Speakers

Discover the speakers that will shape the conference programme. Learn more about their background by interacting with the portraits below, where you can explore their biographies, experience, and the perspectives they bring to the program.

Koen Aartsma

Strategic Foresight and Intelligence Programme, Clingendael Institute

Koen Aartsma

Strategic Foresight and Intelligence Programme, Clingendael Institute

Koen Aartsma is Strategic Foresight and Intelligence Programme Lead and Senior Research Fellow at Clingendael’s Security Unit. He leads Clingendael’s geopolitical trend analysis, scenario development and horizon scanning. Koen's main research interests are power politics, the changing world order, intelligence and international security with a focal point on how international trends and developments impact national and European security and how the Netherlands and the EU should relate to these developments. Koen has over a decade of experience within the Dutch government. He worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hague and in the diplomatic field in the Middle East. Furthermore he has a long track record in national and international intelligence as a senior security analyst.

Willemijn Aerdts

Minister for the Digital Economy and Sovereignty

Willemijn Aerdts

Minister for the Digital Economy and Sovereignty

Willemijn Aerdts is the Netherlands' Minister for the Digital Economy and Sovereignty, responsible for AI policy, digital infrastructure, and reducing Europe's dependence on foreign technology platforms. A former senator and academic researcher at Leiden University's Institute of Security and Global Affairs, she has long argued that digital sovereignty is not just an economic question, but a geopolitical necessity.

Anthony Agotha

Ambassador at large, Special Envoy for Climate and Environment Diplomacy, European External Action Service

Anthony Agotha

Ambassador at large, Special Envoy for Climate and Environment Diplomacy, European External Action Service

Diplomat who is currently Ambassador at large/EU Special Envoy for Climate and Environment (EEAS, MDGLOBAL). He previously worked in the cabinets of First/Executive Vice President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans as communication advisor and senior diplomatic advisor respectively.

Hürcan Aslı Aksoy

Senior Fellow, Centre for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS) at Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP)

Hürcan Aslı Aksoy

Senior Fellow, Centre for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS) at Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP)

Hürcan Aslı Aksoy is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS) at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin. Before joining CATS, she was a research associate at the Political Science Department of the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and had various research fellowships in Vienna, Amman, Turkey.

Hamidreza Azizi

Visiting Fellow, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP)

Hamidreza Azizi

Visiting Fellow, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP)

Dr. Hamidreza Azizi is a Visiting Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin. Azizi holds a Ph.D. in Regional Studies from the University of Tehran and has lectured at several Iranian universities, including the University of Tehran (2016–2018) and Shahid Beheshti University (2016–2020). His research focuses on security and geopolitical issues in the Middle East and Central Eurasia, Iran’s foreign and security policy, and Iran-Russia relations. Azizi is the author of The Axis of Resistance: Iran, Israel, and the Struggle for the Middle East (Polity, 2026). Moreover, he is an associate researcher at Clingendael – the Netherlands Institute of International Relations.

Clément Beaune

High Commissioner for Strategy and Planning, France

Clément Beaune

High Commissioner for Strategy and Planning, France

Clément Beaune is the French High Commissioner for Strategy and Planning (appointed March 2025) and Commissioner General of France Stratégie. A key ally of Emmanuel Macron, Beaune is a former Minister Delegate for Transport (2022–2024) and Secretary of State for European Affairs (2020–2022), focusing on European policy and national strategic planning.

Benedetta Berti

Secretary General, NATO Parliamentary Assembly

Benedetta Berti

Secretary General, NATO Parliamentary Assembly

Dr Benedetta Berti is the Secretary General of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly since October 2025. The Secretary General leads the Assembly’s Secretariat as senior executive officer and principal strategic advisor to the Assembly’s political leadership, with responsibility for the Assembly’s activities and policy work, as well as for representing the Assembly externally. Dr Berti previously served as Director of Policy Planning in the Office of the Secretary General at NATO (2018-2025). She is Associate Researcher at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy at Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Visiting Professor at the College of Europe and a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

David Biggs

Senior Fellow, ISDP’s Stockholm Center for Research and Innovation Security

David Biggs

Senior Fellow, ISDP’s Stockholm Center for Research and Innovation Security

David Biggs is a Senior Fellow at ISDP. He is a former U.S. diplomat and Senior Policy Advisor for the U.S. State Department, having served more than 15 years in the foreign and civil service of the United States. David’s area of expertise is international science and technology (S&T) diplomacy, particularly focusing on research security, global scientific collaboration, and bilateral and multilateral policy development.

Lotte van den Boom

Chair, Young Atlantic Association

Lotte van den Boom

Chair, Young Atlantic Association

Lotte van den Boom is Chair of the Young Atlantic Association (Jonge Atlantici), where she focuses on engaging young people in dialogue and debate on transatlantic security issues and geopolitics. As chair, she leads the board, sets the strategic direction of the organisation, coordinates events and represents the organisation externally. She currently works at the Embassy of Ireland in The Netherlands as EU Presidency Policy Officer. Before this, she gained experience in international security and European affairs through internships at the British Embassy in The Hague and the Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the EU in Brussels. She studied European Politics & External Relations and has published research on military burden-sharing in Ukraine.

