Our Experts

Professor Nayef Al-Rodhan is a philosopher, neuroscientist, and geostrategist.

He is Honorary Fellow, St. Antony's College, Oxford University, United Kingdom, Head of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy’s Geopolitics and Global Futures Programme, Switzerland, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London, United Kingdom, Member of the Global Future Council on the Future of Complex Risks at the World Economic Forum, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).

In 2014, he was voted as one of the Top 30 most influential Neuroscientists in the world, in 2017, he was named amongst the Top 100 geostrategists in the World, and in 2022, he was named as one of the Top 50 influential researchers whose work could shape 21st-century politics and policy.

He is a Prize-winning scholar who has written 25 books and more than 250 articles. His research focuses on the interplay between: Analytic Neurophilosophy, Neuroscience, Geopolitics, Meta-Geopolitics, Symbiotic Realism, Multi-Sum Security, Cognitive and Physical Human Enhancement, Global Futures, Sustainable National and Global Security, Outer Space Security and Sustainability, Governance of Future Human Colonies in Outer Space, Statecraft, Cultural discourse and synergies, Collective Human Dignity, Collective Civilizational Sustainability, Cascading Frontier Risks, Disruptive technologies, International Relations, Public Policy, in Peace and War.

Julie Allard was appointed GCSP’s Deputy Director of Mediation and Peace Support in 2022. Prior to that, she served as a Strategic Projects Manager within the Director’s Office where she contributed to the development and implementation of the Centre’s strategy and supported its fundraising and outreach activities.

Prior to joining the GCSP, Julie worked for several organisations based in the Middle East in the field of Peace, Security and non-proliferation. Including implementation of EU’s CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative projects in the MENA region.

Julie holds a Master's degree in International Security from Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po Paris and a Bachelor in European Studies from King’s College, London.

Her native language is French, she is fluent in English and has basic knowledge of Italian and Arabic.

Anna Brach is Head of Human Security at the GCSP. Her work focuses on issues of the evolution of security concept, environmental and health security with special emphasis on the climate change and security nexus. Her research interests include human security, human rights, environmental security, climate change, global public commons and resource management. She is responsible for developing and running the GCSP activities on the subject of human security, including executive courses, workshops, and high-level conferences in Geneva and internationally. She is also the Director of the GCSP advanced course on New Issues in Security.

Anna holds a Master's degree in Economy from the Warsaw School of Economics, a Master’s degree in Political Science from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva and a Master’s degree in European Studies from the University of Geneva. 

Prior to joining the GCSP, she worked for the private sector at the PR Department of Nestlé Poland in Warsaw and at Academy&Finance in Geneva. Her native language is Polish and she is fluent in English and French.

Benno Bühlmann serves as the Head of the Integrated Risk Management and Civil Protection at GCSP.

With more than 30 years of experience, he has deep expertise spanning Leadership, Strategy, Change Management, Risk Management, Disaster Risk Reduction, Civil Protection, Critical Infrastructure Protection, Business Continuity Management, Secure Communication Systems, Crisis Management, CBRNe-Protection, Natural Hazards, Environmental Protection, Climate Change, and Sustainability.

Benno holds a Master’s in Chemical Engineering and a Master’s in Natural Science from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ).

From 2014 until 2020, he served as the Director General of the Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) in the Swiss Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS), also as a member of the board. The FOCP includes several branches such as Civil Protection, Spiez Laboratory, National Emergency Operations Centre, Training, and Telematics.

During this time, he served as Chairman of the National Emergency Operations Staff in Civil Protection of Switzerland and Chairman of the Intervention Natural Hazards Staff.

Furthermore, he was President of the Swiss National Commission for NBC-Protection.

In former times, he was CEO and owner of his company Bühlmann Project Management GmbH.

At the beginning of his career, Benno served as the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency of the Canton Uri, and in this function also as the Deputy Chairman of the Cantonal Emergency Operations Staff of the canton. Moreover, he was Chief of the Chemical Emergency Defence Department and Commander of a local fire brigade.

He is married, father of two daughters and grandfather to two grandsons.

Christian Bühlmann is Director, Centre Support and Development. He is seconded from the Swiss Armed Forces.

Prior to this assignment, he gained extensive experience in the area of defence policy, politics, and military strategy as Senior Advisor to the Chief of Swiss Armed Forces. He has over 30 years of combined civilian and military experience. His previous appointments include : Head of Sales Defense at a major Swiss company (as a civilian) as well as head of doctrine research and development (as a regular officer).

He has a PhD in political science from the University of Lausanne, a Master of Science from the École Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne (Ingénieur informaticien diplômé), and a Master of Arts in International Studies (King's College, London) after attending the Royal College of Defence Studies, London. Christian also graduated from the Swiss Military Academy.

Christian Bühlmann co-authored a book on Colonel Daniel Reichel, a maverick Swiss military thinker, and has published numerous article on doctrine, strategy, defence policy, and history.

He is a Swiss national; his mother tongue is French and he is proficient in German and English

Simon Cleobury is Head of Arms Control and Disarmament. He is a former British Deputy Disarmament Ambassador (2017 – 2023), where he represented the UK at the Conference on Disarmament and other disarmament fora in Geneva. Prior to that he worked in the Security Council Team and then the Peacebuilding Team at the UK Mission to the UN in New York (2012 – 2016). Prior to his diplomatic career, he was a corporate lawyer with global law firm Baker McKenzie. Simon obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Modern History at University College London and a Master’s Degree in Historical Research from Oxford University.  He studied law at BPP Law School, London.

Peter is Head of Leadership at GCSP and Co-Founder of the Geneva Leadership Alliance, a network of associates and partner organisations working together to advance the understanding and practice of leadership for the benefit of peace and security worldwide.

Peter has over 20 years of experience in leadership development, adult education, and executive coaching across private, public, and non-profit sectors. He is constantly seeking new, diverse, and innovative ways to bridge the study of leadership with the practice of leading, especially at international level and across cultural, geo-graphical, political and organisational divides. Leveraging his diverse experience and background, he creates safe spaces for learning and encourages brave spaces for application, enabling people to learn leadership mindsets and practices in transformative ways and adapt them to their own work and life.

