the Russian Federation (2001–2005); and U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Korea (2005–2008). Ambassador Vershbow held numerous senior positions in Washington, including special assistant to the president and senior director for European Affairs at the National Security Council (1994–1997) and State Department director for Soviet Union Affairs (1988–1991).

Lorenzo Vidino, Visiting Fellow, Center for Security Studies

Dr. Lorenzo Vidino is a fellow at the Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich, and a lecturer at the University of Zurich. He previously held positions at the RAND Corporation, the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He has taught at Tufts University, the University of Maryland (START), and the National Defense University. He is the author of two books (his latest, The New Muslim Brotherhood in the West, was published by Columbia University Press in the fall of 2010) and frequent articles in several prominent newspapers and academic journals. A native of Milan, Italy, he holds a law degree from the University of Milan Law School and a doctorate in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Pierre Vimont, Secretary General of the European External Action Service

Pierre Vimont was appointed executive secretary general of the European External Action Service by Baroness Catherine Ashton in 2010. Previously France’s ambassador to the United States, he has a bachelor’s degree in Law and is a graduate of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Paris, and the National School of Administration. He has been in the French diplomatic service for over 30 years, having entered as a second secretary at the Embassy of France in London in 1977. He was spokesman at the Information and Press Office of the French Foreign Ministry until 1985, before spending a year at the Institute for East-West Security in New York. Since then, he has been director for scientific and technical cooperation at the Department for Cultural, Scientific and Technical Relations, director for European cooperation at the Department of European and Economic Affairs, and was ambassador of the Permanent Representative of France to the EU in Brussels from 1999 to 2002.

Marcus Vinícius de Freitas, Professor of Law and International Relations, Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado

Marcus Vinícius de Freitas works as a consultant for Fraga, Bekierman & Pacheco Neto Attorneys in charge of governmental affairs, international contracts, and energy, having previously worked for the Inter-American Development Bank, Ernst & Young, and Occidental Petroleum Corporation. He is a professor of law and international relations at the Armando Alvares Penteado Foundation, in São Paulo, Brazil, an expert advisory board member of Frontier Strategy Group, and president of the Sao Paulo Municipal Directorate of the Progressive Party. He holds a bachelor of laws from the University of Sao Paulo, a master of laws from Cornell University, and a master’s in international relations and economics from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, where he was an Organization of American States Fellow.

Peter Vis, Head of Cabinet, European Commissioner for Climate Action

Peter Vis has been head of cabinet to the European commissioner for climate action since February 2010. Prior to that, he was first a member and then deputy head of cabinet to Andris Piebalgs, the European Commissioner for energy. In Commissioner Piebalgs’ cabinet, Mr. Vis was responsible for renewable energy, including biofuels, and the interaction of energy policy with climate change. He has also worked in the economic analysis and climate change unit of the Directorate-General for Energy and Transport, and for the climate and energy unit in the Directorate-General for Environment. He has worked on the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme, including on the first round of the assessment of national allocation plans. Prior to joining the European Commission in 1990, Mr. Vis worked for H.M. Customs and Excise in the U.K. He graduated from Cambridge University.

Alexandr Vondra, Minister of Defense, Czech Republic

The Honorable Dr. Alexandr Vondra was elected senator for the Litomerice and Slany regions of the Czech Republic in 2006. He is currently a vice chairman of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS). On July 13, 2010, Dr. Vondra was appointed the minister of defense. From January 2007 to May 2010, Dr. Vondra served as the deputy prime minister for European affairs. Between September 2006 and January 2007, he worked as the foreign minister of the Czech Republic. Between 2004 and 2006, he was the managing director of Dutko Worldwide, professor of Euro-American relations at the New York University in Prague, and the president of the Czech Euro-Atlantic Council. He co-founded the Program of Atlantic Security Studies, a think-tank in Prague. He served as foreign policy advisor to President Havel (1990-92), the Czech first deputy foreign minister (1992-97), and the Czech ambassador to the United States (1997-2001).

Konstantin von Eggert, Commentator and Host, Kommersant FM Radio

Konstantin von Eggert is a Russian analyst, consultant, and journalist. He began his career in media in 1990 as a reporter for the Moscow daily Kuranty. He is currently a political commentator and host of Kommersant FM radio in Moscow, and writes a weekly column for the RIA Novosti website. From 2009 to 2010, Mr. von Eggert worked as vice president for public and government affairs for ExxonMobil Russia Inc. From 1998 to 2009, he was senior correspondent, and then editor-in-chief of the BBC Russian Service Moscow bureau. He also presented “Utro na BBC” (“BBC Morning”), the Russian service flagship morning news and current affairs program. From 1992 to 1998, he was a diplomatic correspondent, and later deputy foreign editor of Izvestia. Mr. von Eggert is an honors graduate of the Moscow University Institute of Asian and African Studies.

Jon Wellinghoff, Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Jon Wellinghoff is a U.S. attorney and energy consultant who serves as the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Since his appointment in 2009, he has outlined three objectives for his term: integration of renewable energy sources to the electric grid, implementation of technologies that make the distribution and use of energy more efficient, and promotion of next-generation energy practices, such as electric cars and real-time electricity pricing. Since 1992, Mr. Wellinghoff has published several works on the importance of energy efficiency. He graduated from the University of Nevada – Reno with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and from the Antioch School of Law.

