The 10th European Cyber Security Conference

Margaritis Schinas took office as Vice-President of the European Commission under President Ursula Von Der Leyen in December 2019. He is entrusted with the portfolio for Promoting our European Way of Life. In this capacity, he oversees the EU’s policies for Security Union, migration, skills, education and integration.

As Vice-President in charge of the Security Union, he oversees and coordinates all strands of the European Commission’s work under the Security Union, including tackling terrorism and radicalisation, disrupting organised crime, fighting cybercrime, stepping up cybersecurity, protecting critical infrastructures or addressing hybrid threats.

Mr Schinas has also served as a Member of the European Parliament. Upon the completion of his parliamentary term of office, he returned to the European Commission and held various senior positions. In particular, in 2010, President Barroso appointed Mr Schinas as Deputy Head of the Bureau of European Policy Advisers. Later he served as Resident Director and Head of the Athens Office of the European Commission’s Directorate‑General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN). In 2014, President Juncker appointed Mr Schinas as the Chief European Commission Spokesperson. Mr Schinas has been working for the European Commission in various positions of responsibility since 1990.

Margaritis Schinas holds an MSc on Public Administration and Public Policy from the London School of Economics, a Diploma of Advanced European Studies on European Administrative Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges and a Degree in Law from the Aristotelean University of Thessaloniki.

Viktor Zhora Deputy Chairman of the State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection of Ukraine on Digital Development, Digital Transformations and Digitalization (CDTO) since January of 2021. At the SSSCIP Mr. Zhora responsible for cybersecurity in the Ukrainian digital infrastructure, supervises digital transformation and cybersecurity projects, CERT-UA and the State Cyberprotection Center. He is a graduate of the Institute of Physics and Technology of the National Technical University of Ukraine and the Institute of Software Systems of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine. He is the author of numerous scientific publications on information security and actively supports cybersecurity education programs.

Paul Adamson is chairman of Forum Europe and founder and editor of Encompass, an online magazine dedicated to covering the European Union and Europe’s place in the world.

Paul is a member of the Centre for European Reform’s advisory board and Rand Europe’s Council of Advisors. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Policy Institute, King’s College London, a patron of the University Association of Contemporary European Studies (UACES) and a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences.

In 2012, Paul was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) “for services to promoting understanding of the European Union” and in 2016 he was made a Chevalier in the Ordre national du Mérite by the French government.

Christiane Kirketerp de Viron has been the Head of Unit for Cybersecurity and Digital Privacy policies in the European Commission´s DG CONNECT since July 2022. Prior to this she was Member of Cabinet for the European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Johannes Hahn, where parts of her responsibilities concerned the digital transformation of the European Commission as well as the cybersecurity of EU Institutions, Bodies and Agencies. During the Juncker Commission, Christiane served as Member of Cabinet for the European Commissioner for Research Innovation and Science, Carlos Moedas.

Miguel A. Amutio studied at La Salle School of Deusto and graduated in Computer Science at Deusto University. Joined the General State Administration in 1995. CISA, CRISC, CISM. With more than twenty-five years of experience in information security issues and in European activities. This includes a large record in coordination of initiatives such as the National Security Framework (ENS) and the National Interoperability Framework (ENI); the direction of the Cybersecurity Operations Center of the General State Administration; leadership of working groups; participation in cybersecurity bodies and groups in National Cybersecurity; participation in committees and working groups of the European Union, the OECD and others international; as well as participation in IT security standardization activities in the fields of Risk Management and Cybersecurity. Member of the Governing Board of the European Cybersecurity Competence Center.

Hadrien Valembois is Senior Manager, Policy – EMEA at BSA | The Software Alliance in Brussels, Belgium. In this role, he works with BSA members to develop and advance policy positions on a range of key issues, with a focus on data and cloud policies.

Before joining BSA, Valembois was a Policy Officer at the Europe Office of the International Trademark Association (INTA), where he advocated issues pertaining to intellectual property, the fight against counterfeiting, the digital single market, cybersecurity, Brexit, AI, and blockchain in front of EU institutions and Member States. Previously, Valembois was a Senior Manager at the Brussels-based lobbying firm Europtimum.