Peter was born in England, grew up in The Netherlands, honed his early professional skills in Australia and Asia Pacific, and is currently based in Geneva, Switzerland. He works in English, French and Dutch.

Since August 2019, Colonel Dr Laurent Currit works for the GCSP as a seconded officer of the Swiss Armed Forces. He first served as a Senior Advisor for the Defence and Diplomacy Programme of the Centre and took the lead of the program at the beginning of 2022. Most of his activities consist in leading International Defence Attachés Courses and delivering lectures on Defence and Diplomacy all over the world.

Until July 2019, he served as Faculty Advisor at the NATO Defence College in Rome, Italy, and in charge of the Modular Short Courses (MSCs), the continued education programme for military and civilian officers working at NATO. Before being Head of Doctrine of the Swiss Armed Forces between 2012 and 2015, he has been since 2009 a Professor for Security Policy at the Georges C. Marshall Centre for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Prior to his work at the Marshall Centre, Col. Dr Currit was in Africa (Southern Sudan, 2008) as Head of a Swiss SSR Project Team working on the establishment of a military academy.

His professional military career began in 1995, just after he obtained his PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland but he continued to study and obtained a Master in Public Administration in 2005 (University of Lausanne) and a Certificate of High Studies in European Security in 2008 (University of Geneva and GCSP). He also obtained Certificates of Project Management and Public-Private Partnership from a German Management Institute (Düsseldorf) and is a graduate of the NATO Defence College, Senior Course 128 (2016).

Col. Dr Currit comes from the French-speaking part of Switzerland, is fluent in English and German and also speaks, reads and writes Russian and Italian at a lower level. He is married to Annemarie.

During his free time, Col. Dr Currit loves to travel, read, play music, program and is part of the internet software translation community. When he is not abroad, he also spends some time to take care of his garden and is active politically at cantonal level.

Since 2018, Dr Stephan Davidshofer has been working as Academic Advisor of the Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in International and European Security jointly run by the GCSP and the Global Studies Institute (GSI) of the University of Geneva. With a PhD from Sciences Po Paris, Stephan has been researching and teaching in the field of Critical Security Studies for the past fifteen years. Interested about the challenges raised by the management of today’s transnational security threats, he has contributed to several research projects investigating the evolving European security landscape from the Peace Research institute in Oslo and the University of Geneva. Stephan is also currently a lecturer at the University of Geneva's Global Studies institute. Dr. Davidshofer speaks French, English and Portuguese.

Paul Dziatkowiec was appointed Director of Mediation and Peace Support in 2021. Prior to that, for nearly a decade he served as Project Manager in various roles at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), an organisation that mediates between protagonists in armed conflicts.

At HD, Paul was involved in mediation efforts in diverse conflict settings including Nigeria, Myanmar, Thailand and most recently Ukraine, where he led HD’s efforts to help find a solution to the conflict in Donbas. He was also engaged in various regional and geopolitical dialogue initiatives.   

Also at HD, for five years Paul managed the Oslo Forum, the leading international mediation event that convenes peacemakers, world leaders (up to head of state level), peace process actors and conflict parties.

Paul had previously served in the Australian diplomatic service for over a decade. He was Australia’s Deputy Ambassador in Nairobi and, as Deputy and Acting Ambassador, covered a range of countries including Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi. Concurrently, he was Australia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Nairobi.

During his diplomatic career, Paul engaged in various multilateral negotiations at the UN, in Geneva, New York, and Nairobi, which included negotiating resolutions and delivering statements on behalf of Australia, on political, security, human rights, and environmental questions.

Previously Paul was posted to the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv, and acted periodically as Australian’s Representative to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, during the second intifada.

Paul has also represented the International Service for Human Rights in Geneva, and worked as a Human Rights Officer in the Australian Foreign Service, both during the formative years of the UN Human Rights Council. Earlier, after the signing of the Bougainville Peace Agreement he deployed as a Peace Monitor to Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, where he was involved in raising public awareness of the agreement, following up ceasefire violations, and arranging weapons disposal and community reconciliation processes.  

Paul has a Bachelor’s degree in International Business from Queensland University, as well as three Master’s degrees in International Law, International Relations, and International Policy Studies from the Australian National University, the University of New South Wales, and the University of Sydney respectively. He has written a number of articles and publications on various aspects of mediation, humanitarian and human rights issues.

Laura Elbaz is Deputy Director of Marketing and Communications. Laura joined the GCSP in March 2018, she worked as Junior Professional Officer and then Digital Marketing Officer. Together with the Marketing and Communications team, she is in charge of promoting and informing about the GCSP's services and activities. Prior to joining the GCSP, she worked for different private companies in Digital Marketing in Geneva, Paris, Grenoble, Miami and Shanghai.

Laura holds a Bachelor's degree in Information and Communication from IAE Savoie Mont Blanc and a Master's degree in Corporate Communications from Grenoble Alpes University.

Her mother tongue is French, she is fluent in English and has basic knowledge of Spanish. 

Ingrid Gázquez González, is the Leadership Portfolio Manager for the Geneva Leadership Alliance, a partnership that combines Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) expertise on peace, security and global governance with the leadership development expertise of the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL).

The mission of this Alliance is to advance the understanding, practice and positive impact of leading in public, private, non-profit organizations and civil society.

A lawyer by trade, Ingrid holds a Master’s Degree in Human Rights and International Adoption from the University of Barcelona and a second Master’s Degree in Communications and Marketing. She is currently pursuing an MBA with #ThePowerMBA.

As a certified Project Manager Professional (PMP), she honed her change management and educational expertise when founding her own NGO: Mundus. In its first 3 years, Mundus supported more than 1000 change makers to access "learning by doing" opportunities funded by the European Commission. Her entrepreneurial spirit has led her to engage with countless social enterprises and NGOs all around Europe confirming for her that community, government engagement and workforce development are essential enablers to make any social investment initiative successful.

Earlier in her carrier, she worked for Mondelez (former Kraft foods) coordinating operations for their third party verified sustainability cocoa initiative, Cocoa Life, a 400M$ holistic program implemented in cocoa farming communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America to boost farmer’s skills and improve their livelihoods, strengthen their communities and inspire the new generation of cocoa farmers to use their land sustainably.

