Vice-president of EximBank since March 2009. He has held several positions such as Director of the Bucharest branch of Corporate Bucur Obor – ING Bank NV Amsterdam, Director of Financial Institutions – ING Bank NV Amsterdam, Bucharest branch. He served as State Secretary Counselor, Counselor of the Public Finance Minister and State Secretary, with the Ministry of Public Finance (2000-2005). He graduated from the Academy for Economic Studies in Bucharest.
Thierry Mariani
French Member of Parliament for the 11th constituency for French Citizens Abroad (Asia, Russia, and Oceania) from 2012 to 2017. He is also member of the Foreign Commission, member of the French delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and Co-President of the French-Russian Dialogue. He served as Secretary of State for Transport and then Minister for Transport (2010-2012). In 2009, he was appointed Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan by President Nicolas Sarkozy. He graduated from the Institut d’études des relations internationales, Paris.
Robert M. Gates
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense, from December 2006 to July 2011 under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Previously, he was President of Texas A&M University, the nation’s seventh largest university. He also served as Director of the CIA between 1991 and 1993 under George H.W. Bush. He joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1966 and spent nearly 27 years as an intelligence professional. He received a doctorate in 1974 in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Božidar Djelić
Managing Director at Lazard Sovereign Group since 2014. Previously, he was Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia (2007-2011). From 2001 to 2004 he served as Minister of Finance and Economy of Serbia. Between 2005 and 2007, he served as Credit Agricole’s Director for Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Prior to 2001, he was a Partner of McKinsey & Company in the Paris and Silicon Valley offices. He holds a MBA from the Harvard Business School, a MPA from the J.F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a MA in Economics from the School of High Social Studies in Paris.
Vuk Jeremić
Professor at the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po. President of the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development, a global public policy think-tank based in Belgrade, Vuk Jeremić is also Editor-in-Chief of the quarterly magazine Horizons – Journal of International Relations and Sustainable Development. In 2016, he participated in the official election for UN Secretary-General and finished in second place. In 2012, he was elected President of the 67th session of the UN General Assembly. During his term in office he played a leading role in steering the UN towards the establishment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He served as Serbia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2007 to 2012. Mr. Jeremić is a member of the Leadership Council of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN) and a trustee of the Cambridge China Development Trust in UK.
Michèle Boos
CEO of the electric car company Mia Generation and corporate consulting firm Focus Asia France. She was one of the first businesspeople to move to St. Petersburg at the time of Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of perestroika. Here, she specialized in restructuring companies from former Communist countries. In 1999, she founded the online portal Wall Street Reporter in New York, and was publisher of the magazines Art Tribune, Antique Doll Magazine and Collectors Eye. She graduated from New York Fordham University and from the University of Strasbourg.
Mari Kiviniemi
Mari Kiviniemi has been Managing Director of the Finnish Commerce Federation since 2019. She served as OECD Deputy Secretary General from 2014 to 2018. 41st Prime Minister of Finland from 2010 to 2011, she previously held various positions in the Finnish government, including Minister of Public Administration and Local Government, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development and Minister for European Affairs. She was a Member of Parliament from 1995 to 2014, chairing and participating in a vast number of committees. Deputy Party Leader of the Finnish Centre Party from 2003 to 2008, she was elected Leader of the Party in 2010. She sits on the board of directors of Blic Public affairs and the supervisory board of Messukeskus Helsinki. She has been a member of many other boards including the Helsinki City Council, the Finnish National Opera Foundation and Lännen Tehtaat Oyj. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Sciences from the University of Helsinki.
Kim Chulsu
Senior advisor at Lee International IP & Law Group in Seoul and Chairman of Institute for Trade and Investment (ITI), a research and consulting organization affiliated with Lee International, a law firm based in Seoul. He previously taught trade policy at Sejong University and served as its President (2002-2005). From 1995 to 1999, he served as Deputy Director-General of the WTO. He was the Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy (1993-1994). He was appointed Korea’s Ambassador for International Trade in 1994. He graduated from Tufts University and the University of Massachusetts where he earned master’s and doctorate degrees in Political Science.
Hyun Hong-Choo
He served as Korea’s Ambassador to the United States (1991-1993) and as Korean Ambassador at the Permanent Observer Mission to the UN. He has been a member of Korea’s Special Committee for Constitutional Revision, Committee for Presidential Transition and Advisory Council of the Korean Constitutional Court. He is currently a member of the U.S.-Korea Business Council, Presidential Board of Advisors on National Unification and the Commission for National Security Posture Review. He graduated from Seoul National University and Columbia Law School in New York.