Valembois holds an LL.M. in International Legal Studies from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC He also holds a master’s degree in law, a master’s degree in international relations, and a certificate in philosophy from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.

Mr. Rebuffi graduated in Nuclear Engineering at the Politecnico in Milan (1984) before obtaining a PhD in Electronics at Paris – Orsay University (1987).

He worked on the development of high power microwave systems for the future thermonuclear fusion reactor (ITER) in Garching, Germany (1988-1991). Afterwards, he was employed by Thomson CSF to take responsibility for European Affairs (R&D) in different sectors: telecom, industrial, medical, scientific etc (1992-1999). He worked for Thales Microwave, in the position of the Head of Unit for Sales of Telecom Products (2000-2002) and later became promoted for a position of the Thales Director for European Affairs (2003-2007). In this capacity, he was responsible for the development of business and research activities with European Institutions for the civilian activities in Thales.

In 2003, he initiated and from 2007 to 2017 he has been the CEO of the European Organisation for Security (EOS) that gathers the most important European private security stakeholders and public NGOs from supply and demand side to develop and implement European security solutions and services in a comprehensive approach. In 2016, he took over the role of Secretary General of the European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO). He contributed to establish in June 2016 an Association with more than 250 members in charge of implementing the Public-Private Partnership contract on European cybersecurity with the European Commission and supporting the development of the full European Cybersecurity Ecosystem.

Visiola follows cybersecurity regulation at EU level and national cybersecurity developments in the UK. She leads the benchmarking analysis reports under the cybersecurity practice, and actively reports on topics such as 5G security, high risk vendors in the cybersecurity supply chain, the EU cybersecurity act and the EU Network and Information Security Directive (NIS Directive).

Visiola joined Cullen International in July 2015, after graduating from the University of Hamburg, Germany in EU Law and Affairs.

Ann Mennens is the Manager of the European Commission’s Cyber Aware Programme, aimed at raising the cyber awareness of the whole Commission staff, highlighting their role in contributing to the safeguarding of the Commission assets and systems, while promoting a safe online experience. Ann also manages the network of Local Informatics Security Officers (LISO) in the Commission and is in charge of training and communication on cybersecurity.  She is leading the Interinstitutional Task Force on Cyber Awareness raising of the Cybersecurity Subgroup of the Interinstitutional Committee on Digital Transformation, encompassing all EU Institutions, Bodies and Agencies. 

From 2011 to 2016, she managed the Belgian Cybercrime Centre of Excellence for Training, Research and Education (B-CCENTRE) at the KU Leuven, coordinating activities of several academic research groups, public sector bodies and businesses. B-CCENTRE was part of a European network of centres of excellence on cybercrime and cybersecurity. 

Ann was actively involved in the creation of the Women4Cyber Foundation and is a founding member of the Women4Cyber Belgium chapter. She is one of the driving forces behind the Belgian Cyber Security Coalition, and an active member of its Awareness Raising working group. She is a certified trainer for the ‘Cyber Security Awareness and Culture Manager’ training organised by the Belgian Cyber Security Coalition.

Ann graduated in History and obtained a Master in European Studies at the KULeuven. For more than 20 years, she was managing several European projects in areas like health, food safety, drugs, justice, transport, law enforcement, crisis management, migration, before moving to cybersecurity in 2011. She is a strong supporter of reskilling in cybersecurity, from any type of background, bringing diversity and increasing gender balance in the cybersecurity sector. 

2020-.. National Cyber Security Centre – coordinating advisor international cooperation

2018-2020 Ministry of Interior Affairs; analist (on national security affairs)  

2011-2017 Ministry of Foreign Affairs; various positions including a posting in North-Sudan between 2013-2015 and the migration file during the 2015-2016 European migration crisis.