Robert Wexler, President, Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation

Robert Wexler served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives for seven terms for Florida’s 19^th district, before retiring in January 2010 to assume his current position in the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace. While in Congress, he was named one of the 50 Most Effective Legislators in Congress by Congressional Quarterlyand in 2008 served as an advisor to President Obama on Middle East and Israel issues. He has served as chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and as a member of the Middle East Subcommittee. He was also an American representative to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and co-founder of the Caucus on U.S-Turkish Relations, the Taiwan Caucus, and the Indonesia Caucus. Mr. Wexler earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Florida and a law degree from George Washington University.

Alma Whitten, Director of Privacy for Product and Engineering, Google

Alma Whitten joined Google in 2003 and is currently the company’s director of privacy for product and engineering. She received her computer science Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in 2004, where she specialized in human factor challenges for computer security.

Willy Winkelmans, Professor of Transport Economics, Transport Policy, Port and Maritime Economics, and Maritime Technology at the University of Antwerp

Professor Dr. Willy Winkelmans is a professor of transport economics, transport policy, port and maritime economics, and maritime technology at the University of Antwerp and professor of seaport economics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. He is also a consultant in transport economics to private and public organizations and was a special advisor to the Cabinet of Commissioner Karel Van Miert. Dr. Winkelmans is chairman of the Flemish Port Commission on behalf of the Flemish government and the author of more than 100 publications and the co-author of eight books. He has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Ghent and is the dean of the Faculty of Applied Economics and a member of the Board of Directors of the University of Antwerp.

Piotr Wozniak, Chief National Geologist, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of the Environment, Poland

Piotr Grzegorz Wozniak is the under secretary state in the Ministry of the Environment and the chief national geologist of Poland. He was elected chairman of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators in 2010. From 2002 to 2006, he served as a councilor of the City of Warsaw, Vice President of Economic Development and Infrastructure. Mr. Wozniak was appointed minister of the economy in 2005, a position he served in until 2007. He was vice president for trade and restructuring in the Polish Oil and Gas Mining SA from 2000 to 2002. From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Wozniak worked as an advisor to the prime minister for infrastructure, taking part in the work of the Standing Committees of Ministers. Mr. Wozniak graduated from the faculty of geology at the University of Warsaw in 1980.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Member, Parliament of Ukraine

Arseniy Yatsenyuk is a member of the parliament of Ukraine and leader of the Front Zmin (Front for Changes) party. In December 2007, he was elected chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament. Previously, he served as the minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine; first deputy chief of the secretariat of the president and representative of the president to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (2006 - 2007); minister of economy (2005 - 2006); first deputy governor of the Odessa region (2005); acting chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine (2004); first deputy chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine (2003 - 2004); minister of economy of the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea (2001 - 2003); and deputy chairman of the board of the “AVAL” Joint-Stock Postal Pension Bank (1998 - 2001). Dr. Yatsenyuk holds a Ph.D. in law and economics from the Ukrainian Banking Academy.

Radwan Ziadeh, Visiting Scholar, Dubai Initiative, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Fellow, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Radwan Ziadeh is a visiting scholar with the Dubai Initiative at Harvard University, and fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) in Washington, DC. In October 2011, he was elected as director of the foreign relations office for the Syrian National Council, the main umbrella for the Syrian opposition. Mr. Ziadeh is the founder and director of the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies in Syria and co-founder and executive director of the Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Washington, DC. He is the managing editor of the Transitional Justice in the Arab World Project and writes a bi-monthly op-ed for the leading Arab daily, Al-Hayat. Mr. Ziadeh has written ten books, the most recent titled, "Power and Policy in Syria: Intelligence Services, Foreign Relations and Democracy in the Modern Middle East."

Robert Zoellick, President, The World Bank Group and International Finance Corporation

The Honorable Robert B. Zoellick has been the president of The World Bank Group since July 1, 2007. He served in then-President George W. Bush’s cabinet as U.S. trade representative from 2001 to 2005, and as deputy secretary of state from 2005 to 2006. From 1985 to 1993, Mr. Zoellick worked at the Treasury and State departments in various capacities, as well as briefly in the White House as deputy chief of staff. In 2006 and 2007, he served as vice chairman international of Goldman Sachs Group. Mr. Zoellick holds a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College.

Cathy Zoi, Partner, Silver Lake

Cathy Zoi is the former assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy (EERE) at the U.S. Department of Energy. She is a partner at Silver Lake, a partnership between Soros Fund Management and Silicon Valley private equity firm, Silver Lake. Ms. Zoi’s career in environmental policy has included positions as chief of staff in the White House Office of Environmental Policy, manager at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), chief executive officer of the Alliance for Climate Protection, assistant director general of the New South Wale’s EPA, and chief executive officer of the New South Wales Sustainable Energy Development Authority. She has led policy discussions related to a national clean energy standard, appliance efficiency standards, “Home Star” legislation, utility regulation, and building codes. Graduating with a bachelor’s in geology from Duke University, she went on to earn a master’s in engineering from Dartmouth College.Shaida Mohammad Abdali, Deputy National Security Advisor and Special Assistant to the President, Afghanistan.