In her previous role as Learning and Development Specialist at The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, she, together with Ministries of Health, designed and implemented capacity strengthening programs in more than 15 developing countries to improve the availability of medicines in the Global South. She’s passionate about shaping change through engaging with people and building their capabilities. Ingrid is behind the Engage-Design-Implement-Sustain (EDIS) Organizational Development Model, a process-driven approach to optimize workforce performance and improve commodity availability and health outcomes.

Ingrid is a Spanish national and her mother tongue is Spanish. She is fluent in Catalan and has an intermediate level of French and German.

Isabelle Gillet is the Head of Alumni & Community Engagement and leads, develops, and organizes the Centre’s community programmes in Geneva and abroad, including community-led projects. She aims to facilitate mutually beneficial and sustainable relationships between the GCSP and its alumni community.

Isabelle has joined the GCSP early 2008 and has held different positions throughout this period. She began at the Centre in the Protocol and Events department where she managed expert seminars, diplomatic dialogue, executive training workshops and major international conferences. In December 2013 she began working for the GCSP’s alumni development and introduced a new strategic plan and new technology to most effectively engage alumni in the life of the GCSP.

Prior to joining the GCSP, Isabelle worked for 14 years for Geneva Tourism & Convention Bureau, where she started to work in the Sales and Promotions department. As its Manager in the later years, she was in charge of a cross-cultural team to brand and develop the destination’s leisure tourism sector. Herself responsible for the Asian market, she established Geneva’s partnerships in the Far East and implemented commercial strategies and promotional projects with an active participation at sales meetings, workshops trade shows and other task forces to further drive business.

Isabelle has a large international background and has continually evolved in a multi-cultural environment. Isabelle is Swiss and lived and worked in the US, UK, India, the Middle East, and the Far East.

She is trilingual in English, French and German and holds a degree in international hotel business management.

Ambassador Thomas Greminger served as Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) from July 2017 until July 2020. On May 1, 2021, he took over as Executive Director of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP).

As Secretary General, he acted as an effective crisis manager supporting successive Chairmanships in an increasingly polarized environment. In the final months of his term, he dealt with the COVID-19 crisis, working to protect the health and safety of staff while ensuring that the OSCE continued to carry out its critical mandates and maintained business continuity.

Despite the highly polarized political climate, Ambassador Greminger promoted dialogue among the 57 OSCE participating States as one of his key priorities. He sparked informal discussions on emerging challenges and opportunities such as the importance of technology to all dimensions of security or the link between climate change and security.

He supported the OSCE in maintaining field presences to support participating States in implementing OSCE commitments, and preventing or managing conflicts – notably the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. He engaged in diplomatic efforts and supported those of various mediators addressing emerging and protracted conflicts in the OSCE area.

Ambassador Greminger promoted effective multilateralism by strengthening ties with the OSCE’s partners among international and regional organizations. He highlighted the OSCE’s contribution in helping participating States to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.

In his capacity as OSCE Chief Administrative Officer, Ambassador Greminger introduced a “fit for purpose” agenda focused on adapting the OSCE to changing realities and new opportunities against a background of limited and declining resources. This included a management review of the OSCE Secretariat that resulted in procedural and structural improvements, including by making the best use of technology. He also introduced an OSCE gender parity strategy and openly addressed sexual harassment and other challenges to creating a healthy and inclusive professional working environment. In view of his engagement, he was invited to join the International Gender Champions’ network.

Previously, Ambassador Greminger served as Deputy Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. As Head of South Cooperation, he oversaw cooperation with 21 partner countries and regions, entailing an annual budget of USD 730 million and 900 staff in Bern and abroad. In this function, he regularly represented Switzerland at international conferences as State Secretary.

From 2010 to 2015, Ambassador Greminger served as the Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the OSCE, the United Nations and the International Organizations in Vienna. He was instrumental in devising the consecutive chairmanships and joint work plan of Switzerland (2014) and Serbia (2015). During the Swiss Chairmanship, he chaired the OSCE Permanent Council and played an active role in addressing the crisis in and around Ukraine that rapidly unfolded during the course of 2014. For the first time in years, the OSCE managed to achieve consensus on new OSCE operations – the most important being the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine.

Ambassador Greminger was responsible for preparing the successful 2014 OSCE Ministerial Council in Basel, which yielded 21 consensus decisions and declarations. He chaired the OSCE Human Dimension Committee in 2011 and 2012. He introduced the structured agenda, substantive human dimension discussions as well as regular exchanges with OSCE institutions, field missions and UN mandate holders. As a member of the OSCE Troika, he chaired the OSCE Mediterranean Contact Group (2013) and the OSCE Asian Contact Group (2015).

Through his comprehensive expertise in security policy, Ambassador Greminger marked a number of important achievements in the OSCE: he contributed significantly to Ministerial Council Decision 3/11 on the conflict cycle, and the subsequent development of mediation and facilitation capacities in the OSCE Conflict Prevention Center.

During his term as Permanent Representative, Switzerland became the coordinator for the Vienna Document and introduced a number of modernization proposals. By strongly promoting partnership with the Geneva Centre for Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), he helped the OSCE Secretariat and field missions to build capacities in security sector governance and reform.

From 2004 to 2010, he served as Head of the Human Security Division of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The Division is the Department’s main competence center for peace, human rights and humanitarian and migration policy, with an annual budget of around USD 70 million and 100 staff in Bern and abroad. During his tenure, the division offered and supported facilitation and mediation services to more than half a dozen peace processes worldwide (including in the Middle East, Colombia, Nepal, Burundi, Uganda and Sudan) and launched a number of important diplomatic initiatives, including those which led to the creation of the UN Human Rights Council, the UN International Tracing Instrument for SALW, and the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development.

Ambassador Greminger also served as Deputy Head of the Human Security Division from 2002 to 2004, and from 1999 to 2001 as Country Director at the Swiss Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique, where he managed Switzerland’s largest development cooperation programme with an annual budget of around USD 30 million and staff.