2008-2010 Political Science Degree in Uppsala, Sweden 

Florian Pennings works for Microsoft on EU Cybersecurity Policy. He believes collaboration and multi-stakeholder management is essential to ensure strong cybersecurity. This requires constant engagement and open discussions among peers. Before joining Microsoft, he worked in national and European government agencies responsible for cybersecurity. He coordinated strategic and tactical cooperation with industry and public stakeholders. At Microsoft he contributes to public discussions concerning EU cybersecurity policies like Cyber Resilience Act, NIS2, and Cybersecurity Certification, leveraging his operational and strategic national and European experience. He strongly believes that cooperation is built on trust and common interests, not on differences.

Yiannis Pavlosoglou is the founder & CEO of Kiberna, specializing in cyber risk engineering. As a cybersecurity executive with over 20 years’ experience, he has a proven record in the financial services industry and has helped several companies, including two of his own, succeed in Europe and the U.K. Yiannis has effectively held the position of Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) in both government and industry and has served for several years as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of a 501(c) 6 non-profit organization headquartered in the U.S.

Computer Systems Engineer with more than 30 years of experience in the Spanish Administration in the field of Communications, Security of Information and Cybersecurity.

Since July 2019, Counsellor for cybersecurity Issues (Cyber Attaché) at the Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU and Spanish delegate on the Horizontal Working Group for Cybersecurity Issues at the Council.

Dr Domenico Ferrara works as Cybersecurity Officer at ENISA since 2021. He is supporting the Agency’s activities in the field of operational cooperation and cybersecurity market.

Prior to that he worked at the Cybersecurity Technologies and Capacity Building Unit at the European Commission, where he was involved in the implementation of the Cybersecurity Act, particularly in the set-up of the EU-wide cybersecurity certification framework, the 5G Toolbox of measures and the NIS Directive.

Domenico previously worked for two Brussels-based consultancies advising clients in the tech sector, and for the Scientific Foresight Unit (STOA) of the European Parliament. He holds a Ph.D in International Studies from Warwick University (UK) and a Master’s degree in Government in the EU from the London School of Economics (UK).

Friederike Berfelde is a member of Brunswick’s Global TMT Sector Group and specializes in EU public affairs and communications for clients in the industry. She also focusses on competition issues.

Manon Le Blanc is Head of Cyber Policy at the European External Action Service (EEAS). Over last years, Manon has shaped the EU’s international cyber policies, notably through the development of the EU’s 2017 and 2020 Cybersecurity Strategies as well as the EU’s framework for a joint diplomatic response (“cyber diplomacy toolbox”). Prior to her posting at the EEAS, Manon served to the 2016 Netherlands’ Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and was a senior advisor to the Secretary General at the Ministry of Justice and Security in The Hague. She holds an MsC in Business Administration from the University of Amsterdam.

Kaljurand was elected to the European Parliament and started her duties as MEP on July 2nd, 2019 after resigning from the Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu). She is the member of the Estonian Social Democrats Party since June 2018.

Kaljurand is a member of the UN Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters since 2020.

Kaljurand is the co-chair of the Aspen Global Cybersecurity Group, launched in 2022. Kaljurand was a member of the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation (2018-2019). She Chaired the Global Commission of the Stability of Cyberspace (2017-2019).

Kaljurand served as Estonian Foreign Minister in 2015-2016.

Kaljurand has served twice as the Estonian National Expert at the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security (GGE), in 2014-2015 and in 2016-2017.

She began her career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1991 and held several leadership positions, including Undersecretary for Legal and Consular Affairs (Legal Adviser), Undersecretary for Trade and Development Cooperation, Undersecretary for Political Affairs. She served as Ambassador of Estonia to the State of Israel, the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Canada and the United States of America. Kaljurand headed the legal working group at the Estonian accession negotiations to the European Union and was the Chief Negotiator in Estonian accession negotiations to the OECD.

Marina Kaljurand graduated cum laude from the Tartu University (1986, LLM). She has a professional diploma from the Estonian School of Diplomacy (1992) and MA from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University (F95).

Royal Hansen is Vice President of Engineering for Privacy, Safety, and Security at Google, where he is responsible for driving overall information security strategy for the company’s technical infrastructure which serves billions of end-user consumers and enterprise customers.

