Author: wpc_editor

Ambassador of Albania to France, and non-resident to Monaco and Portugal, Representative at the International Organization of La Francophonie. He worked for a long period of time for the European Union, notably at the European Commission and the European External Action Service, where he was in charge of political issues and European and regional developments. He chaired the ad hoc Committee on Accession and Changes to the Statute of La Francophonie and is a founding member of the Group of Francophone Ambassadors of France, of which he was elected Vice Chairman three times. He has been Chairman or member of steering committees of various international organs and programs in the field of development and democratization.

Isabelle Tsakok, development practitioner, policy analyst, researcher, and teacher, is a Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South. She grew up in the Republic of Mauritius, a multilingual, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. She holds a PhD in Economics from Harvard University, and a BA in Philosophy/Economics from the London School of Economics. As World Bank staff and consultant, she has focused on agricultural and rural development including on issues of agricultural transformation, food security, and poverty reduction. She has worked in most regions of the developing world, including Africa – North and South of the Sahara; Asia – South, Southeast and East; and Latin America. She has taught courses on agricultural policies and institutions at the World Bank; the School of Agricultural and Rural Department, Renmin University of China; the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University; and the Université Polytechnique Mohamed VI, Morocco. Her publications address issues of methodology of partial equilibrium analysis for assessing agricultural policies and distortions; and of agricultural transformation from smallholder, subsistence to demand-driven commercial farming. Her latest book publication is Success in Agricultural Transformation: What it Means and What Makes it Happen (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011).

Editor in Chief of The National newspaper, a daily English language regional newspaper based in Abu Dhabi. An Iraqi-British journalist, Mina has over 18 years of experience covering Middle Eastern, European and American affairs. She has conducted multiple high profile interviews including with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa AlKadhimi, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Previously, she was a Senior Fellow at the Institute for State Effectiveness (ISE) and a Yale World Fellow.

Minister of Climate Change and Environment of the UAE. In this capacity, she leads the Ministry’s mission of spearheading the UAE’s drive to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change, protect the country’s ecosystems, and enhance its food and water security through developing and implementing effective measures, policies, and initiatives. Prior to her current role, Her Excellency Mariam Almheiri was appointed as Minister of State for Food and Water Security. Her responsibilities included monitoring national food stocks and water supply, channeling investments in food and water technology innovation, and building international partnerships in this area. Previously, Her Excellency Mariam Almheiri held the post of Minister of State for Food Security, where she oversaw the development of the necessary infrastructure to achieve the country’s food security objectives in line with the UAE Centennial 2071.

EU official, Head of the Energy-Intensive Industries and Raw Materials Unit in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. Previously, he was Head of Policy Coordination for Energy Union, 2030 Climate and Energy Package, Low Emission Mobility Strategy and the Circular Economy at the Secretariat General. Past EU Trade Negotiator (steel, WTO market access and industrial tariffs). Former UK government official, he coordinated UK preparations for the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). Graduated in French and Politics from the University of Bristol. Studied at the École nationale d’administration (ENA).

Co-Founder and CEO of Royal Technologies Ltd., a Dubai-based insurtech company that intends to redefine the insurance industry in the Middle East. He is also the Representative of MEDEF International in the United Arab Emirates, the French business federation. Previously, he was the Managing Director for the Middle East of French insurance company Siaci Saint-Honoré. He also held various positions both in the private sector and the public administration: Managing Director of the Centre français des affaires de Téhéran, a business intelligence boutique advising French corporations on issues related to Iran, Head of Middle East at MEDEF and Economic Attaché at the French Embassy in Equatorial Guinea. Beginning on January 1, 2023, he will become a civil servant student at the Institut national du service public (INSP). He graduated from Sciences Po Bordeaux and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Deputy Vice President Foreign Institutional Relations, TotalEnergies. Karen Andries joined the Public Affairs Department of TotalEnergies in September 2019. From 2015 to 2019 she was Deputy Director of Business Development in the Middle East, Asia and North Africa within Refining & Petrochemicals at TotalEnergies. Karen Andries joined the Marketing & Services department of PetroFina in 1997 in Brussels. She subsequently held several positions in the Gas, Renewables & Power and Exploration & Production divisions of TotalEnergies and in various countries such as Angola and Indonesia. Karen Andries graduated from the Catholic University of Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) and holds a Master’s degree in Management Engineering.

Head of the risks department at the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Regional Environment Directorate. His activities involve the control of industrial installations as well as the management of natural hazards. Before becoming a senior civil servant, he worked for the hedge fund Meridiam, the Guerbet pharmaceutical laboratory and the M13h marketing firm. He holds an engineering degree from the Corps des mines and a degree in mathematics from the École normale supérieure de Paris.