From 1994 to 1998, he served in different posts in the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, including Head of the Policy and Research Unit.

Ambassador Greminger holds a PhD in history from the University of Zurich. He is Lieutenant Colonel GS (company and battalion commander of infantry unit of the Swiss Armed Forces; G6 and Deputy Chief of Staff of Infantry Brigade). He has authored numerous publications on military history, conflict management, peacekeeping, development and human rights. His mother tongue is German; he is fluent in English and French and has a good working knowledge of Portuguese. Ambassador Greminger was born in 1961 and has four daughters.

Ms Fleur Heyworth leads the GCSP's executive education, dialogue and policy analysis on gender and inclusive security.  Working closely with the GCSP's Leadership Alliance, she designs and facilitates courses on leadership for women, and for male and female leaders to create more inclusive working environments.  She also delivers modules on gender and inclusive security to the multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural participants on GCSP's core courses, incorporating the frameworks of the Women Peace and Security Agenda, and the Sustainable Development Goals to apply a ‘gender lens’ to security policy.  Fleur has published numerous policy analysis on topics ranging from gender, diversity and inclusion to women in mediation and has designed and facilitated customised courses for women mediator networks https://www.gcsp.ch/topics/gender-inclusive-security. 

Fleur also heads the International Gender Champions Secretariat (www.genderchampions.com), a global network of almost 300 leaders advancing gender equality, extending across six multilateral hubs, which is currently being incubated by the GCSP.  In this capacity, Fleur leads governance, partnerships, and the team responsible for programmatic and communications work, including the development of a new network wide pledge to speak up and stand up for zero tolerance of gender based violence, sexist attitudes and behaviour.  Fleur regularly facilitates and moderates in person, virtual and hybrid meetings.

Fleur began her professional career as a Barrister and spent 5 years advocating in court, representing government and private clients in family law proceedings in England and Wales.  In Geneva, she worked at the UK Mission to the UN where she represented the UK government in negotiations in International Humanitarian Law at the Red Cross Conference 2015, and on a range of thematic topics during three Human Rights Council sessions including sexual violence in conflict, disasters and emergencies, and on gender equality.  She also worked with NGOs during UPR sessions and drafted recommendations to CEDAW.  Fleur has a Geography Degree from Cambridge University, and took her post-graduate studies in law at Nottingham Law School.

Ms Annika Hilding Norberg is Head of GCSP Peace Operations and Peacebuilding executive education and training, policy applicably research and advise, dialogue and discussion. She currently focuses on Strengthening inclusive leadership for peace and security; The New Agenda for Peace; and the Future of UN peace operations, special political and peacebuilding missions. Annika serves on the Board of Directors of the International Leadership Association and on the Management Committee of the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform. 

Prior to joining the GCSP, she was the Founder and Director of the International Forum for the Challenges of Peace Operations (Challenges Forum) aimed at strengthening peace operations, a joint platform of then 22 countries, including the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council. Originating from when she served as President of the London School of Economics (LSE) International Relations Society, the Challenges Forum was founded in 1996 as part of her research studies at the LSE on comparative approaches to peace operations. She coordinated the Challenges Forum based at the LSE (1996-2000), the Swedish National Defence College (1997-2002) and the Folke Bernadotte Academy, an agency of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2003-2017). Annika served on the Board of Directors for the Peace Operations Training Institute (2010-2013).

Annika holds a Bachelor of Science in International Relations from the LSE, a Master of Arts in International Politics from the Free University of Brussels and studied languages at the Moscow State University and the Universidad del Pais Vasco. Ms Hilding Norberg is the main editor of some 80 Challenges Forum and other reports and policy briefs and has worked and/or studied in ten countries. In 2008, she was awarded the Silver Medal of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences for her contributions to strengthening UN peacekeeping.

UPCOMING IN 2023

• Results-Based Management Course UN Standing Police Capacity, co-organised with DCAF and Small Arms Survey, 27-31 March 2023 (Course Co-Director)
• Effectiveness of Peace Operations Network Study on United Truce Supervision Organization in cooperation with Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, 1 April-31 December 2023 (Project Team Leader)
• International Leadership Association (ILA) Leadership for Peace Community Webinar Conversations, Spring - December 2023 (Member, Board of Directors, ILA)
• New Issues in International Security - Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution and Sustainable Peace Course Week Module, 6-9 June 2023 (Module Leader)
• Global Peace Index 2023 Geneva Launch co-organised with the Institute of Economics and Peace, June 2023 (Lead at GCSP)
• Making the Difference in Peace, Security and Development – Results-Based Management and Beyond, co-organised with DCAF and Small Arms Survey, 26-30 June 2023 (Course Co-Director)
• Swiss Peacebuilding Training Course, co-organised with the Swiss Federal Department for Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and the Swiss Armed Forces, 27 August-8 September 2023 (Course Director)
• EU Pre-Deployment Course for Common Security and Defence Policy Missions and Operations, co-organised with the European Security and Defence College, 2-6 October 2023 (Course Co-Director)
• International Leadership Association Annual Conference 2023: Cultivating Leadership for a Thriving Future, 3-4 (online), 12-15 (Vancouver) October 2023 (Member, ILA Board of Directors)
• Geneva Peace Week 2023 co-organised with GPP, United Nations Office in Geneva and Swiss FDFA, 30 October-3 November 2023 (Member, Management Committee)
• Enhancing Leadership for Peacebuilding - Senior Level Peacebuilding Course, co-organised with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research and Swiss FDFA, November 2023 (Course Co-Director)
• UN Police Commanders Course co-organised with the UN Department of Peace Operations and the Swiss FDFA, 13-24 November 2023 (Lead at GCSP)
• Geneva Peace Week Meets New York co-organised with the Swiss FDFA and GPP, November-December 2023 (Member, Management Committee)

AGENDA 2024 – IN DEVELOPMENT

Programme development for 2024 in progress, including projects and Initiatives in support of Switzerland’s tenure on the UN Security Council and the New Agenda for Peace. For example, GCSP will co-organise the UN Senior Mission Leadership Course with the UN Department of Peace Operations, the Swiss FDFA and Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Spring 2024. The regular programme of courses and new projects and courses will continue in an augmented mode seeking to integrate findings and policy directions generated by the New Agenda for Peace process.