Prior to joining Google, Royal was the Executive Vice President of Enterprise IT Risk and Information Security at American Express, responsible for solutions protecting the security and integrity of the company’s technology systems and the customer, business, and employee information they processed. Before American Express, Royal served as Managing Director, Technology Risk, and Global Head of Application Security, Data Risk, and Business Continuity Planning at Goldman Sachs. Royal was also previously at Morgan Stanley and Fidelity Investments, where he managed Enterprise IT Risk, Application Security, and Disaster Recovery.

Royal began his career as a software developer for Sapient before building a cyber-security practice in the financial services industry at @stake, which was acquired by Symantec. Royal holds a BA in Computer Science from Yale University. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in information sciences and Arabic language study, which he completed at the United Arab Emirates University. You can find him on Twitter @RoyalHansen.

John Fokker is a Principal Engineer at Trellix. John leads the Threat Intelligence Group (TIG) that empowers Trellix customers, industry partners, and global law enforcement efforts with 24/7 mission-critical insights on the ever-evolving threat landscape. Prior to joining Trellix, he worked at the Dutch National High-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU), the Dutch National Police unit dedicated to investigating advanced forms of cybercrime. During his career he has supervised numerous large-scale cybercrime investigations and takedowns. Fokker is also one of the co-founders of the NoMoreRansom Project.

Liesyl Franz is the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Cyberspace Security in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy.  She coordinates cyber policy issues across a broad range of issues that affect international cyberspace security and oversees the unit’s three offices covering Global Policy, Plans, and Negotiations; International Engagement and Capacity Building; and Threat Management and Coordination.  She was previously the director for the Office of International Engagement and Capacity Building and the Deputy Coordinator for the Bureau’s predecessor Office of the Coordinator for Cyber Issues.

Ms. Franz has over 20 years of cyber policy experience in the public and private sectors. In her 10-year tenure at the Department of State, she has served as delegation lead for multiple cyber engagements with bilateral and regional partners and multilateral negotiations including in the UN, the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), as well as regional venues such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the Organization of American States (OAS).  Prior to her current position she led the office’s cyber policy work in the Europe and Eurasian Region and on Internet governance policy, respectively.  Previously, she served as Vice President for Cybersecurity and Global Public Policy at TechAmerica, an industry association representing global high technology companies; Director for Cybersecurity International Affairs and Public Policy in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and Director for Global Government Affairs at EDS Corporation.

Ms. Franz holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.A. from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University.

Iva Tasheva is the co-founder and cybersecurity lead at CYEN, a family-owned micro consultancy established in Brussels in 2018. She helps public and private sector organisations manage cybersecurity governance, risk and compliance (GRC). She has experience in the public, digital, transport, banking, medical devices and non-profit sectors. She is certified ISO 27001 Lead Implementer and ISO 27799 Lead Manager.

In addition to her work for CYEN, she is a Member of the EU Cybersecurity Agency (ENISA) Ad-Hoc Working Groups on Enterprise Security and on Cloud Security (Certification), adviser to Obelis (representation of non-EU based manufacturers in a successful EU Market entry), a Board Member of the DPO Circle (community of GDPR and data security professionals), and a founding member of the Belgian Chapter of Women4Cyber. She was shortlisted for the Belgium’s Cyber Personality of the Year 2022 Award by the Belgian Cybersecurity Coalition.

Follow Iva Tasheva (or CYEN) on LinkedIn for updates on cybersecurity policy and implementation. Follow ‘CYEN – Cybersecurity’ on YouTube for monthly cybersecurity top experts’ interviews.

General André Erich Denk took up his duties as Deputy Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency on 1 February 2023. 

General Denk was born on 20 October 1967 in Rotthalmünster. He joined the German Armed Forces in 1986. General Denk has a diploma in Mechanical Engineering. ln addition he graduated from the German Command and General Staff College as well as from the French General Staff College.

He possesses comprehensive international expertise, in particular with regard to the EU, combining logistic and operational experience with capability planning and armaments with a holistic approach.

ln his previous assignment as Director Logistics of the EU Military Staff he combined his expertise in logistical planning and employment at all levels of command; mission experience in key major alliances and organisations; military-political insights at the strategic level; and longstanding, extensive multinational staff expertise.