Cho Tae-yul
2nd Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea since 2013. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in 1979. He held different positions such as Counsellor, Korean Permanent Mission to the UN Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland (1996-2000), Ambassador, Korean Permanent Mission to the UN Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland (2005-2006). He also served as Deputy Minister for Trade (2006-2008) and Ambassador to Spain (2008-2011). He graduated from Seoul National University and he studied at Oxford University, United Kingdom.
Ribal Al-Assad
Founder and Director of the Organisation for Democracy and Freedom in Syria and Chairman of the Iman Foundation. He campaigns internationally for democracy, freedom and human rights, and is a regular speaker on human rights platforms, as well as writing regularly on these issues. He is particularly involved in promoting interfaith dialogue and relations between Muslims, Jews and Christians around the globe. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the InterAmerican University, New York and an MA from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom.
José Manuel Barroso
11th president of the European Commission (2004-2014). He served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 2002 to 2004. His political career began in 1980 when he joined the Social Democratic Party (PSD). He was elected President of the party in 1999 and re-elected three times. During the same period, he served as Vice President of the European People’s Party. He also held the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal (1992-1995). He has a degree in law from the University of Lisbon. Furthermore, he completed a Diploma in European Studies and a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Geneva.
Marie-Claire Aoun
Director of the Center for Energy at the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri) and lecturer at Paris Dauphine University. She began her carreer in the energy sector in 2004 as a research fellow at the Center for Geopolitics of Energy and Raw Materials (CGEMP) at Paris Dauphine University. She served as Economist for the French energy regulator (Commission de Régulation de l’Energie) (2008-2014). She holds a PhD in Economics from Paris Dauphine University and is the author of several papers on energy.
Justin Vaïsse
A French historian, he was appointed Director of Policy Planning at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March 2013. In this role, he advises the Minister on his strategic decisions and provides background analysis and forecast on international affairs. Prior to this appointment, Justin Vaïsse was Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution and an adjunct professor at SAIS (Johns Hopkins University). An Associate teacher at the Paris School of International Affairs, Dr. Vaïsse is the author of numerous books on the United States, including Neoconservatism – The Biography of a Movement (Harvard University Press, 2010). His biography of former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski was published in France in early 2016 and will come out in English in 2017.
Riccardo Sessa
Vice President of the Società Italiana per l’
Ben Scott
Senior Advisor to the Open Technology Institute at the New America Foundation in Washington D.C. and Program Director at the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung in Berlin. Previously, he was Policy Advisor for Innovation at the US Department of State. He also led the Washington office for Free Press, a non-profit organization focused on public education and public interest advocacy in media and communications policy. He holds a PhD in communications from the University of Illinois.
Jérôme Pasquier
Ambassador of France to South Korea. He held various prominent positions such as Ambassador of France to Croatia (2009-2012) and Deputy General Manager for International Cooperation and Development (2004-2009). From 1998 to 2002, he also served as Consul General of France to Hong Kong and from 1988 to 1992, he was Cultural Advisor to Seoul. He graduated from the École polytechnique and from the École nationale d’administration.
Joseph Nye
Professor at the Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He also served as Deputy to the Under Secretary of State for Security Assistance, Science and Technology and chaired the National Security Council Group on Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons. He chaired the National Intelligence Council. He is also the author of numerous books. In 1994 and 1995, he served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. His most famous books are: The future of Power (2011) and Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (2004). He graduated from Princeton University and Oxford University and earned a PhD in political science from Harvard University.
Marcus Noland
Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He has been associated with the Institute since 1985. He is concurrently a Senior Fellow at the East-West Center. He was previously a Senior Economist at the Council of Economic Advisers in the Executive Office of the President of the United States. He has held research or teaching positions at several universities, including Yale University, the Johns Hopkins University, the University of Southern California and Tokyo University. He graduated from Swarthmore College and he holds a PhD from Johns Hopkins University. His most recent book Hard Target: Sanctions, Inducements, and the Case of North Korea (2017) was co-authored with Stephan Haggard.
Bark Taeho
President of the Global Commerce Institute of Lee&Ko, a leading global law firm in Korea, President of Seoul Forum for International Affairs (SFIA), Professor Emeritus (former professor and Dean) of the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) at Seoul National University and Chairman of the Korean Committee of the Trilateral Commission and the Co-Chair of Korea-Canada Forum. Professor Bark served as Non-Resident Senior Visiting Scholar at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs of the Harvard Kennedy School. He has participated in the Task Force on Global Capitalism in Transition of the Trilateral Commission as an Asia-Pacific member. He served as Minister for Trade of the Korean government (from December 2011 until March 2013). In spring 2013, Dr. Bark was in the race for the Director-General position of the WTO as the Korean candidate. He also served as Chairman of the International Trade Commission of the Korean Government. He taught at Sciences Po, Stanford University and the University of Washington as a visiting professor. In addition, he was a visiting scholar at the IMF and consulted for the World Bank and the ADB.