RECENT UNDERTAKINGS

• Geneva Consultations on the New Agenda for Peace, co-organised with the GPP, the Swiss FDFA, and the UN Department for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (UN DPPA), 16-17 March 2023 (Lead at GCSP)
• Swiss Peacebuilding Training Course (SPTC) 2023, co-organised with the Swiss FDFA and Swiss Armed Forces, 26 February-10 March 2023 (Course Director)
• Briefing by the High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism in cooperation with the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research and the GPP, 1 March 2023 (Lead at GCSP)
• Briefing by the UN DPPA on the New Agenda for Peace, co-organised with the GPP and UN DPPA, 18 January 2023 (Lead at GCSP)
• Leadership in International Security Course / Master’s in Advanced Studies in International and European Security, GCSP and University of Geneva – Prevention, Conflict Management and Sustainable Peace 2 Weeks Module, 16-27 January 2023 (Course Module Lead)
• International Leadership Association (ILA). In 2022, pioneered the ILA’s Women Leaders for Peace Fellowship Initiative with 11 outstanding women leaders contributing with 22 thought pieces and lectures, incl.:
  • Global leadership for peace operations and peacebuilding 2030: How Emerging Security Risks Will Challenge Leaders
  • Strengthening Women Leadership for Peace: What Principles of Leadership are Critical and Why?
• Geneva Security Debate, “A Crisis in Peacekeeping? What Room for Peace Operations in the New Agenda for Peace”, 11 November 2022 (Lead at GCSP)
• Geneva Peace Week, “Peace is Possible”, 31 October-4 November 2022. High-Level panel on “Making Peace Possible: What’s New on the New Agenda for Peace” organised by the GCSP (Member, Management Committee)
• Geneva Peace Week Round Table “Health Emergencies and the Humanitarian Sector: Lessons for Sustaining Peace in a Pandemic”, co-organised with the International Peace Institute and the GPP, 1 November 2022 (Lead at GCSP)
• Launch of the SIPRI Environment for Peace Report co-organised with SIPRI and the GPP, 28 October 2022 (Co-Lead at GCSP)
• Breakfast Briefing on Our Common Agenda and soft launch of the UN University Centre for Police Research (UNU-CPR) in Geneva, co-organised with UNU-CPR and GPP, 21 October 2022 (Lead at GCSP)
• UN Mission Advanced Staff Training Course, co-organised with the UN Departments of Peace Operation, Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and the Swiss FDFA, 10-18 October 2022 (Lead at GCSP)
• International Leadership Association Annual Conference 2022, 6-7 (Online) and 13-16 (Washington DC) October 2022 (Member, ILA Board of Directors)
• EU Pre-Deployment Course for Common Security and Defence Policy Missions and Operations, co-organised with the European Security and Defence College, 3-7 October 2022 (Course Co-Director)
• Joint meeting with the Afghan Women Leaders Forum (AWLF) on initiatives aimed at strengthening the role of Afghan women in processes concerning political and socioeconomic developments in Afghanistan, co-organised with AWLF, Crisis Management Initiative Martti Ahtisaari Foundation, GPP, the European Union and the Folke Bernadotte Academy, 13 Sepember 2022 (Lead at GCSP)
• Emerging Security Risks and Their Possible Responses to Build a Better Tomorrow, customised course for the Council of Ministers Secretariat of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 12-18 September 2022 (Course Director)
• Swiss Peacebuilding Training Course (SPTC) 2022, co-organised with the Swiss FDFA, Swiss Armed Forces and swisspeace, 28 August-9 September 2022 (Course Co-Director)

The GCSP Strengthening Peace Operations and Peacebuilding Initiative 2022-2024: Building Peace in a Turbulent World. The initiative was launched with a GCSP mission (February-March 2022) to engage with key stakeholders and interlocutors, peacebuilding and peace operations contributing countries, organisations and GCSP Alumni in Nairobi, Burundi, Somalia and Cameroon. The purpose of the mission was to enhance the understanding of the evolving nature of conflict and what international, national and local efforts to prevent, manage and resolve conflict can tell us about future needs and requirements. The mission also explored possible areas of cooperation and collaboration (Project Leader).

VIDEOS, PODCASTS, PUBLICATIONS and ARTICLES:

• Geneva Security Debate: The New Agenda for Peace: An Opportunity to Reshape Peace Operations
• Study on the Effectiveness of the United Nations Truce Supervision, Effectiveness of Peace Operations Network, forthcoming December 2023
• Geneva Security Debate: A Crisis in Peacekeeping - What Role for Peace Operations in the New Agenda for Peace?
• ILA Webinar: Strengthening Women Leadership for Peace – What Principles of Leadership are Critical and Why? 
• GCSP Webinar: The New Normal? Imagining UN Peace Operations 2030 
• GCSP Video: Leadership for Peace through Conflict Analysis, Resolution and Management
• GCSP News: Leadership for Peace through Conflict Analysis, Resolution and Management – Pilot Virtual Course Launched in Georgia
• GCSP Blog: GCSP Co-hosts 1st UNPOL Women Police Command Cadre Professional Development Webinar
• ILA Webinar: Leading at the Edge: Turning War Grief into Positive Leadership for Peace
• ILA Webinar: Adaptive Leadership for Sustaining Peace in a Turbulent, Pandemic World
• GPP Report: The White Paper on the Future of Environmental Peacebuilding

GCSP Webinar: COVID-19 and its Impact on UN Peace Operations

Mr David Horobin is Head of the Crisis Management at GCSP. He has more than 25 years operational experience in emergency and crisis management in natural and conflict related contexts in both field and HQ functions.  

As Head of Crisis Management his main tasks are designing, researching and delivering contemporary crisis management courses for decision makers, leaders, researchers and specialists in the government, humanitarian and corporate sectors. 

From 2010- 2017, he held the position of Head of Crisis Management and Security at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) providing policy, training and operational support for 18,000 ICRC staff in 80 countries for all emergency and security related incidents.