Derk Boswijk

Minister for Arms Procurement and Personnel

Derk Boswijk

Minister for Arms Procurement and Personnel

Dutch politician for the CDA and, since 23 February 2026, Minister for Arms Procurement and Personnel in the Jetten cabinet. Before that, he served as a member of the House of Representatives, where he focused on defence and foreign affairs.

Beau-Anne Chilla

Partner, Forward.one

Beau-Anne Chilla

Partner, Forward.one

Beau-Anne Chilla is a partner at FORWARD.one, where she focuses on backing climate and deep-tech companies with a clear edge, evaluating not just the technology, but the strength of the team and their ability to scale in complex markets. Previously an Investment Principal at DOEN Participaties and earlier part of the scaling team at Adyen, she brings experience in growth, impact, and operations. At FORWARD.one, she has helped build the firm’s climate tech focus and embed ESG at its core, working closely with founders aiming to solve structural challenges and build category-leading companies.

Michael Collins

Director, Low-Carbon Energy Research at Energy Intelligence

Michael Collins

Director, Low-Carbon Energy Research at Energy Intelligence

Michael Collins is Director of Low-Carbon Energy Research at Energy Intelligence, where he leads analysis of the technologies, politics and geopolitics of the energy transition. He previously spent more than a decade in the UK government's national security community, specialising in energy and climate. He has written for and advised prime ministers and senior members of the UK Cabinet. Michael is also a global advisor for the strategy think tank Loom, with whom he recently published a report on the national security risks of dependence on Chinese low-carbon technology. He holds an MA and MPhil from the University of Cambridge.

Ivo Daalder

Former US Permanent Representative to NATO

Ivo Daalder

Former US Permanent Representative to NATO

Ambassasdor Daalder is a leading expert and commentator on international affairs, geopolitics, and geoeconomics, and served as the U.S. Permanent Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from May 2009 to July 2013 under President Barack Obama. He was a member of the staff of United States National Security Council (NSC) during the administration of President Bill Clinton. He is currently a Senior Fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center. He served as President and CEO of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs from 2013-2025.

Josette Daemen

Assistant professor, Institute of Public Administration, Leiden University

Josette Daemen

Assistant professor, Institute of Public Administration, Leiden University

Josette Daemen is a political scientist and political philosopher, trained at the universities of Leiden and Oxford. She works as an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Public Administration at Leiden University. Her research and teaching focus on values and value conflicts in politics, government, and public policy. At the Institute of Political Science she earned her PhD with a dissertation on the value of security in the context of liberal democratic society. As a postdoc she led the project Fair Educational Assessment in the Age of AI (FAIR-ASSESS). To make insights from political philosophy, political science, and public administration accessible to a broader audience, she regularly contributes to the Dutch public debate. She writes columns for Dutch daily newspaper NRC.

Bob Deen

Head of the Security Unit, Clingendael Institute

Bob Deen

Head of the Security Unit, Clingendael Institute

Bob Deen is Head of the Security Unit and Coordinator of the Clingendael Russia and Eastern Europe Centre. His research focuses on international security issues, geopolitics, multilateral cooperation and conflict resolution, with a particular emphasis on Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. His current research subjects include the European security architecture and a European pillar within NATO, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and Russian foreign and security policy. Bob also coordinates an international expert group that advises Governments on how to achieve a just, sustainable and comprehensive peace for Ukraine.

Ernst Dijxhoorn

Assistant Professor, Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA), Leiden University

Ernst Dijxhoorn

Assistant Professor, Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA), Leiden University

Ernst Dijxhoorn is Assistant Professor at Leiden University's Institute of Security and Global Affairs, where his research explores the intersection of international law and contemporary warfare, with a focus on non-conventional conflict and its challenges to established legal frameworks. He holds a PhD in War Studies from King's College London and an LLM in International Public Law from the University of Amsterdam.

Niels Drost

Research Fellow at the Security Unit and the Russia & Eastern Europe Centre (CREEC), Clingendael Institute

Niels Drost

Research Fellow at the Security Unit and the Russia & Eastern Europe Centre (CREEC), Clingendael Institute

Niels Drost is a Research Fellow at the Security Unit and the Russia & Eastern Europe Centre (CREEC) of the Clingendael Institute. His research primarily focuses on contemporary politics and security issues in Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. Niels holds an MA in International Relations in Historical Perspective (cum laude) from Utrecht University, a BA in International Studies (cum laude), majoring in Russia and Eurasia, from Leiden University, and a BA in Journalism from Hogeschool Utrecht. Prior to joining Clingendael, Niels studied Russian language and literature at the Ural Federal University in Yekaterinburg and worked as a freelance journalist for Dutch regional and national broadcasters.

Paula Javiera Echavarría Merino

First Secretary, Embassy of the Republic of Chile

Paula Javiera Echavarría Merino

First Secretary, Embassy of the Republic of Chile

Paula Javiera Echavarría Merino is the First Secretary and Gender Advisor at the Embassy of the Republic of Chile in The Hague.

