ADVISORY BOARD
George SCUTARU
George Scutaru is one of the founders and the CEO of the New Strategy Center, the leading Romanian think tank in security and foreign affairs field. He started his career in journalism, in Bucharest, then as press correspondent to Moscow, before he became the general director of a press monitoring and consultancy agency in Romania. Between 2004 and 2014 Scutaru was a member of the Parliament of Romania. In 2014 he served as national security advisor to the President of Romania.
Debora SERRACCHIANI
Debora Serracchiani is an Italian politician, member of Democratic Party, and was president of the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Serracchiani served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) as a member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats from 2008 to 2013; during her MEP mandate she served as a member of the EU Parliament Committee on Transport and Tourism.
Vas SHENOY
Vas Shenoy is an Italian entrepreneur of Indian origin and serves as the Chief Representative for Italy of the Indian Chamber of Commerce. He founded the Indo-Mediterranean Initiative in 2024. He is the Managing Director of MVS Advisors. Shenoy also serves as the President of Sākshi, a not for profit which fosters cultural and political relationships between Italy and India since 2017 and Glocal Cities which has worked in conflict and post conflict communities for over a decade. Over 25 years, Shenoy has worked in over 30 countries developing companies and projects in innovation and technology, development and political affairs with partners such as the World Bank and advised governments in the Middle East and Africa.
Mohammed SOLIMAN
Mohammed Soliman is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute (MEI), where he focuses on the intersection of technology, geopolitics, and business in the Middle East and other emerging markets. He is the author of West Asia: A New American Grand Strategy in the Middle East (Polity Press). An engineer by training, he is a member of McLarty Associates, a global advisory firm, where he advises on strategic and policy issues across technology, AI, finance, and energy. In addition, Mr. Soliman is a non-resident senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and a visiting fellow with the National Security Program at Third Way. He serves on the board of advisors for Ideas Beyond Borders and the Advisory Council of the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law (ISAIL). He is also a member of the Expert Advisory Group of the Global Commission on Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain (GC REAIM).
Philip SWEENS
Philip Sweens is the Managing Director HHLA International, a company of the Hamburger Hafen und Logistik group responsible for the international port activities in Trieste, Odessa and Tallinn. He has previously served as Vice President - Trade Management Europe & MD UASAC Europe GmbH at UASC a global container shipping line. With over 20 years of experience in the transportation and maritime sectors, Sweens has cultivated a robust expertise in logistics management, international shipping, and supply chain optimization.