From 2006- 2010, he was Head of the Rapid Deployment Unit at the ICRC. He designed, staffed and managed ICRC’s emergency response and surge capacity capability incorporating ICRC’s technical and managerial support internally and through Red Cross/Crescent networks consisting of 190 National Societies with 24 hours deployable expertise and ERU teams.

From 2003-2006, Mr Horobin was Director of the Operations Team (CHASE-OT) at the UK’s Governments Department for International Development (DFID). He lead the UK’s emergency response to major international emergencies and managed a team of 45 experts in technical, operational and advisory roles. During this time he chaired the International Humanitarian Partnership (IHP) and was appointed EU High Level coordinator for Hurricane Katrina. 

Throughout his career, he developed first hand operational experience in natural and complex emergencies; Angola, Ethiopia, Rwanda, DRC, Philippines, Timor, Balkans, Iran, Afghanistan, Liberia, Japan, Asian Tsunami  and global emergencies such as Ebola, H1N1 and NRBC events. Additionally, he was responsible for  high level policy and operational coordination with UN, RCRC, governments and commercial operators.

A logistician by profession he is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics (FCILT), and recently appointed Fellow and Advisory Board Member of the Institute of Strategic Risk Management (ISRM); he holds an MSc in Transport Engineering from Imperial College, London and a BSc in Social Science. He has attained accredited Senior People, Leadership and Management (PLM-CS), Ashridge, UK (2007-2010), and certified EU High Level Coordinator (EU DG ENV-2006). Mr Horobin has advanced kidnap and crisis management training. 

Gazmend was previously a doctoral student in Cyberspace Operations at the Swedish Defence University. Additionally, he was Director of Intelligence on Cyber-related issues in the Swedish Armed Forces. Prior to that, he was Head of the United Nation's Intelligence Cell in a mission area for several years. He is a military Veteran, with more than five years of duty in conflict and post-conflict areas including two tours to the Balkans and one in Central Asia. He holds a two-year Master of Science in Security & Risk Management from the University of Leicester, and a two-year Master of Science in Information Security from Stockholm University.

In addition, he is a graduate from the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education program on Cybersecurity: The Intersection of Policy and Technology, and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy European Training Course (ETC). In 2014, he was awarded the best idea answering to EEAS Deputy Secretary General thread on the EU as a security provider. He has also academic training from Cranfield University, University of St. Andrews, the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and professional training from the UN Department of Safety and Security (DSS). He was Chair of Research & Development at ISACA Swedish Chapter and is a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM).

Ambassador Jean-David Levitte is an Associate Fellow within the Global Fellowship Initiative of the GCSP. Today a member of the Institut de France, Jean-David Levitte has had a distinguished and outstanding career in the French Foreign Service, serving on the staff of three French Presidents and holding key senior positions in the French Foreign Service.

From 2007 to 2012, Ambassador Levitte was the Senior Diplomatic Adviser and Sherpa of President Sarkozy.

He served as Ambassador to the United States, from 2003 to 2007 during the difficult period of the war in Iraq.

From 2000 to 2002, he was the French Ambassador to the United Nations. In New York, Ambassador Levitte successfully handled several international negotiations, including resolution 1441 on Iraq.

Ambassador Levitte served as Senior Diplomatic Adviser and Sherpa of President Chirac from 1995 to 2000.
From 1990, he held senior positions in the French Foreign Ministry, first as Assistant Secretary for Asia and then as Undersecretary for Cultural and Scientific Cooperation.

In 1988, he was designated to his first position as Ambassador and served as the French Ambassador to the United Nations Office in Geneva.

Before 1988 Mr. Levitte was assigned as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Foreign Minister ; Deputy Assistant Secretary in the African Bureau ; Second Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations in New York.

Mr. Levitte joined the Foreign Service in 1970. He was first posted in Hong Kong and Beijing in the early 1970's. A few months after his election in 1974, President Valery Giscard d'Estaing asked him to work on his staff at the Elysee Palace, where he stayed from 1975 to 1981.

Born in 1946 in the south of France, Ambassador Levitte earned a law degree and is a graduate of Sciences-Po (the renowned Institute for Political Science in Paris) and of the National School of Oriental Languages, where he studied Chinese and Indonesian.

Ambassador Levitte is married to Marie-Cécile Jonas and has two daughters and three grandchildren.

Linda Maduz is Programme Manager, Asia at the GCSP. As a member of the centre’s Diplomatic Dialogue department, she is responsible for GCSP activities that facilitate dialogue between conflict parties in Asia. The aim of these activities is to inform and support actors engaged in track 1+2 diplomacy to develop creative solutions in addressing security challenges, defusing tensions, and building trust and confidence. Linda Maduz previously worked as Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich. She received her doctorate in Political Science from the University of Zurich, having previously completed a licentiate degree in International Relations at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. Her policy and research work has focused on security and foreign policymaking in East and Southeast Asia and the dynamics of political change within the regional states. She speaks German, English, and French.

Dr Siobhán is Deputy Director of Executive Education and Head of Advanced Course Development. Dr Siobhán Martin joined the GCSP in 2006, and her primary focus is on curriculum design, course development and delivery, in addition to outreach and research activities. She is currently the Director of the 8-month Leadership in International Security Course (LISC) and Co-Director of the Master of Advanced Studies in International and European Security (MAS), jointly run by the GCSP and the Global Studies Institute of the University of Geneva. She is also responsible for the development of GCSP’s Advanced Course series including the LISC, the European Security Course (ESC) and the New Issues in Security Course (NISC) as well as acting as Deputy to the GCSP’s Head of Executive Education. Siobhán has a PhD in International Relations/Political Science from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. Her research interests focus on strategic intelligence, international cooperation, ethics, leadership issues, and transnational threats. She also holds a Master's Degree in International Relations as well as a Joint Bachelor's Degree in English and History from the University College Cork (UCC), Ireland. Prior to joining the GCSP, she held a number of positions in the private sector. Her native language is English, and she also speaks French.