General Onno Eichelsheim

Chief of Defence

General Onno Eichelsheim

Chief of Defence

General Onno Eichelsheim has served as Chief of Defence of the Netherlands since April 2021. A helicopter pilot by training, he began his military career at the Royal Netherlands Military Academy in Breda and went on to serve in a wide range of operational and leadership roles within the Royal Netherlands Air Force and Defence organisation. Throughout his career, he was deployed to Bosnia, Afghanistan and other international missions. Before becoming Chief of Defence, Eichelsheim served as Director of the Netherlands Defence Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) and later as Vice Chief of Defence.

Lieutenant Ruby Eichelsheim

Officer Royal Dutch Airforce

Lieutenant Ruby Eichelsheim

Officer Royal Dutch Airforce

Ruby Eichelsheim is an officer with the Royal Netherlands Air Force and serves within the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Command (Commando Lucht- en Ruimtestrijdkrachten, CLRS). She has a bachelor degree in Criminology and a Master degree in Crisis and Security Management, with a focus on Radicalism, Extremism and Terrorism. During her studies at Leiden University she oversaw an academic trip to Israël with a focus on the complications of war and defence. Before joining the military she worked in banking to analyse and deter fraud, money laundering and financing terrorism.

Henry Foy

Brussels Bureau Chief, Financial Times

Henry Foy

Brussels Bureau Chief, Financial Times

Henry Foy is the FT's Brussels Bureau Chief, leading coverage of EU affairs and managing a team of correspondents reporting on European politics and policy. Henry is also the lead writer of Europe Express, the FT’s agenda-setting weekday newsletter on European affairs. He previously served as Moscow Bureau Chief, where he interviewed President Vladimir Putin and documented the regime’s increasing turn toward repression. He has also been posted in Warsaw and London. Henry joined the FT in 2013 from Reuters, where he was a correspondent in India.

Benedikt Franke

Vice-Chair and CEO, Munich Security Conference

Benedikt Franke

Vice-Chair and CEO, Munich Security Conference

Benedikt Franke is Vice-Chair and CEO with the Munich Security Conference (MSC). Before joining the MSC, he served as Senior Advisor for Strategic Affairs at the CSU and previous to that he was the Special Assistant for former Secretary-General of the United Nations and Nobel Laureate Kofi Annan. Benedikt holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He publishes regularly on foreign and security policy topics and sits on a number of relevant committees such as the Foundation Council of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen and the International Commission of the CSU. In his (limited) leisure time he works as Special Envoy of the Sovereign Order of Malta.

Beatrice de Graaf

Distinguished Professor of History of International Relations, Utrecht University

Beatrice de Graaf

Distinguished Professor of History of International Relations, Utrecht University

Beatrice de Graaf is a Distinguished Professor and holds the Chair of History of International Relations at Utrecht University. She leads the Adapt! consortium, which researches crisis from a historical perspective (Zwaartekracht project), and the Security History Network (Utrecht). Her research focuses on security, crisis, terrorism, and conflict from a historical perspective, and she is also a popular media commentator. She writes columns for NRC Handelsblad and Historisch Nieuwsblad. Additionally, she translates her insights into practical applications, such as the TerInfo platform, which assists teachers in addressing disruptive events in the classroom.

Camille Grand

Secretary General, European Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association (ASD)

Camille Grand

Secretary General, European Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association (ASD)

Camille Grand is the Secretary General of the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe. He previously served as a Distinguished Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, where he led work on defence and technology in European security and advised EU institutions, European governments, and NATO. Mr Grand was NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment, overseeing capability delivery, aviation, missile defence, and technology cooperation. Before joining NATO, he directed the Fondation pour la recherche stratégique, France’s leading defence and security think tank. Mr Grand is an Associate Professor at the Paris School of International Affairs (Sciences Po Paris) and has taught at the École nationale d’administration and the French Army Academy.

Jochem de Groot

Head of Policy & Public Affairs, NLdigital

Jochem de Groot

Head of Policy & Public Affairs, NLdigital

Jochem is Head of Policy & Public Affairs at the trade association NLdigital. NLdigital is a collective of more than 600 companies that enable digital transformation. It represents global players and hundreds of scale-ups and SMEs. Together, they are building a strong digital sector for a future-proof society in the Netherlands. In his role, Jochem is responsible for public policy and public affairs and the large corporate members of NLdigital. On behalf of its members, NLdigital works on themes such as human capital, sustainability, the business climate, innovation and (EU) regulations. Jochem worked for four years as an internet diplomat for the Netherlands, followed by ten years as government affairs lead for Microsoft and Philips. He is affiliated with the Advisory Council on International Affairs (AIV) and the Netherlands Atlantic Association, and is the author of Kolonisten van de Cloud: over techlobbyisten in de geopolitieke machtsstrijd (Colonists of the Cloud: on tech lobbyists in the geopolitical power struggle).