As commander of the Joint School for Logistics, he displayed a formidable comprehensive and in-depth understanding of national and international logistical and armament processes and procedures. Additionally, he commanded the Joint Logistics Support Group (JLSG) Coordination and Training Center, the core facility for training, exercises and certification of national and international joint logistics elements in Germany.

During his assignment as Branch Head in the DEU Army Concepts Capabilities Development Center, his responsibility encompassed ail functional areas of logistics, while he contributed to the further development and armament of German Army Logistics in the areas of organization, concepts, doctrine, equipment, and training.

As desk officer and deputy branch head for planning-related issues to the state secretary at the Ministry of Defense, General Denk served in close proximity to the political strategic leadership and was responsible for German operations within EU/NATO/UN as well as force and resource planning and allocation for EU operations.

His academic background in combination with his technical skills and training set the ideal prerequisites for his assignment to the Army Concepts Capabilities Development Center, including the responsibility for drafting concepts for multinational headquarters, bath at the operational and strategic level. With this conceptual, innovative and adaptive thinking, he contributed significantly to creating the conceptual basis for an EU military headquarters at operational and strategic level.

Multiple international deployments under the mandate of EU, UN and NATO provided General Denk with extensive insights into the multinational environment and multilateral organizations. During his most recent tour as chief of staff of the EU Training Mission in Mali, General Denk increased his already impressive intercultural competencies and gathered expertise in leading a multinational team in the field while under command of the EU.

Besides his excellent language skills in English and French, he is a native speaker of German and Serbo-Croatian. General Denk is married and has two children.

James Appathurai was appointed to this post in September 2021. As DASG, he works on policy development and implementation in the fields of Emerging and Disruptive Technologies, cyber security, counter-terrorism, the security implications of climate change, and hybrid defence. Mr. Appathurai previously served as DASG for Political Affairs and Security Policy, as well as Special Representative to Central Asia and the Caucasus. He was NATO’s Spokesperson from 2004 to 2010. He served as Deputy Head and Senior Planning Officer in the Policy Planning and Speechwriting Section of NATO’s Political Affairs Division from 1998 to 2004. He served in the Canadian Defence Department from 1994 to 1998.

Rigo Van den Broeck is leading the Cyber Security Product Innovation team with responsibilities in building out the cyber security servicing offering for Mastercard globally. This includes oversight over Riskrecon, an outside in cyber vulnerability assessment solution. With his team he develops new solutions & programs that are helping customers gain insights to fight the cyber risks they are exposed too. He is also a board member of the Finsec Innovation Lab in Israel, a startup incubator in Fintech & Cybersecurity.

Rigo Van den Broeck has a long background in the fraud & security in Europe where he had responsibility in Safety & security product strategy and developing the go-to-market approaches, looking after strategic product initiatives in areas like delivering fraud decisioning, complaint management, authentication (f.e. PSD2 compliance & EMV 3DS), network & connectivity solution.

Rigo Van den Broeck has over 25 years of card & payment industry experience. Over this period, his experience has ranged from product and market development over different type of ‘change’ projects driving international integration, opening new business lines & product innovation. He joined Mastercard in 2006 in a newly created ‘switching’ business development role in Europe, where he build the team to drive revenue growth. With his team, he developed a go to market strategy for value add solution driving 30+% yearly revenue growth for the region.

Before joining Mastercard, he worked over 9 years in KBC bank within the cards & payment division with responsibilities across Europe & represented KBC in product development projects at market level. He has also participated in many merger and acquisition (buying & selling) projects within MC & in retail banking.

Mr. Van den Broeck holds a Master in Applied Economics (with a major in marketing) as well as degrees in Psychology & Education, all from the Catholic University of Leuven.