Select Publications

“Spying in a Transparent World”, reprinted as Chapter 20 in Cyber Ethics 4.0: Serving Humanity With Values, edited by Christoph Stükelberger/Pavan Duggal, Globethics.net Global Series No. 17, 2018

“Secret Friends: Intelligence Cooperation and Counterterrorism” (with Carl Ungerer), in Intelligence and the Function of Government, edited by D. Baldino & R. Crawley, Melbourne University Publishers, 2018

“Spying in a Transparent World: Ethics and Intelligence in the 21st Century”, GCSP Geneva Paper – Research Series No. 19, November 2016

Ms Alexandra Matas is the Director of International Security Dialogue at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. 

Her work focuses on analysis of key developments and emerging issues in International Security, and on providing policy advice to the Director of the Centre. She also designs, and oversees, a number of dialogue processes in Geneva, and internationally, focused on relations between Russia and the West, European Security,  OSCE conflict prevention mechanisms, reforms and post-war reconstruction in Syria, as well as others. From November 2022 Ms Matas was appointed as a Steering Committee member of the OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions. 

Her research interests include European Security, the OSCE, and the relationships between Russia and other Eurasian countries. Given her expertise, she is a regular contributor to international conferences and workshops, and teaches a series of modules at the GCSP on courses such as the European Security Course (ESC), the Leadership in International Security Course (LISC), and the Swiss Military Professional Officers Training (SPOT) course, amongst others.

Previously, Ms Matas was the Deputy Head of the Diplomatic Dialogue at the GCSP, whose aim it is to promote inclusive dialogue on current geopolitical issues, and act as a supporting body to existing peace processes.

She also headed the Effective Governance cluster, where she directed executive education programmes in both English, and French, for State officials from various countries including Myanmar, Tunisia, Iraq, and Cameroon, amongst others.

Ms Matas joined the GCSP in January 2011. Prior to joining the Centre, she worked at the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) on Foreign Direct Investments promotion. She also has experience working in the private sector for Crédit Suisse, in their Trade Finance department.

Ms Matas holds a License and a Master’s in International Affairs from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID), in Geneva. She is a fluent Russian, English, and French speaker, and has intermediate proficiency in German.

Emily Munro heads the work on strategic anticipation and contributes to research & policy advice at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). In this role Emily leads projects and contributes to courses, in particular in the area of strategic foresight and international security. She works with governments and organisations around the world to foster more forward-thinking approaches to peace and security. She is the series editor of the GCSP’s In Focus publication. She also has experience on initiatives seeking to foster dialogue on emerging issues, in particular in Asia and the Middle East. She is a term facilitator and module responsible in the eight-month Leadership in International Security Course (LISC) and directs an annual short course on strategic foresight. She was the Course Director of the two-month New Issues in Security Course from 2017 to 2019.

Emily has been with the GCSP since 2003, in functions related to partnership development and governance issues, training and academic affairs, and courses and projects on peacebuilding and new issues in security.

She has previous professional experience at the International Organization for Migration (Geneva), the Global Forum for Health Research (Geneva) and the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC, Canada).

Emily Munro holds a master’s degree in International Relations from the Graduate Institute in Geneva and a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Political Science from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Emily is a Canadian and Swiss citizen and she speaks English (native language) and French.

Publications

• “Strengthening Prevention with Better Anticipation: COVID-19 and Beyond”, Strategic Security Analysis, GCSP, Geneva, March 2020.
• Security in a World without Nuclear Weapons: Visions and Challenges, (co-editor, with David Atwood), GCSP, Geneva, December 2013.
• Multidimensional and Integrated Peace Operations: Trends and Challenges, Geneva Paper 1 (Conference Series), Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and GCSP, Geneva, January 2008.
• “Natural Disasters, Globalization, and the Implications for Global Security”, in Policy Briefs on the Transnational Aspects of Security and Stability, edited by Nayef R.F. Al-Rodhan, pp. 149-162, Zurich, LIT Verlag, 2007.
• Challenges to Neutral and Non-Aligned Countries in Europe and Beyond, (editor), GCSP, Geneva, 2005.

Mr Niko Orell is the Senior Crisis Management Advisor at Geneva Centre for Security Policy. Previously, he worked as Military and Security Policy Adviser for EU Common Security and Defence Policy and Crisis Management in Permanent Representation of Finland to the EU in Brussels. Niko is an accomplished military leader, fighter pilot and combat veteran with over 25 years operational experience in security and defense management within a military and diplomatic context in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He speaks Finnish, English, and French.

He has an impressive track record of advising the EU Political and Security Committee, as well as the EU and NATO Military Committees, on Crisis Management. Niko has been part of EU-level working groups to draw up the EU Crisis Management Concepts and Mission Plans, and has planned, staffed, and implemented EU operations in Europe, Africa, and the Indo-Pacific region. In addition, he has also advised on conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction.

In 2013, Mr. Orell was awarded a defense medal by the German Defense Minister for his outstanding merits in the NATO-led ISAF operation in Afghanistan. He has worked in the United Nations (MINUSMA) for the Sahel region, conducting training with troops from Burkina Faso, Mali, Liberia, Egypt, and Côte d’Ivoire. In 2020 Niko was involved in starting the EU's crisis management operation in Mozambique.

As a Lt Col (GS), (Finnish Air Force, retired) Mr Orell is an accomplished military leader who has held various positions of responsibility throughout his career. From 2016-19, he was Commander of the Regional Air Operations Center in eastern boarder of Finland, where he managed a team of 150 specialists, operators, and technical staff. His unit was responsible for air surveillance and execution of air defense. Between 2012-16, Mr. Orell worked at Finnish National Defense University as Principal Lecturer and led the Staff Officer Course, specializing in Operational Arts, Strategy and Warfare. He was responsible for designing and delivering courses for military officers and civil servants from Finland and abroad, emphasizing the importance of cooperation and inter-agency coordination in crisis management. He has experience as a lecturer of operational planning, situational awareness, decision making, aviation and aerial warfare.

Niko holds a Master's degree in Military Science and was awarded academic recognition for his Postgraduate Research paper discussing situational awareness and information management in uncertainty during military operations. He participated in the Senior Staff Officer course in 2010-11 at National Defense University and has a minor in pedagogical sciences from The University of Helsinki. He has also published articles on the topics of crisis management, leadership, and situational awareness, and has been invited as a speaker to numerous conferences and workshops on these subjects. Mr. Orell has received several awards and commendations throughout his career for his outstanding service and dedication to crisis management and security.