Robert de Groot

Vice President, European Investment Bank

Robert de Groot

Vice President, European Investment Bank

Vice President of the European Investment Bank. Before that, he had an extensive career at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Between 1998 and 2002, he served as Prime Minister Wim Kok’s adviser on European affairs. He later became Director-General for European Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before being appointed Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the European Union in 2017. He trained as an economist and holds a master’s degree from Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Caroline de Gruyter

Correspondent and columnist, NRC and Foreign Policy

Caroline de Gruyter

Correspondent and columnist, NRC and Foreign Policy

Caroline de Gruyter is a Dutch journalist, columnist and author specialising in European politics and international affairs. She is a correspondent and columnist for NRC, one of the Netherlands’ leading newspapers, where she writes extensively on political developments within Europe and the future of the European Union. Since 1994, she has worked as a correspondent for NRC from locations including Gaza, Jerusalem, Brussels, Geneva and Vienna.

Francesca Ghiretti

Research Leader, Director Economic Security and Resilience Initiative, RAND Europe

Francesca Ghiretti

Research Leader, Director Economic Security and Resilience Initiative, RAND Europe

Dr Francesca Ghiretti is Director of the Economic Security and Resilience Initiative, and Research Leader in the China Initiative at RAND Europe. Working primarily in Defence and Security, she is an expert in China’s economic security and foreign economic policy and Europe-China relations. Previously, she worked as a senior geoeconomics fellow at a London-based AI company and as an analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS), Europe’s largest think tank on China. Ghiretti also worked as a research fellow in Asia at the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), as a geopolitical analyst for a London-based hedge fund, and as an assistant to Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, former Secretary General of NATO.

James Gow

Professor of International Peace and Security, King’s College London

James Gow

Professor of International Peace and Security, King’s College London

James Gow is Professor of International Peace and Security in the Department of War Studies. He joined King's in 1990 and was responsible for a number of EC-funded projects on Security and Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. He served as an expert advisor and expert witness for the Office of the Prosecutor at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, where he was involved in establishing subject matter jurisdiction, was the first witness to give evidence in the Trial Chamber and the first person ever to give evidence at an international criminal tribunal. In 1997-1998, he was an Expert Advisor to the UK Secretary of State for Defence during the Ministry of Defence's Strategic Defence Review.

Michelle Haas

PhD Researcher, Ghent Institute for International and European Studies

Michelle Haas

PhD Researcher, Ghent Institute for International and European Studies

Michelle Haas is a PhD researcher at the Ghent Institute for International and European Studies, and an Associate Fellow in the Europe in the World programme at the Egmont Institute. She is also a board member of the Royal Higher Institute for Defence. Prior to joining Ghent University, Michelle worked for three years as a policy officer on foreign affairs, defence, and development cooperation at the Federal Parliament of Belgium. Her current research is focused on how European states have adapted their defence policies in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Nasrah Habiballah

Correspondent for Israel and the Palestinian Territories, NOS

Nasrah Habiballah

Correspondent for Israel and the Palestinian Territories, NOS

Nasrah Habiballah is the correspondent for Israel and the Palestinian Territories for the Dutch National Broadcaster NOS. She is an experienced news editor with a demonstrated history of working in the broadcast media industry.

Geert Jan Hahn

Europe Political Correspondent, BNR

Geert Jan Hahn

Europe Political Correspondent, BNR

Geert Jan Hahn is Europe correspondent for BNR Nieuwsradio and a graduate in Slavic studies. He studied, lived, and worked in Saint Petersburg, Kyiv, and Warsaw, and has travelled extensively through Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. As a former Ukraine correspondent, he closely follows the war in Ukraine and its wider impact on Europe. He also previously co-hosted the podcast BNR Perestrojkast with Floris Akkerman.

Steven Van Hecke

Professor European Politics, KU Leuven

Steven Van Hecke

Professor European Politics, KU Leuven

Steven Van Hecke is Associate Professor of Comparative and European Politics at the Institute of Public Governance, KU Leuven, Belgium. His research focuses on party politics, EU governance and the history of European integration.

Frank Heemskerk

Executive Vice President Global Public Affairs, ASML

Frank Heemskerk

Executive Vice President Global Public Affairs, ASML

Frank Heemskerk is a Dutch executive and former politician and State Secretary, who has worked at ASML since 2023 as Executive Vice President Public Affairs & Countries. In this role, his focus is on government relations. Previously, he worked with the European Round Table for Industry (ERT) and ABN AMRO bank.

Anna Holligan

Foreign Correspondent, BBC News

Anna Holligan

Foreign Correspondent, BBC News

Anna Holligan is a BBC journalist, moderator and storyteller who has spent more than two decades reporting from the frontlines of conflict, climate disruption and international justice. As the BBC’s correspondent based in The Hague, she covers the work of international courts and organisations alongside the lived realities of communities affected by insecurity and crisis. Her reporting has taken her across Africa, the Middle East, the Americas and Europe, producing documentaries, podcasts and digital features that translate complex legal, political and security issues into human, accessible stories. In addition to her journalism, Anna teaches non linear storytelling at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague and hosts public conversations on the future of justice, security and climate resilience. She brings this combination of global field experience and local Hague expertise to her role as moderator at the Next Gen Security Conference.

