Board of Advisers
Edward Hunter Christie is the owner and founder of AI Policy Consulting. He served as a NATO official from 2014 to 2020, ending his tenure in the role of Deputy Head of NATO’s Innovation Unit. In 2020 he was the lead author of NATO’s policy White Papers on Artificial Intelligence and on Autonomous Technologies and, in 2021, he was the lead consultant to NATO for the development of the Alliance’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy. Prior to his NATO experience, he was a researcher with a focus on international economics and then senior policy advisor and Chief Economist in a European industry association, with a focus on the European Union’s transport, energy, and climate policies. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the London School of Economics, and certificates in cybersecurity policy, data protection, and Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
Laurynas Adomaitis is an experienced researcher and IPR specialist who focuses on the cybersecurity industry. His research investigates security and privacy issues in AI with implications for computer fraud, data manipulation, defense, and other policy areas. He currently leads a research group on the ethical implications of adversarial machine learning. In addition, Laurynas works with IP protection related to AI and manages the patenting efforts at Nord Security, a leading internet privacy and cybersecurity company. Laurynas successfully defended his PhD thesis cum laude at the Scuola Normale Superiore in September 2020. His academic research dealt with the history and philosophy of science and technology. He has been a Visiting Fellow at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, WWU Münster, and Université de Montréal. He also holds a certificate in the regulation of AI and robotics from Scuola Sant’Anna.
Steffi Besselink is a lawyer and a certified data protection officer. She is the owner and founder of Quarto Legal, a consultancy specialised in implementation and compliance of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Steffi has extensive experience in advising both public, private and start-up clients on matters of GDPR compliance, notably but not exclusively in the health sector. Prior to the GDPR Steffi dealt with trademark disputes at the European Office for Intellectual Property. From 2014-2018 Steffi was actively involved in the criminal justice community in Boston, MA, U.S.A. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in law from the Free University of Amsterdam, a Master’s degree in European Intellectual Property Law (LL.M.) from the University of Stockholm, and a European Data Protection Officer certification from the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA).
Dr. Jonas Grätz is a serving national civil servant and a former international civil servant with a strong background in security policy consulting and research. He is currently a Political Affairs Officer at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland (FDFA), dealing with cybersecurity and emerging technologies. Prior to this position, he was the Economic Adviser at the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna, with a focus on digitalization and trade. From 2015 to 2018 he served in different positions in the FDFA, inter alia as Political Adviser regarding the OSCE’s crisis management in Ukraine. Previously, Jonas worked in different European think tanks, including the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) and the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. He holds a Doctorate and an MA in Political Science from the University of Frankfurt.
Dimitar Lilkov is a Research Officer at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies in Brussels, where he is responsible for matters involving the digital economy and energy and environment policy. He is also the host of the Martens Centre’s Brussels Bytes podcast series on technology and European policy. He holds a Master’s degree in politics and government in the EU from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a BA in international relations. Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. at the European studies department of Sofia University. Dimitar’s latest research endeavours have focused on tackling the rise of digital authoritarianism globally, as well as analysing China’s growing economic and political footprint in the Black Sea Region. In 2021, Dimitar was invited as a Fellow to the James S. Denton Transatlantic Program organised by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).
Geoff Odlum served as a U.S. diplomat from 1989 to 2017 with assignments in Europe, the Middle East, and Washington, focusing on nuclear and dual-use technology non-proliferation, counterterrorism, and regional security. In 2018 Geoff founded Odlum Global Strategies, a consulting firm in Washington DC that advises governments and companies on the impacts of emerging technologies on global operations and geopolitics and helps technology companies work with the U.S. Government. Geoff also served as a consultant to the U.S. National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, advises technology startup companies with the FedTech startup studio, teaches courses on conflict mitigation to US Army Special Operations Forces with Motive International, serves as a Senior Advisor to the FutureGrasp Foundry technology consultancy, and is the President of the Board of Directors of Coalescion, a non-profit foreign and security assistance implementer. Geoff holds a Master’s Degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College in Washington DC.
Jason serves as an Advisor on Security and Defence, Foreign Affairs and Counter-Terrorism in the European Parliament. His primary responsibilities are to support the Members of European Parliament and Advisory teams in a joint effort to ensure effective policy-making within the Committees on Security and Defence, Foreign Affairs and Terrorism. From 2015-2018 he served as Secretary General of the Atlantic Treaty Association in Brussels, Belgium. Working alongside ATA colleagues, NATO International Staff and a variety of political representatives and security personnel, Jason’s primary responsibilities included the development of NATO Advanced Training Courses and coordination of defence policies across various Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs in over 40 countries. He holds an MA in Government with a Specialization in Counter-Terrorism and Homeland Security and was inducted into the Forbes “Top 30 Under 30” for most influential policymakers in 2016.