Mrs. Getter Oper is working in the European Commission DG DEFIS (Defence Industry and Space) as policy officer (in the Unit A3 – European Defence Fund – Defence technologies) since June 2019. She is responsible for cyber defence and cybersecurity policy files in DG DEFIS defence industry directorate. Mrs. Oper is also in charge of the European Defence Fund cyber category content and agenda setting. Her other responsibilities also involve topics such as defence innovation, strategic communication, and SMEs participation promotion. She was strongly involved to the new European Policy on Cyber Defence drafting.

Prior to the secondment to the European Commission, Mrs. Oper served as the Chief Scientific Officer in the Estonian Ministry of Defence, fulfilling the tasks of Estonia’s R&D director. She has more than 13 years’ experience with various European funding instruments and R&D programmes. Since 2016, she represented Estonia in the various working groups and programme committees setting up and negotiating the European Defence Fund and its’ pre-cursor programmes (Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR)  and European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP)). In 2017, she was part of the Estonian Presidency core team leading the EU working group dealing with European Defence Industrial Development Programme EDIDP regulation negotiations.

Tarja Fernández is currently the Ambassador for Cyber Affairs of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.  Prior to her current position she served as the Ambassador of Finland to Lebanon (resident), Jordan and as Chargé d’Affaires to Syria. She has also served as the Finnish Ambassador to Kenya (resident), Somalia, Eritrea, Seychelles, Uganda and as Permanent Representative to the UN in Nairobi (UNON). She has previously worked as the Director of the Unit for European Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), as well as in various other positions in the Ministry and abroad in Tel Aviv, Stockholm, UN New York and Pristina.

Giacomo Speretta is Senior Vice President Marketing, International Business of Cyber & Security Division, responsible to assure global new business development also based on commercial partnerships, to coordinate the Sales forces for the optimal exploitation of Key Accounts and to define, plan and manage the Divisional marketing mix.

He has started his career as Process Analyst and Offering Engineer moving than to Program Management first and than to Sales roles with an extensive international experience also as Country Manager and Branch Director with general management responsibilities.

He has a University Master Degree in Electronic Engineering from University of Genoa with an academic year completed in the University of Surrey in Guildford.

He has completed his studied with a Corporate MBA in International Business Engineering developed with SDA Bocconi, London Business School, MIT and Scuola Superiore Sant’anna.

Dr. Raluca Csernatoni is a Research Fellow at Carnegie Europe, where she specializes on European security and defence, with a focus on emerging and disruptive technologies. She is also a Team Leader and Research Expert on new technologies for the EU Cyber Direct – EU Cyber Diplomacy Initiative project. Csernatoni is currently a Guest Professor on European security with the Brussels School of Governance and its Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy, at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. She is presently a Co-Leader of the ‘Governance of Emerging Technology’ Research Group with the Centre on Security and Crisis Governance, at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean, Canada. Csernatoni is also a Visiting Professor on technology, security, and high-tech warfare with the Department of International Relations of Central European University, and an Associate Research Expert on ‘Peace Tech’ with the Austrian Centre for Peace, both in Vienna, Austria.

Her published work appeared in academic journals such as European Foreign Affairs Review, European Security, Critical Military Studies, Global Affairs, and European View. She has authored numerous book chapters, policy analysis articles, reports, and commentary pieces on the governance of EU-led defence technological and industrial initiatives, European technological sovereignty and strategic autonomy, and the impact of emerging and disruptive technologies such as drones and Artificial Intelligence on international and European security. Her latest co-edited book, Emerging Security Technologies and EU Governance: Actors, Practices and Processes, was published with Routledge Studies in Conflict, Security and Technology Series in 2020.

Prior to joining Carnegie, Csernatoni was a Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer at the Charles University’s Institute of Political Studies in Prague, Czechia, where she focused on the impact of new military capabilities and emerging dual-use technologies on the EU’s security and defence architecture. Previously, Csernatoni conducted research on European defence and technological policy at the Faculté des Sciences Sociales et Politiques, Université libre de Bruxelles, the Royal Higher Institute for Defence’s Centre for Security and Defence Studies, and at the International Security Information Service Europe in Brussels, Belgium. She was also a Research Fellow in the Study Program on European Security at the Institute for European Politics in Berlin, Germany.