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer

Former NATO Secretary General, Chairman of the Advisory Board

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer

Former NATO Secretary General, Chairman of the Advisory Board

Politician, lawyer and former diplomat who served as the eleventh Secretary General of NATO from January 2004 to August 2009. De Hoop Scheffer is the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Next Gen: Security Conference The Hague.

Rob Jetten

Prime Minister of The Netherlands

Rob Jetten

Prime Minister of The Netherlands

As the youngest Prime Minister in Dutch history, Rob Jetten embodies a new generation of political leadership in Europe. He has been serving as leader of Democrats 66 (D66) since August 2023. Previously, he served as Minister for Climate and Energy Policy and as First Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands. Jetten began his political career as a policy advisor for D66 and as chair of the Young Democrats, and served in the municipal council of Nijmegen from 2010 to 2017. He was elected to the House of Representatives in the 2017 general election and was chosen as D66's youngest ever parliamentary leader in 2018.

Margrethe Jonkman

President of the Executive Board of Vrije Universiteit (VU)

Margrethe Jonkman

President of the Executive Board of Vrije Universiteit (VU)

President of the Executive Board of Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam since 1 November 2023. Jonkman started her career at FrieslandCampina in 1997 and has held various positions in the field of Research & Development (R&D) with responsibilities at regional and global level.

Jesse Klaver

Party Leader, PRO

Jesse Klaver

Party Leader, PRO

Jesse Klaver is a Dutch politician who has served as Party Leader of GroenLinks–PvdA (now PRO) in the House of Representatives since 2025, as a member of the House of Representatives since 2010 and as Party Leader of GroenLinks since 2015.

Andrii Kostin

Ambassador of Ukraine to the Netherlands

Andrii Kostin

Ambassador of Ukraine to the Netherlands

His Excellency Andrii Kostin was appointed as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on 7 April 2025. From 2022 to 2024, he served as Prosecutor General of Ukraine.

Guy Lagache

Journalist and documentarymaker A President, Europe and war

Guy Lagache

Journalist and documentarymaker A President, Europe and war

Guy Lagache is a French journalist, documentary filmmaker, media executive, and author with over 30 years of experience in investigative journalism, editorial leadership, and storytelling. He has produced major documentaries on European politics, the war in Ukraine, climate change, and sustainability, including films for France 2, TF1, and TMC. He has also held senior roles at LCP, Radio France, Canal+, and M6, and is known for in-depth interviews, political and environmental reporting, and media strategy.

Sean Cotter Lem

Program Coordinator, John Adams Institute

Sean Cotter Lem

Program Coordinator, John Adams Institute

Sean Cotter Lem works at the John Adams Institute in Amsterdam, named after the American who came to the Netherlands in 1782 to ask Europe to believe in a country that didn't yet fully exist. Today, Sean curates and leads public programming in that same spirit, bringing together the writers, thinkers, and public figures whose work helps Dutch audiences understand America — its contradictions, its promises, and what both mean in the pursuit of open societies everywhere.

Victoria Manya

PhD candidate, African Studies Centre Leiden

Victoria Manya

PhD candidate, African Studies Centre Leiden

Victoria is a researcher at the African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL) and is working on a research project in inclusive innovation entitled ‘The African Start-up Ecosystem: funding, informality, gender inclusivity and the Trajectories of maturity’. Her research employs an investigation into the intersecting impact of funding motivations, informality, and gender-inclusive considerations on the growth and maturity trajectories of technology-enabled start-up ecosystems in Africa.

Frédéric Martel

Author

Frédéric Martel

Author

Frédéric Martel is a French researcher, writer, and professor at the Zurich University of the Arts, where he leads the Zurich Centre for Creative Economies. He holds a PhD in Social Sciences from Sorbonne University and has taught at Sciences Po, HEC Paris, and as a visiting scholar at Harvard University. His latest book, ‘Occidents: Enquête sur nos ennemis’, is based on an eight-year investigation across 52 countries and explores the global ideological battle over democracy, human rights, and the future of the West.

Michel Don Michaloliákos

Geopolitical Analist Europe, Haagsch Instituut GeopolitiekNU

Michel Don Michaloliákos

Geopolitical Analist Europe, Haagsch Instituut GeopolitiekNU

Michel co-founded the Haagsch Instituut GeopolitiekNu (HIG). As an analyst, he focuses on geopolitics and geo-economics, with a particular emphasis on Europe and the Mediterranean and Red Seas regions. He is a regular analyst and host of the GeopolitiekNu podcast, writes articles, delivers lectures and masterclasses, and frequently appears in the media.

Ruhee Neog

Director, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi

Ruhee Neog

Director, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi

Ruhee Neog is Director of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies in India. She is an expert on Indian foreign policy, nuclear weapons policy, and crisis decision-making. Her research looks at how perceptions, narratives, and emerging technologies shape state behaviour and strategic choices. Ruhee holds additional appointments as Board Member of the International Nuclear Security Forum hosted by the Stimson Center in the US; Non-Resident Fellow with the British American Security Information Council (BASIC) in the UK; and and Fellow with Sandia National Laboratories of the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Her past engagements include a dual fellowship awarded by Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center; South Asian Voices Fellowship at Stimson Center; and a research fellowship supported by the Nuclear Threat Initiative. She is a graduate of the Transnational Security Cooperation Course offered through invitation by the US Department of Defense/War’s Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies to senior leaders from diplomacy, the armed forces, and academia. Ruhee holds a postgraduate degree in the History of International Relations from the London School of Economics and an undergraduate degree in Literature from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University.