Internationally known Art Dealer, specializing in Islamic Art. Since its establishment in 1975, his London-based company, Ahuan Islamic Art, has organized major Islamic exhibitions. ‘The Unity of Islamic Art’ exhibition inaugurated the Islamic galleries of the King Faisal Foundation in Riyadh in 1985. Ahuan has supplied important Islamic works of art to numerous private collections, including the outstanding collection of the late Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Sabah and Sheikha Hussa al-Sabah in Kuwait. Ahuan has also provided important works of Islamic art to many major international museum collections, including the British Museum, the Louvre in Paris, the Museum of Islamic Art at the Pergamon Museum, Berlin, the C.L. David Collection, Copenhagen, the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, as well as notable museum collections in Islamic countries, such as the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. David Sulzberger was for three years an advisor to the ArRiyadh Development Authority (ADA) planning the Saudi Arabian National Museum in Riyadh. He continues to work closely with both private collectors and government agencies in the Arab and Islamic World.

Acceleration Manager within the Interministerial Digital Directorate, his role revolves around empowering state startups to increase their impact and scale their operations. Prior to joining the Prime Minister’s office, he had the opportunity to work for Jane Street, Google, the French railway group SNCF and the e-commerce giant Wayfair. He holds an engineering degree from corps des mines and Ecole polytechique, as well as a MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo, and Director of the Institute of Geoeconomics at International House of Japan. He graduated from the Department of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, and received a Ph.D. from the Sussex European Institute. He has worked in the Fondation pour la recherche stratégique in Paris as assistant researcher. He was also Associate Professor at the University of Tsukuba from 2000 to 2008 and served as Professor of International Politics at Hokkaido University until 2020. He served as an expert in the Panel of Experts for the Iranian Sanction Committee under the United Nations Security Council from 2013 to 2015. He currently serves many advisory committees of the government of Japan, inter alia, the National Space Policy Committee of the Cabinet Office, the Government of Japan, and is the President of Japan Association of International Security and Trade. His research focuses on the conjunction of science/technology and international relations; subjects including economic security, space policy, sanctions, non-proliferation, and export control. His recent work includes Space and International Politics (2011), Policy Logics and Institutions of European Space Collaboration (2003), editing work includes Economic security and technological advantage (2023) in Japanese, and many others.

Attorney at Law, CEO of Echo for Peace Foundation and of Rased Lebanon (coalition of several NPO’s), member of Beirut Bar Association and International election Observer. She is a Founder and member of many NGOs and nonprofit associations. She is a Legal Consultant to many associations and civic organizations. She is also a journalist for Tele Lumiere and Noursat International TV, presenting social, political, and religious issues through talk shows. She conducted live interviews of well-known personalities in order to find solutions to national issues. She was delegated as “Lawyer and Journalist” to attend hearings in the Special Tribunal of Lebanon in The Hague, Netherlands (STL). She participated in several conferences and seminars in Lebanon and abroad, treating: Politic-Justice-Peace-Religion-Interfaith Dialogue-Globalization-Civil State, etc. She is a legal and social writer in many newspapers and reviews. She has a JD in Criminal Law from Lebanese University.

Basile Cotte is a high-ranking French official currently employed at the European Commission, within the DG COMP, with a particular focus on monitoring mergers and acquisitions within the basic industries, including the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. He is a graduate engineer from the “Applied Mathematics” program at the École Polytechnique, holding a master’s degree in Economic Policy Analysis from the Paris School of Economics. He also completed the Corps des Mines training program, which he joined in 2020. During his education, he had the opportunity to work for Morgan Stanley in London before joining Neoen in Paris, an independent renewable energy developer. His career has also been enriched by significant regulatory experience, as he had the opportunity to work for Euronext, the largest stock exchange in Europe, as well as for the DGCCRF (General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs, and the Prevention of Fraud) in the field of digital and telecommunications regulation.

Elias Kassis is President of Total E&P UAE and TotalEnergies Country Chair in the United Arab Emirates, a position he has held since May 2021. Previously, he held the position of Vice President Energy Transition in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) division of TotalEnergies Exploration & Production. Before that, he served as Vice President North Africa in the MENA division, and Managing Director of the TotalEnergies E&P affiliates in Yemen, Malaysia and Iraq. Prior to that, he was Vice President in the TotalEnergies E&P Middle East division, and Vice President Venezuela in TotalEnergies E&P Americas Division. He fulfilled other assignments in Venezuela and Qatar. He began his career within TotalEnergies in 1991 and has held various positions in the Trading and Gas & Power divisions until 2002. Mr. Kassis holds an Engineering Master’s Degree from the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble and a Master’s Degree in Finance from ESSEC Business School.