We are delighted to count Niko Orell among our Experts here at GCSP.

Christina Orisich is the Deputy Executive Director of the GCSP, an international foundation, with the mission to promote peace, security and international cooperation though executive education, diplomatic dialogue and policy advice. She is also Director of Executive education, and as such responsible for defining the strategy of the executive education activities of the GCSP, making it one of the leading organisations in international security policy education.

Putting particular emphasis on learning innovation and the neuroscience behind adult education, her leadership during the pandemic has ensured state of the art design and delivery of courses in face to face, virtual, and hybrid formats. Under her leadership, the GCSP has steadily increased its partnerships for highly customized education offerings, its global footprint as well as its impact across the globe.

Prior to joining the GCSP, Ms. Orisich lead the Leadership Development and Coaching Department, for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) – Europe.  She developed important strategic partnerships with global corporations from the Pharma, Health Care, Chemical, Automotive and Financial Services industry as well as with international organisations providing advice around their organizational, talent and leadership development challenges.

Before this, Christina worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC Consulting) in Brussels and London leading EU financed projects in Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Romania in the public and private sector in areas such as telecoms, oil and gas, restructuring. Etc… Ms. Orisich also worked at the European Commission in Brussels, Ericsson in Vienna and the Austrian Trade Commission in New York City.

Ms.Orisich brings an extensive international experience in executive education to the GCSP, as well as expertise in consulting, change management, strategy, leadership, organizational & leadership development and now also in international security policy. She has a very good understanding of the international security policy context as well as of the challenges leaders face in this complex and ever-changing world both in the private and public sector, as well as government, international organisations and NGOs. She is also a very experienced certified facilitator, executive coach, and speaker.

She holds a degree in International Business Administration from the University of Economics and Business Administration in Vienna, Austria. She earned her postgraduate degree in European political Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. She is certified by the International Coaching Federation. She has lived and worked in 13 countries and speaks 8 languages.

Anne-Caroline is the Director of the GCSP’s Global Fellowship Initiative and Creative Spark. Anne-Caroline joined the GCSP in September 2003 and has held different positions throughout this time. She spent a number of years working with the Director of Special Programmes on diplomatic activities and training courses abroad. She then worked with the External Relations Team and, as its Manager, was in charge of the Centre’s external communications - GCSP website, media relations and publications. She later joined the Emerging Security Challenges Programme as a Senior Programme Officer responsible for the Security and Law activities of the Centre. Since 2015, Anne-Caroline coordinates the GCSP Global Fellowship Initiative and currently also heads the development of the Creative Spark.

She holds a Master’s Degree (LL.M.) in International Humanitarian Law, jointly awarded by the Law Faculty of the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International Studies (HEI). She studied Law at Pierre Mendes France, University of Grenoble (France), and after her Maîtrise with specialisation in European Law, she obtained a Diploma from their European Summer Academy on "Europe in Transition".

Prior to her employment at the GCSP, she worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Athens (Greece), and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) in Geneva.

Anne-Caroline speaks English, French, Greek, Spanish, Italian and German.

Dr Jean-Marc Rickli is the Head of Global and Emerging Risks at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) in Geneva, Switzerland. He is the co-chair of the NATO Partnership for Peace Consortium emerging security challenges working group and a senior advisor for the AI (Artificial Intelligence) Initiative at the Future Society. He is also a member of The IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems and represents the GCSP in the United Nations in the framework of the Governmental Group of Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS). He is a member of the advisory board of Tech4Trust, the first Swiss startup acceleration program in the field of digital trust and cybersecurity. In 2020, he was nominated as one of the 100 most influential French-speaking Swiss by the Swiss newspaper Le Temps. Prior to these appointments, Dr Rickli was an assistant professor at the Department of Defence Studies of King’s College London. Dr Rickli received his PhD and MPhil in International Relations from Oxford University, UK, where he was also a Berrow scholar at Lincoln College. His latest book published by Georgetown University Press is entitled Surrogate Warfare: The Transformation of War in the Twenty-first Century. He has lived and worked in Europe, USA, Middle East and China.

Colonel (GS) Markus Schneider has been seconded to the GCSP from the German Armed Forces in June 2020.

Prior to joining the GCSP, Col Schneider supervised the Logistics department (G4) of the Rapid Forces Division in Stadtallendorf, one of the three divisions of the army which is responsible for Special Forces, Airborne operations and Army helicopters. In the field of logistics, he was also company and battalion commander in the Army and in the Joint Support Service.         
Col Schneider held an instructor and lecturer position for logistics at the Joint Operations department of the German Armed Forces Command and Staff College in Hamburg and was department head for logistics at battalion and brigade levels.

Col Schneider spent three years at the Ministry of Defence in Berlin and worked in the department for arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation issues, most importantly in relation with the CFE Treaty, SALW and Iranian nuclear policy. He was later appointed Assistant Section Chief to the Permanent Representation of the German Armed Forces to NATO and the EU Military Committee in Brussels, dealing with EU Plans & Policy and EU Operations.         
From 2016 to 2017 he took part in the 44th course of the Israeli National Defence College in Tel Aviv.           
In addition, he served twice in military operations, 2008 KFOR as battalion commander and 2018/19 as Head of the German Armed Forces in Iraq (OIR, CBI).

Col Schneider started his career in the supply and transport units of the Army and studied Economics and Organisational Sciences at the Bundeswehr University in Munich (Dipl.-Kfm., WOW). He successfully graduated from the German Armed Forces Command and Staff College in Hamburg (Army's 43rd General Staff Course) and earned a M.A. in Political Science from the University of Haifa.            
He received the Bronze and Silver Cross of Honour of the Bundeswehr and was decorated with the Non-Article 5 NATO Medal – KFOR and the German Bronze Medal for Foreign Duty for his services with KFOR and Operation Inherent Resolve -Capacity Building Iraq.

He speaks fluent German and English and has basic knowledge in French and Spanish.