Sauli Niinistö

Former President of Finland, Special Adviser to the President of the European Commission

Sauli Niinistö

Former President of Finland, Special Adviser to the President of the European Commission

Sauli Niinistö served two full terms as the 12th President of Finland from 2012 to 2024, guiding the country through a defining period in European and global geopolitics. Today, he speaks on European security, geopolitics, transatlantic relations, and leadership in times of crisis.

Francisco Nobre

President, YATA International

Francisco Nobre

President, YATA International

Francisco Nobre is the President of the Youth Atlantic Treaty Association (YATA), a leading International youth network focused in promoting trasnatlantic security and defence cooperation. He is currently working at the cabinet of the High Representative and Vice President of the European Commission as a trainee, and his professional path has also included the Portuguese Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.

Fiona O'Brien

Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ)

Fiona O'Brien

Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ)

Fiona O'Brien is the Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia at The Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent, non-profit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. After starting her career on a local paper in the UK, she moved to Reuters as a foreign correspondent and spent several years covering Africa and the Middle East. She has reported on wars including Iraq, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and spent three years as editor of Gulf States Newsletter, a specialist publication focused on the Gulf. She has worked as a consultant editor for the United Nations, ran the MA in Journalism at London's Kingston University, and was UK Director for Reporters Without Borders. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Authority, a member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading, and has degrees in Arabic and Comparative Literature from Cambridge University and King's College London.

Kajsa Ollongren

EU Special Representative for Human Rights

Kajsa Ollongren

EU Special Representative for Human Rights

Kajsa Ollongren serves as the EU Special Representative (EUSR) for Human Rights. She served as Dutch Minister of Defence from 2022 to 2024. A member of the Democrats 66 (D66), she previously served as Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and Deputy Prime Minister in the third Rutte cabinet (2017–2022).

Roderick Parkes

Senior Researcher, NATO Defense College

Roderick Parkes

Senior Researcher, NATO Defense College

Roderick Parkes is a researcher at the NATO Defense College in Rome, where he focuses on strategic foresight and the future of conflict within NATO’s research division. With extensive experience across leading European think tanks, he most recently served as Research Director at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) and previously held roles as a senior fellow at the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) in Paris and as a project researcher on the geopolitics of migration at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs. He has also held long-standing affiliations with institutions such as the Polish Institute for International Affairs (PISM) and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), where he worked in both Berlin and Brussels.

Irina Patrahau

Chair, Energy Security and Critical Minerals programmes, HCSS

Irina Patrahau

Chair, Energy Security and Critical Minerals programmes, HCSS

Irina Patrahau is the Chair of the Energy Security and Critical Minerals initiatives at HCSS. Irina’s work is focused on the impact of geopolitical tensions and strategic competition on the security and resilience of energy and raw materials supply chains in the EU. Her work also centers on the political economy of the energy transition, including emerging clean tech markets and low-carbon supply chains, and the implications for critical energy infrastructure and the decarbonization of energy intensive industries. Between 2024-2025, Irina was a non-resident fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, working on mineral supply chain resilience and strategies to secure supplies with the Critical Materials team.

Sasha Polakow - Suransky

Executive Opinion Editor, Financial Times

Sasha Polakow - Suransky

Executive Opinion Editor, Financial Times

Executive Opinion Editor at the Financial Times. From 2017-early 2025, he was Deputy Editor of Foreign Policy, and before that Editor of International Opinion at The New York Times Op-Ed page and a former Senior Editor of Foreign Affairs. In 2015 he was an Open Society Fellow, while writing a book about the political impact of immigration.

Joseph Popolo

US Ambassador to the Netherlands

Joseph Popolo

US Ambassador to the Netherlands

Joseph Popolo was nominated by President Trump on March 24, 2025, to serve as the United States Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He was confirmed by the Senate on October 7, sworn in on October 8, and presented his credentials to His Majesty King Willem-Alexander at Paleis Noordeinde on October 29, 2025. Ambassador Popolo is the Founder of Charles & Potomac Capital, LLC, a private investment firm focused on investments in technology, healthcare, media, energy, and real estate. He served as the firm’s CEO from 2019 until 2025, overseeing more than 50 investments globally.

Anna Reid

Journalist, historian and author of Borderland

Anna Reid

Journalist, historian and author of Borderland

Anna Reid is a historian and journalist. She has written about the history of Ukraine and of the indigenous peoples of Siberia. She also wrote the first post-Soviet English-language account of World War Two’s Siege of Leningrad. Her latest work, ‘A Nasty Little War: the West’s Fight to Reverse the Russian Revolution’, charts the Allies’ disastrous intervention into the 1918-20 Russian Civil War. A former Kyiv correspondent for the Economist, she is a regular visitor to Ukraine, reviewer and media commentator.

