S - Trieste Summit

ADVISORY BOARD

Samir SARAN

Dr Samir Saran is the President of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), India's premier think tank, headquartered in New Delhi with affiliates in North America and the Middle East. His research focuses on issues of global governance, climate and energy policy, technology policy, and India's foreign policy. Dr Saran curates the Raisina Dialogue, India's annual flagship platform on geopolitics and geo-economics, and is the founder of CyFy, India's annual conference on cybersecurity and internet governance. Dr Saran is also a member of the Global Risks Advisory Board and Chair of the Global Future Council on Geopolitics of the World Economic Forum. He has served as a Commissioner of The Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace. He is a member of the Board of Directors at ORF America. He is also a part of Board of Governors of East West Centre.

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.

Vas SHENOY

Vas Shenoy is an Italian entrepreneur of Indian origin and serves as the Chief Representative for Italy, Indian Chamber of Commerce-India's oldest chamber which completes its centenary in 2025. He founded the Indo-Mediterranean Initiative (www.cnky.in) 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.