Dr. Kim is Chief Executive Officer of the MiCo BioMed Co., Ltd., an innovative LabChip-technology based diagnostic company in Korea that generates various biochemical, immunological and molecular diagnostic products including COVID-19 detection kits and systems. He founded NanoBioSys Inc. in 2009 and invented a portable molecular diagnostic system to detect multiple infectious disease pathogens rapidly using an inexpensive disposable plastic microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip (LabChip). He has been working with international organizations such as the UN, WHO and Institute of Pasteur. He currently leads his colleagues to develop a more efficient portable easy-to-use tele-diagnostic system for rapid detection, monitoring and controlling animal/food-borne diseases as well as human diseases on site. He and his colleagues are moving towards an innovative U-healthcare system to provide a healthier environment for the world. He received Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at Columbia University and worked for Harvard Medical School as a research faculty over 13 years.

Professor of international economics at the Ecole nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (ENPC, France) and member of the French Cercle des Économistes. Between 2012 and 2022, he was President of the Global Development Network (GDN), a public international organization headquartered in New Delhi (India), which strengthens research capacity in developing countries in order to promote development policies informed by sound analysis and evidence. He is the former Chief Economist (2002-2012) and Executive Director of Strategy (2002-2010) of the French Development Agency (AFD) and a former Deputy Director of Ifri. He chaired ENPC’s Department of Economic and Social Sciences between 1994 and 2012. He is President of the Scientific Council of the FARM Foundation (Foundation for Agriculture and Rural Development in the World), member of the Scientific Committee of Crédit Agricole S.A., and Non-Resident Fellow of the Center for Global Development (CGD, Washington D.C.).

Civil servant within the French Corps des Mines, Eponine Loridant went to a binational French-German high school and studied at the French engineering school Ecole Polytechnique. As part of her education, she worked for a humanitarian organization in Ivory Coast and at the French embassy in Switzerland.

Dr. David Wurmser, is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Project on Global Anti-Semitism and the US-Israel Relationship at the Center for Security Policy, as well as being a Senior Fellow at the Kohelet Policy Forum. He also is the executive and founding member of the Delphi Global Analysis Group, LLC – a firm specializing in geopolitical risk analysis and mitigation for hydrocarbon, infrastructure, high-tech, defense and financial firms from the United States, Japan and India navigating in Israel and the Middle East – since its founding in 2007. From December 2018 until September 2019, Dr. Wurmser also served as Senior Advisor (Special Government Employee) to the US National Security Advisor, Ambassador John Bolton.

Manon Nguyen Van Mai is an Engineering student of the French Corps des mines. She graduated from the “Sciences for environmental challenges” track at École Polytechnique and is currently training to become a civil servant. She completed six months of military service on a surveillance frigate in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. During her studies, she worked for the biotech startup Embleema and for the industrial groups Butagaz and EDF.

Non-Executive Director of Norge Mining. Ingvil Tybring-Gjedde brings an exceptional level of experience to Norge Mining’s Board as a Non-Executive Director. A representative of the Norwegian Progress Party (FrP) and the former Deputy Minister in the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, she will be a guiding light as the country explores its exciting economic next steps. Ingvil was also the Minister of Public Security in the Ministry of Justice and Public Security from January 2019 until January 2020. And she previously worked as a Senior Advisor in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in oil and gas management positions at Innovation Norway. Committees of the Board: Remuneration (Member) & ESG (Chair).

Co-founder of echOpen, a low-cost handheld ultrasound device connected to smartphones, he is a Public Health practitioner at Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, former assistant professor in Clinical Epidemiology and PhD in Mathematics. He is mainly involved in the interfaces between connected medicine and open technologies: ultrasound imaging, methodology for the development of Artificial Intelligence solutions. He was a pioneer in Blockchain applications for the quality of clinical trials.

CEO of Norge Mining. John Vergopoulos brings decisive, hands-on leadership to Norge Mining, as well as an international financial ‘black book’ and years of experience in the mineral resources sector. He has a strong fundraising track record in capital, private equity and syndicated loan markets. He has been an SME Board Director and a CEO and CFO for various publicly traded corporations in the tech and mineral resources industries. Over the years, John has been in charge of dealing with government institutions throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. He started out his career as a chartered accountant in Deloitte’s London Audit Department.

Senior Advisor to the Chairman & CEO, Total Energies. Arnaud Breuillac, 63, graduated from the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in 1981. He joined TotalEnergies in 1982 and has served in various positions in its Exploration & Production Division, including Abu Dhabi, the United Kingdom, Indonesia and Angola as well as the Refining Division in France. From 2004 to 2006, he held the position of Vice President, Middle East – Iran. In December 2006, he was appointed to the Management Committee of the Exploration & Production Division, concurrent with a new role as Senior Vice-President, Continental Europe & Central Asia. In July 2010, he was appointed President, Exploration & Production, Middle East and in January 2011, became a member of the Group’s Management Committee. In 2014, Arnaud Breuillac became Member of Total Executive Committee and President, Exploration & Production, responsible for the Company’s very large and increasingly diverse upstream portfolio around the world. Since September 1st, 2021, Arnaud Breuillac has been nominated Senior Advisor to the Chairman & CEO of TotalEnergies SE. 

Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the United Arab Emirates. Previously, he served as Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Non-Resident Ambassador to the Republic of Djibouti and Permanent Representative of the Sultanate of Oman to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. His Excellency Dr. Al Busaidi started his diplomatic career in 1983 as Second Secretary in the European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Muscat, then as First Secretary in the Omani Embassy in Cairo. In 1988, he returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Muscat as Director of the Political and Economic Affairs Office of the Gulf Cooperation Council, before being promoted to Director of the Middle East and Iran Desk in 2000.  In 2004, he became Deputy Head of the Arab Department for Gulf Cooperation Council Affairs. H.E. Dr. Ahmed bin Hilal Al Busaidi holds a MSC in Economic Development and International Trade from the University of Reading in the UK, and a PhD in Economics from the University of Hull in the UK.

An astute economist and entrepreneur, Michael will advise on the finances and strategic direction of Norge Mining. He has worked for Citibank Zurich, and has held a prestigious array of senior positions at multinational financial institutions in New York and Frankfurt. He has previously been mandated by various governments, finance ministries and state banks to help settle sovereign debts. Over the years, Michael has advised on structure financing for companies in the natural resources, commodities and mining sectors in Russia, the Middle East and Mongolia.

Managing Partner, Bingmann Pflüger International. Dr Holger Bingmann was born on 8 July 1961 in Stuttgart (Germany). For many years he has held leading positions in industry and associations. Since May 2020 Holger Bingmann is managing partner of Bingmann Pflüger International. He is also President of the German Chapter of the International Chamber of Commerce (Paris), member of the Board of Directors of KfW (Frankfurt/Berlin), and member of the Executive Committee of, among others, the German Federal Association of Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA), the German Employers’ Association (BDA), and the German eCommerce Association. Holger Bingmann is shareholder of Pressevertrieb München Holding, advisory board member of several press wholesalers and founder and owner of the Digital Business University, Berlin. He is also member of the Advisory Board of, among others, Commerzbank (Frankfurt), the Austrian Logistics Association (WKÖ) and other national and international associations. Bingmann is partner of GLB German Latin Business GmbH and iconomy GmbH (Berlin).

Chief Operations Officer, Norge Mining. Dr. Kristian Bader has extensive experience as Operations Adviser, most of which he gained as line manager and project manager in companies in the financial and technological industries. Kristian has furthermore founded and built up various companies. His strengths lie in the analysis, conception and implementation of organizational structures and processes and in the strategic development of these. He is also passionate about developments in the fields of technology, digitization and automation. Kristian has a Doctorate in Business Administration and holds Executive Master’s degrees in Business Law and Art Market Studies.

Alice Pannier is Head of the Geopolitics of Technology program, launched at Ifri in October 2020. Her research focuses on the geopolitical dimension of new technology, European technology policies, and transatlantic relations. She has also worked for a long time on European security and the foreign and defense policies of European countries, especially France and the United Kingdom. Prior to joining Ifri, she was Assistant Professor in International Relations and European Studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University in Washington (2017-2020). Previously, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of strategic research (IRSEM) at the French Ministry of Armed Forces. She is a graduate of King’s College London and Panthéon-Sorbonne University and holds a doctorate in political science from IEP Paris, co-supervised with King’s College.

Chairman and CEO of the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the French Space Agency. Previously, he was advisor to the Prime Minister, Édouard Philippe, and chief of staff to Frédérique Vidal, the Minister for Higher Education, Research and Innovation. A scientist from the digital sphere, Philippe Baptiste is a specialist in algorithms, combinatorial optimization, operational research and artificial intelligence. He has helped to found and develop several start-ups and pursued numerous collaborations with digital, aviation and defence manufacturers. He was a Partner and Director with Boston Consulting Group and Chief Technology Officer of Total. Before that, he was a researcher at the French national scientific research centre CNRS and IBM’s Watson Research Center, and a lecturer at Ecole Polytechnique. He headed its information technology laboratory and created the Institute of Information Sciences and Interactions before being appointed Associate Director General of CNRS. He also previously sat on the board of INRIA, the French national institute for research in computer science and control. He holds a PhD from the University of Technology of Compiègne (UTC) and is a graduate in civil engineering from the Ecole des Mines engineering school in Nancy. He also holds an MSc from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, and a DEA postgraduate diploma from Sorbonne University.