Christiaan Rebergen

Secretary General, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Christiaan Rebergen

Secretary General, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Christiaan Rebergen is Secretary General of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to this, he served as Treasurer-General at the Ministry of Finance (2018–2024) and as Director-General for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2014–2018), following earlier leadership roles including Deputy Director-General for International Cooperation and Ambassador for the Millennium Development Goals and Public-Private Partnerships. His extensive civil service career pans senior positions in budgetary affairs, fiscal policy, and public expenditure management across both the Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs. Rebergen holds a degree in Economics from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Chris Rampling

British Ambassador to the Netherlands

Chris Rampling

British Ambassador to the Netherlands

Chris Rampling has been His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands since September 2025. Chris Rampling CMG MBE was the interim Director General for Defence and Intelligence at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) from December 2023 to February 2024, and the Director for National Security from January 2021 to October 2024. Chris was previously HM Ambassador to Lebanon from September 2018 to December 2020. Prior to this he was the Foreign, Defence and Development Counsellor and Deputy Ambassador to the EU’s Political and Security Committee at the UK’s Permanent Representation to the EU from 2014 to 2018. Chris has extensive experience in the Middle East, with previous roles as Deputy Head of Mission in Amman from 2009 to 2013, in Libya and Jerusalem. He was also the Deputy Head, Counter Proliferation Department from 2007 to 2009.

Yana Rudenko

Co-Founder, DroneAid Collective

Yana Rudenko

Co-Founder, DroneAid Collective

Rudenko is a Ukrainian 2024 Master’s graduate from Leiden University who survived the Russian occupation of Bucha in 2022. She is a co-founder of the DroneAid Collective and the ABBA Student Association, focusing on advocacy for Ukraine and supporting victims of the war.

Monika Sie Dhian Ho

General Director, Clingendael Institute

Monika Sie Dhian Ho

General Director, Clingendael Institute

Monika Sie Dhian Ho is General Director of the Clingendael Institute. She is also a lecturer at the Netherlands School of Public Administration in The Hague. She was vice-president of the State Committee on Demographic trends 2050 and member of the Advisory Council on International Affairs. Monika studied and lectured political science at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and was lecturer in International Relations and International Political Economy at Leiden University. Prior to joining Clingendael, she was Director of the Wiardi Beckman Foundation, the social-democratic think tank in the Netherlands. At the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy, she worked as a researcher and project manager, focusing on the European Union, development cooperation, and democratic transition and consolidation.

Nate Swanson

Resident Senior Fellow and Director of the Iran Strategy Project, Atlantic Council

Nate Swanson

Resident Senior Fellow and Director of the Iran Strategy Project, Atlantic Council

Resident Senior Fellow and Director of the Iran Strategy Project at the Atlantic Council. He served as Director for Iran at the National Security Council between 2022 and 2025. In the spring and summer of 2025, he served on the Trump administration’s Iran negotiating team.

Velina Tchakarova

Geopolitical Strategist and Foresight Expert, FACE

Velina Tchakarova

Geopolitical Strategist and Foresight Expert, FACE

Velina Tchakarova is a Vienna-based geopolitical strategist and certified strategic foresight expert with over 26 years of experience across security, defense, and global risk analysis. She specializes in translating complex geopolitical dynamics into actionable intelligence, helping corporations, institutions, and policymakers navigate Cold War 2.0, the rise of Middle Powers, and systemic shifts in the global order. Alongside her advisory work, she holds multiple affiliations with leading international organizations and think tanks, and previously served as Director of the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy (AIES).

Fernande van Tets

Independent journalist and former Middle East correspondent

Fernande van Tets

Independent journalist and former Middle East correspondent

Fernande van Tets (1985) is a journalist based in Amsterdam. She has spent more than 15 years covering the Middle East, and worked as a correspondent for the Independent, France 24 and the newspaper Trouw. Fernande van Tets is a freelance journalist, who has spent almost a decade covering the Middle East. She currently covers Dutch politics for various international outlets, including Euronews and France 24. She still returns to the Middle East regularly to cover stories. In the Netherlands, she writes for publications including Trouw, De Groene Amsterdammer and De Correspondent, focusing primarily on refugees, migration and international law. She is a regular guest on radio programmes such as Bureau Buitenland and Spraakmakers.

Sander Tordoir

Chief Economist, Centre for European Reform

Sander Tordoir

Chief Economist, Centre for European Reform

Sander works on eurozone monetary and fiscal policy, the institutional architecture of EMU, European integration as well as Germany’s role in the EU. Prior to joining the CER, Sander worked as an advisor to the ECB Representative at the International Monetary Fund, covering the IMF’s surveillance of euro area policies and sovereign debt issues. Before his posting in Washington, he was an economist in the ECB’s EU Institutions and Fora Division, where he focused on the EU’s policy response to the Covid-19 pandemic, economic and fiscal governance, Banking Union, ESM reform and the ECB’s relations with other EU institutions.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is a Belarusian opposition leader and head of the United Transitional Cabinet. She became a prominent political figure during the 2020 Belarusian presidential election after the arrest of her husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski. Following the disputed election and subsequent protests, she left Belarus and has since worked internationally to advocate for political prisoners, democratic reforms, and support for Belarusian civil society.