André Caillé
Director of several corporations, including Junex Inc., an oil and gas exploration corporation, for which he is a Senior Strategic Advisor. He is on the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Canada. He was Chancellor of the University of Montreal, Chairman of the World Energy Council and Deputy Minister of the Environment of Quebec. He also served as President and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Hydro-Québec, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Gaz Métropolitain. He graduated from the University of Montreal, where he obtained a master’s degree and a doctorate in physical chemistry.
Richard Haass
President of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) since 2003. He is the author of twelve books on American foreign policy and one book on management. From January 2001 to June 2003, he held the position of Director of policy planning for the Department of State, where he was a principal adviser to Secretary of State Colin Powell. From 1989 to 1993, he served as special assistant to President George H.W. Bush and senior director for Near East and South Asian affairs on the staff of the National Security Council. He graduated from Oberlin College and Oxford University.
Fen Osler Hampson
Director of CIGI’s Global Security & Politics program, Co-director of the Global Commission on Internet Governance and Chancellor’s Professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. Previously, he served as director of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. He is the recipient of various awards and honors and is a frequent contributor to the national and international media. He is the author of 10 books including The Global Power of Talk (co-authored with I. William Zartman). He serves on the International Advisory Board Committee of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy. He holds a PhD from Harvard University.
Marc Mourre
Global Co-Head of Commodities Market Natixis. Mr. Mourre has over 35 years’ banking experience, primarily with Morgan Stanley, where he was latterly Managing Director, Vice Chairman of the Commodities Division and Chairman of the firm’s African business. He also co-founded the bank’s oil trading activities in London, established its energy trading activity in Asia, and set up its Singapore office for commodities. Before joining the finance industry, he worked three years for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Cultural Attaché in Hong Kong, and then at Elf Aquitaine (now Total) for over four years as a crude oil trader. He joined Natixis as a Senior Adviser, was then appointed Global Head of Global Markets Commodities and became Co Head of Commodities Markets. He holds a Master of Science degree in business administration from Sup. de co., a D.E.A in business administration from ESSEC/ IAE and a D.E.S.S in international trade and transportation from Aix Marseille University. He did research and taught international finance at HEC for four years. He is Trustee of the Trust of the Friends of the French Institute in London, Chairman of the Crown Estate Paving Commission, Regents Park, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur.
Alejandro Jara
Senior counsel at King & Spalding LLP. He served as Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organization from 2005 to September 2013. During 2001, he served as Chairperson of the Committee on Trade and Environment of the WTO, and in February 2002, he was elected as Chairman of the Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services. In June 2000, he was appointed as Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Chile to the World Trade Organization in Geneva. He graduated from the University of Chile and pursued graduate studies in the University of California at Berkeley.
Patrick Messerlin
Professor Emeritus at Sciences Po Paris. Special Adviser to Mike Moore (WTO Director general) (2001-2002), he co-chaired the Task Forces on Trade for the Millennium Development Goals (2002-2005) and on Global Finance and Trade Architecture (2007-2010). He was a member of the Global Trade Agenda Council, World Economic Forum (2009-2012).
Tatsuo Masuda
Visiting professor at the Graduate School of Nagoya University of Commerce and Business (NUCB) on energy-climate nexus. He also serves as auditor of SOC Corporation in Tokyo, chairman of FairCourt Capital in London and strategic committee member of Elion House in Singapore. He has had an extensive career in energy business and policy making as JAPEX advisor, JNOC vice president and director of the International Energy Agency. He has a strong interest in new dimension of energy and environmental policies and measures. He belongs to the Expert Network of the World Economic Forum.
Liu Chen
Professor of Social Sciences, School of English and International Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU). Her research interests include international relations, international political economy and international communication. Her latest book Imaging China and China’s Image around the World from 1978 Deng Xiaoping’s Reform and Opening up to 2013 Xi Jinping’s Chinese Dream: An International Communication Perspective won the grant from the National Social Science Foundation of China. She is also the Executive Director of China Association for Intercultural Communication Studies (CAFICS) and adviser to China Central Television (CCTV).
Baroness Lynda Chalker of Wallasey
Founder and Chairman of Africa Matters Ltd. Between 1986 and 1997 she was Minister of State at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. She is a Trustee of the Investment Climate Facility for Africa (ICF), she is also an Executive Trustee of the Global Leadership Foundation, a member of the international advisory board of Lafarge et Cie and advised the World Bank for over 8 years. She is Vice-President of WaterAid, Honorary Vice-President of the British Red Cross and Patron of a number of charities working in Africa.
Ángel Gurría
OECD Secretary-General. Former Mexico’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance and Public Credit, Chairman of the International Task Force on Financing Water for all, World Water Council.