Board of Advisors

Charlie Stuart

Chief Peace & Security Advisor, EU External Action Service

Charlie Stuart is the Chief Peace & Security Advisor on Africa for the EU External Action Service. A career diplomat, he has served as EU Deputy Ambassador to Iraq and Head of Delegation in Tanzania. He provides strategic advice on defence, international security, and multilateral policy, drawing on extensive leadership experience and senior postings across Europe and Africa.

Christina Riess

Aerospace & Defence Leader; President, Bundesverband der Vertriebsmanager e.V.

Christina Riess is Director Aerospace & Defence at Atreus and leads the Defence Task Force Europe at Heidrick. She is President of the German Association of Sales Managers and a Munich Chapter Lead for Handelsblatt’s PULSE network. Her background includes executive roles at Airbus and advisory work at Roland Berger. A member of the ESA BIC Tender Evaluation Board, she is an expert in aerospace, defence, and UAVs.

Ed Bogan

Senior Advisor, Atlantic Council & Former CIA Operational Leader

Edward Bogan is a veteran CIA operational leader and intelligence expert specializing in counterterrorism, global risk, and international security. During his 24-year CIA career, he served as Chief of Station and Chief of Base in multiple international and high-risk environments, as well as Chief of Operations for the Pakistan/Afghanistan and Syria/Iraq Departments at the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center. After leaving government service, Bogan founded the Institute for the Study of States of Exception and became a consultant to public and private-sector organizations. He currently serves as a Senior Advisor at the Atlantic Council and a member of The Cipher Brief’s Senior Expert Network.

Egils Levits

Former President of Latvia

Egils Levits is a Latvian lawyer, constitutional scholar, and statesman who served as President of Latvia from 2019 to 2023. Previously, he was a judge at the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. Widely regarded as one of the architects of Latvia’s constitutional order following the restoration of independence, he has made significant contributions to European law, democracy, and the rule of law.

Ferenc Gelencsér

Former Member of the Hungarian Parliament & International Affairs Professional

Ferenc Gelencsér is a Hungarian politician and international affairs professional, former party chairman and founding member of a pro-European and reform-oriented movement. He served as a Member of Parliament (2022–2026), focusing on foreign policy, European security, and transatlantic relations. He has field experience in Ukraine, including high-level engagements, and is active in international policy networks on defense, hybrid threats, and democratic resilience.

Gianni Pittella

Former First Vice-President of the European Parliament

Giovanni Pittella is an Italian politician and former Member of the European Parliament who served as First Vice-President of the European Parliament and later as leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D). He has held senior roles in both European and Italian politics, including as a member of the Italian Senate

Ingo Friedrich

Former Vice-President, European Parliament

Dr. Ingo Friedrich is a prominent German politician (CSU) who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1979 to 2009, including a tenure as Vice-President (1999–2007). An economist by training, he currently leads the European Economic Senate and the Union of Medium-Sized Companies. A staunch advocate for the "European Way of Life," Friedrich has been honored with the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his significant contributions to the EU.

Joshua Burgin

Founder, Alliance for Global Security

Joshua Burgin is the founder of the Alliance for Global Security and a veteran political strategist operating at the nexus of U.S. politics and international affairs. For seven years, he has served as NSL Programs Director at the Warsaw Security Forum. A Harvard Kennedy School alumnus and former IRI Resident Country Director, Burgin has decades of experience managing domestic campaigns, training international political leaders, and directing democracy-building initiatives across Eurasia.

Klaus Welle

Former Secretary-General of the European Parliament & Chair, Martens Centre Academic Council

Klaus Welle was Secretary-General of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2022, after earlier serving as Secretary-General of the European People’s Party (1994–1999) and of the EPP-ED Group in the Parliament (1999–2003). Since May 2025, he has been Special Advisor to the European Commission for Defence and Space, while also teaching at LSE and KU Leuven. Moreover, he has chaired the Martens Centre’s Academic Council since April 2023.

Mika Aaltola

Member of the European Parliament & Former Director, FIIA

Mika Aaltola is a Finnish political scientist, MEP, and former Director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. A leading expert on NATO and Russia, he has taught at Johns Hopkins and the University of Tampere. Elected to the European Parliament in 2024, he serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE), and is a substitute for International Trade (INTA). He is a key voice in Finnish and European security policy.

Nicholas Dungan

Strategic Leadership Advisor & Former President, French-American Foundation

Nicholas Dungan is founder and CEO of CogitoPraxis, advising leaders on net assessment, foresight, and resilience. Formerly director at Chatham House and president and CEO of the French-American Foundation, he also held senior investment banking roles at Merrill Lynch and Société Générale. An adjunct professor at SciencesPo Paris specializing in strategic leadership and international relations, he is a frequent commentator on international affairs.

Othmar Karas

Former First Vice-President of the European Parliament

As former First VP of the European Parliament, Dr. Othmar Karas is a top EU expert and has led the European Forum Alpbach since Oct 2024. Born in 1957, he was Austria’s longest-serving MEP (1999–2024) and the only Austrian thrice elected to the Parliament's Bureau. For 25 years on the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, he shaped current financial regulations and was chief negotiator for bank regulation, EU investment plans, and financial supervision. He has also led Hilfswerk since 1998.

Paul Jones

International Affairs Advisor & Former Ambassador

Paul Jones has extensive leadership experience from a distinguished diplomatic and private sector career. He served as US Ambassador to Poland and Malaysia, Chief of Mission in Pakistan, and held senior postings across Europe and Asia. In Washington, he was principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia and deputy special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. After government service, he led international engagements at Raytheon Technologies and now serves as International Affairs Advisor at Squire Patton Boggs in Washington, DC.

Robert Walter

President, Eurodefense-UK & Former Member of Parliament

Bob Walter is President of Eurodefense – UK and the European Security and Defence Association. After 25 years as a stockbroker and investment banker, he served 18 years in the British Parliament. He held key roles in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Western European Union, and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Post-politics, he advised European governments on integration and chairs several defense organizations. He holds a BSc and doctorate from Aston University.

Viola von Cramon

Politician; Former Member of the German & European Parliament

Viola von Cramon-Taubadel is a German politician from Alliance 90/The Greens. She served in the Bundestag (2009–2013) and the European Parliament (2019–2024), working on foreign affairs, EU-Russia relations, and as Vice-Chair of the EU-Ukraine committee. She previously engaged in projects across Eastern Europe and China.

William Klein

FORMER U.S. DIPLOMAT & CONSULTING PARTNER, FGS GLOBAL

William Klein is a former senior U.S. diplomat with over 20 years of experience in the U.S. Foreign Service. He served as Acting Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, Chief of the Political Section at the American Institute in Taiwan, and Deputy/Acting Director of the State Department’s China Desk. He also held diplomatic postings in Kyiv, Tel Aviv, Mumbai and Doha. Today, he is a Consulting Partner at FGS Global in Berlin, advising on geopolitics, government affairs and international affairs