Tineke van der Veen

CEO, Netherlands Aerospace Center

Tineke van der Veen

CEO, Netherlands Aerospace Center

Tineke van der Veen has been Chief Executive Officer of the Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) since June 2025. NLR identifies, develops and applies advanced technological knowledge in aerospace to strengthen innovation, sustainability and security in aviation and space. With more than 20 years of experience in the aerospace sector, Van der Veen has held leadership roles across industry and technology. Prior to joining NLR, she served as Managing Director of Boeing Benelux, where she was responsible for strengthening Boeing’s activities and partnerships across the region. Van der Veen studied Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology.

Nicola Villa

Member of the Global Futures Council on GovTech and Digital Public Infrastructure, World Economic Forum

Nicola Villa

Member of the Global Futures Council on GovTech and Digital Public Infrastructure, World Economic Forum

Nicola Villa is a senior executive and corporate entrepreneur operating at the intersection of innovation, sustainability, and public-private partnerships. With nearly three decades of experience spanning Fortune 500 technology leaders and multilateral institutions, he brings together strategic foresight and hands-on execution to help public and private sector organisations achieve transformative objectives.

Casper Volger

Tech Diplomat, Netherlands Consulate in San Francisco

Casper Volger

Tech Diplomat, Netherlands Consulate in San Francisco

Casper Volger is a Dutch diplomat, based at the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in San Francisco. His work centres around the field of innovation and technology, with a focus on international relations between the Netherlands and the United States.

Jack Watling

Senior Research Fellow for Applied Military Sciences, Royal United Services Institute

Jack Watling

Senior Research Fellow for Applied Military Sciences, Royal United Services Institute

Dr Jack Watling is Senior Research Fellow for Applied Military Sciences at the Royal United Services Institute. Jack works closely with the British military on the development of concepts of operation, assessments of the future operating environment, and conducts operational analysis of contemporary conflicts. Jack is the author Statecraft: The New Rules of Power in a Divided World and The Arms of the Future: Technology and Close Combat in the Twenty First Century. Jack's PhD examined the evolution of Britain’s policy responses to civil war in the early twentieth century. He has worked extensively with the Ukrainian Armed Forces during Russia's full-scale invasion, across NATO, and in Iraq, Mali, Rwanda, on Yemen and further afield.

Hajar Yagkoubi

Journalist and former UN Youth Representative

Hajar Yagkoubi

Journalist and former UN Youth Representative

Hajar is a former UN Youth Representative for the Netherlands. During her mandate, she gathered input from young people on topics including the climate crisis, the Sustainable Development Goals, human rights, and security. She presented these perspectives in speeches at the UN General Assembly, the High-Level Political Forum, and the UN Climate Action Summit, as well as in conversations with prime ministers, legislators, and other political leaders. Today, Hajar works to strengthen youth participation, climate action, and human rights as a public speaker, advocate, and consultant.

Cindy Yu

Columnist and contributing editor, The Times and The Sunday Times

Cindy Yu

Columnist and contributing editor, The Times and The Sunday Times

Columnist and contributing editor at The Times and The Sunday Times. Previously, she was assistant editor (broadcast) at The Spectator magazine, where she also hosted the Chinese Whispers podcast, a series on Chinese politics, society and history. She is also a frequent commentator on issues related to China at the BBC World Service, RTÉ, and Sky News.

Gijs Verbossen

Senior Research Fellow, Clingendael Institute

Gijs Verbossen

Senior Research Fellow, Clingendael Institute

Gijs Verbossen is Senior Research Fellow in the Strategic Foresight and Intelligence Programme of the Security Unit at the Clingendael Institute. His research focuses on geopolitical trends in international peace and security, with a particular interest in the socio-political dynamics of the Middle East and North Africa region. Gijs has extensive experience with foresight and scenario methodologies as instruments for policy advice and conflict resolution. He holds a PhD in International Relations from La Trobe University. Following his interdisciplinary academic training, Gijs worked on security and rule-of-law reconstruction in (post-)conflict countries in Africa and the Middle East, closely cooperating with local governments, United Nations agencies, and international development organisations.

Anna van Zoest

Director, Netherlands Atlantic Association

Anna van Zoest

Director, Netherlands Atlantic Association

Anna van Zoest is Director of the Atlantische Commissie, a leading platform in the Netherlands for debate, research and education on international security and relation between Europe and the United States. Previously, she served as a diplomat with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, specializing in defense, security and conflict-prevention. Foreign postings included Berlin, Bogotá and Brussels, where she worked in both bilateral and multilateral settings — including at the Dutch Permanent Representation to NATO and the European External Action Service (EEAS). Anna is a member of the Peace and Security Committee of the Advisory Council on International Affairs (AIV), which advises the Dutch government and parliament on issues of international peace and security. In addition, she teaches at Leiden University’s Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs.