Interdependence Summit 2020

Paul Adamson is chairman of Forum Europe and founder and editor of Encompass, an online magazine dedicated to covering the European Union and Europe’s place in the world.

Paul is a member of the Centre for European Reform’s advisory board and Rand Europe’s Council of Advisors. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Policy Institute, King’s College London, a patron of the University Association of Contemporary European Studies (UACES) and a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences.

In 2012, Paul was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) “for services to promoting understanding of the European Union” and in 2016 he was made a Chevalier in the Ordre national du Mérite by the French government.

Margaritis Schinas (1962, GR) holds an MSc on Public Administration and Public Policy from the London School of Economics, a Diploma of Advanced European Studies on European Administrative Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges and a Degree in Law from the Aristotelean University of Thessaloniki.

Mr. Schinas has worked for the European Commission since 1990 in various positions of responsibility mainly in the private offices of Commissioners.

Mr. Schinas was elected Member of the European Parliament in September 2007. Upon the completion of his parliamentary term of office, Mr. Schinas returned to the Commission and as of February 2010 was appointed by President Barroso as Deputy Head of the Bureau of European Policy Advisers.

Mr. Schinas later served as Resident Director and Head of the Athens Office of DG ECFIN.

As of 1.11.2014, President Juncker appointed Mr. Schinas Chief European Commission Spokesperson.

As of 1.12.2019, he has been appointed Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of promoting our European Way of Life.

TWITTER: Margaritis Schinas (@MargSchinas)

Dr Heather Grabbe is Director of the Open Society European Policy Institute, Brussels. She is a political scientist and advocate for democratic pluralism and open societies. She is ranked among the “women who shape Brussels” by Politico, gave a TED talk on the importance of critical thinking and mindful engagement with post-truth politics, and writes on how climate and technology are affecting the quality of democracy, and economic and social justice. From 2004-2009 she was Senior Advisor to then European Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn, responsible for EU policy on the Balkans and Turkey. Previously she was Deputy Director of the Centre for European Reform, and did academic research at the European University Institute (Florence), Chatham House (London), Oxford and Birmingham universities, and teaching at the London School of Economics. Her most recent publications are Climate Politics in a Fragmented Europe (with Stefan Lehne, Carnegie Europe, 2019) and Refocus the EU: Planet, Lifetime, Technology (report of the European Reformists, 2019).

Kelly Beaver is the Managing Director of Ipsos MORI’s Public Affairs business in the United Kingdom. She is responsible for a team of c.250 staff located throughout the UK including in London, Manchester Belfast, and Edinburgh. Her team provides robust research and analysis to help clients across every area of government policy to monitor and understand public opinion, behaviours and societal trends, design public services and policies, and to determine what works in achieving social and economic policy objectives. Kelly holds several honorary positions outside of Ipsos. These include a Senior Research Fellowship at the Kings Policy Institute, and a Board Member for the Campaign for Social Sciences in the UK, and a Trustee for the Early Intervention Foundation. Kelly was a Director of the UK Evaluation Society between 2011 and 2017.
@KellyIpsosMORI

Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska is a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform. Agata works on the EU institutional architecture, EU decision making process, differentiated integration, on Polish European policy and the UK’s relationship with the EU.

She has participated in numerous collaborative projects funded by i.a. International Visegrad Fund, the European Commission, as well as by Norway grants. Agata is also a core member of the Reshaping European Democracy project – an initiative of Carnegie’s Democracy and Rule of Law Program and Carnegie Europe.
Before joining the CER, Agata worked as a senior research fellow at the Polish Institute of International Affairs in Warsaw where she dealt with EU institutional affairs. Prior that Agata worked for international law firm in Warsaw. She holds masters degrees in law and international relations, both obtained at Warsaw University.

Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska can be followed on twitter at @AgataGostynska

Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen is the Director-General of the Directorate-General for Communication in the European Commission. She took up this position on 16 March 2019, after having served as Deputy Secretary-General and Chief Operating Officer since March 2018. Prior to that, she was Director in the Commission’s Directorate-General for Communication, in charge of the Commission’s Representations in the Member States.

Between 2009 and 2014 she was Chief Spokeswoman of the European Commission; and Deputy Spokeswoman of the European Commission from 2004 until 2009 under former Commission President Barroso, also in charge of Planning and Coordination of the Spokespersons’ Service (SPP).

She began her career in political communication as Environment Spokeswoman in 1999 (Commissioner Margot Wallström), having previously held positions in the Commission’s departments for Industry (1995-97) and Information, Communication and Culture (1997-99). Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen was a Schuman Scholar at the European Parliament (1989-90). She studied Business Administration and Modern Languages at the Copenhagen Business School and Political Science at the Institut d’études Politiques de Paris, specialising in intercultural communication and European identity.

Patrick Costello is currently Head of the Democracy and Electoral Observation Division of the European External Action Service (EEAS). He has been an EU official for 22 years working in the European Parliament, European Commission and EEAS and has served in a number of Cabinets including those of Chris Patten, Vice-President Margot Wallström (as deputy Head of Cabinet), EP President Josep Borrell (as diplomatic adviser) and Karmenu Vella (as Head of Cabinet). Other jobs have included EEAS head of division for the Middle East and deputy to the Chair of the Political and Security Committee. Prior to joining the European Insitutions, he worked for the UN in Haiti (MICIVIH) and as an electoral observer in South Africa (UNOMSA) and he started his career as a human rights campaigner on Central America.

As Managing Director for EU Affairs and Head of Facebook’s Brussels office, Thomas Myrup Kristensen is responsible for Facebook’s representation towards the European Institutions. Before returning to Brussels, Thomas spent the last few years representing Facebook in a number of member states as well as countries outside the EU as Director Public Policy, Nordics, Central & Eastern Europe and Russia. Before coming to Facebook in 2011, Thomas spent several years in Brussels working for Microsoft and before that he was a special adviser in the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Thomas’ career in tech stems from a life-long passion for how tech can both improve human interactions and shape society. A bit of a techie himself, he also owns a growing collection of outdated gadgets.

Susan Ness is a former commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission and the founder of Susan Ness Strategies, a communications policy consulting firm.  She serves on the board of directors of TEGNA (NYSE TGNA), formerly known as Gannett Co Inc., a broadcast and multi-platform media company where she chairs its Public Policy and Regulation Committee and serves on its Nominating and Governance Committee.  She previously served on the board of two other publicly-traded companies.  Ms. Ness also is a board member of Vital Voices Global Partnership, an NGO that invests in women’s leadership worldwide.

Ms. Ness is a distinguished fellow at both the German Marshall Fund and the Annenberg Public Policy Center (University of Pennsylvania), where she leads a Transatlantic High-Level Working Group to address hate speech, violent extremism and disinformation online while protecting freedom of expression. Previously, she was a senior fellow at the SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations (Johns Hopkins University), and convened the annual Global Conference on Women in the Boardroom.

Commissioner Ness served on the US Federal Communications Commission from 1994 to 2001, playing a leading role on spectrum policy, competition and new technologies. She chaired the Federal State Joint Board on Universal Service After completing her FCC service, she taught domestic and international communications policy at the Annenberg School for Communications (University of Pennsylvania).

Ms. Ness has an M.B.A. in finance from the Wharton School, Graduate Division, and a Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School.

John Frank is Microsoft’s Vice President, EU Government Affairs. In this role, John leads Microsoft’s government affairs teams in Brussels and European national capitals on EU issues.

John was previously Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Chief of Staff for Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith based at Microsoft’s corporate headquarters in Redmond Washington. In this role, he managed several teams including the Law Enforcement and National Security team, the Industry Affairs group, Corporate, Competition Law and Privacy Compliance teams and the department’s technology and business operations team.

For his first eight years at Microsoft, John was based at Microsoft’s European headquarters in Paris. Initially he was responsible for the legal and regulatory issues involved in the launch of the Microsoft Network (now MSN). From 1996 to 2002, Mr. Frank led Microsoft’s Legal and Corporate Affairs group for Europe, Middle East and Africa focusing on issues including privacy, security, consumer protection and antitrust. Mr. Frank began the company’s European Government Affairs program, which focused on advocacy on software and online policy issues.

Prior to joining Microsoft, John Frank practiced law in San Francisco with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Mr. Frank received his A.B. degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and his J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Daniel Michaels is the European Aerospace and Aviation Editor of The Wall Street Journal, based in Brussels. He writes about and oversees coverage of airlines, aviation and aerospace industries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He has been covering these industries since 1999. He also frequently writes aheds, about almost any subject.

From 1993 to 1999, Daniel covered Central & Eastern Europe for the WSJ, based in Warsaw, focusing on business, politics and society. He previously worked as a management consultant on privatization in Poland and Russia. Before that, he was a management consultant with Booz, Allen & Hamilton in New York City, working across a range of industries in the U.S. and Canada.

Daniel is a graduate of Princeton University, where he studied China and East Asia. He speaks French, Polish and rusty Mandarin Chinese.

A biography will appear here shortly.

Duncan Robinson is the political correspondent at The Economist. Before joining the newspaper, he worked at the Financial Times as its Brussels correspondent. He started at FT in 2011 as a graduate trainee, with stints covering European equities along with the retail and leisure sectors.

Professional Experience:
• Current: Head of Cabinet of Commissioner Phil Hogan.
European Commissioner for Agriculture and rural Development
• 09/2013 to 09/2014: Head of Press, European Commission Representation Dublin.
• 02/2011 to 06/2013: Member of Cabinet of VP Kroes. Responsible for relations with the EP, Council and stakeholders, international matters, communications and a range of non-portfolio subjects such as trade, external relations, transport and taxation.
• 09/2010-02/02/2011: DG RELEX/EEAS – EP relations.
• 03/2009-06/2010: Press Secretary to Lord Mandelson (when he was UK business Secretary, after he left the European Commission). Co-led a press team of 40 press officers in a major UK government department with a budget of £22bn.
• 09/2005-02/2009: European Commission Spokesman for Trade. (Commissioner Mandelson to 10/2008, then Commissioner Ashton to 02/2009).
• 11/2004-08/2005: Handled relations with the European Parliament in the Cabinet of European Commissioner Peter Mandelson – Trade.
• 01/2001-10/2004: Handled EP relations, including relations with the EPP Group, in the Cabinet of European Commissioner Chris Patten, Responsible for External Relations.
• 1995-2000: Secretariat General (Relations with the European Parliament – covering the work of several different Committees).
• 1990-1994: Worked as Parliamentary Assistant to TJ Maher MEP, Irish Member of the Agriculture and Regional Policy Committees in the EP.
• 09/1989-03/1990: Trainee in Directorate General for Consumer Policy.
Education:
• Secondary education 1980-85 – Cistercian College, Roscrea.
• University of Limerick. 1985-89. BA in European Studies (law, politics and history).
• Université Libre de Bruxelles 1992-93 – International Relations.

Professional Experience:
• Current: Head of Cabinet of Commissioner Phil Hogan.
European Commissioner for Agriculture and rural Development
• 09/2013 to 09/2014: Head of Press, European Commission Representation Dublin.
• 02/2011 to 06/2013: Member of Cabinet of VP Kroes. Responsible for relations with the EP, Council and stakeholders, international matters, communications and a range of non-portfolio subjects such as trade, external relations, transport and taxation.
• 09/2010-02/02/2011: DG RELEX/EEAS – EP relations.
• 03/2009-06/2010: Press Secretary to Lord Mandelson (when he was UK business Secretary, after he left the European Commission). Co-led a press team of 40 press officers in a major UK government department with a budget of £22bn.
• 09/2005-02/2009: European Commission Spokesman for Trade. (Commissioner Mandelson to 10/2008, then Commissioner Ashton to 02/2009).
• 11/2004-08/2005: Handled relations with the European Parliament in the Cabinet of European Commissioner Peter Mandelson – Trade.
• 01/2001-10/2004: Handled EP relations, including relations with the EPP Group, in the Cabinet of European Commissioner Chris Patten, Responsible for External Relations.
• 1995-2000: Secretariat General (Relations with the European Parliament – covering the work of several different Committees).
• 1990-1994: Worked as Parliamentary Assistant to TJ Maher MEP, Irish Member of the Agriculture and Regional Policy Committees in the EP.
• 09/1989-03/1990: Trainee in Directorate General for Consumer Policy.
Education:
• Secondary education 1980-85 – Cistercian College, Roscrea.
• University of Limerick. 1985-89. BA in European Studies (law, politics and history).
• Université Libre de Bruxelles 1992-93 – International Relations.

Sam is a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform. He is a member of the British government’s Strategic Trade Advisory Group (2019-). He is also a visiting research fellow at The Policy Institute, Kings College London and a co-founder of the UK Trade Forum. He works on trade issues, with a focus on Brexit, customs and regulatory barriers, and trade in services.

He regularly briefs businesses, government officials, politicians and European institutions, including Parliamentary select committees and the European Central Bank. Sam often appears in the media, including the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, The Financial Times, The Times, Politico, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal and Sky News.

Sam Lowe can be followed on twitter at @SamuelMarcLowe

Alan Beattie is the European leader writer for the Financial Times. Based in Brussels, he comments on a wide range of issues, focusing on economics and trade.

Léa Auffret is Senior Trade Policy Officer and Trade Team Leader at BEUC, the European Consumer Organisation.

BEUC represents 45 independent national consumer associations from 32 European countries. The primary task of BEUC is to act as a strong consumer voice in Brussels and to try to ensure that consumer interests are given their proper weight in all EU policies.

Within BEUC, Léa follows the EU developments around consumer rights in the trade context. She leads the Trade Team coordinating BEUC’s policies in the area of free trade agreements and related topics.

Lea holds a Masters  degree in International Affairs with a specialization on International Trade from Le Havre University in France and a Masters degree in European Politics and Administration from the College of Europe in Bruges. Prior to joining BEUC, Léa acquired experience in France, Latin America and Brussels.

Jean-Luc Demarty was formerly Director-General for Trade in the European Commission from January 2011 – 2019.

The common commercial policy is one of the most important policies of the European Union, of which it is an exclusive competence.
As such, the Directorate-General for TRADE (“DG TRADE”) is responsible for negotiating, implementing and enforcing bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral trade agreements on goods, services, investments, public procurement and intellectual property, among others.

DG TRADE is also responsible for preparing and implementing trade legislation, including trade defense measures, such as anti-dumping.
The main on-going negotiations include: multilateral negotiations in the WTO; bilateral negotiations towards a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the United States (TTIP), as well as free-trade agreements with Japan, and several ASEAN countries; and also plurilateral negotiations on services (TISA) and environmental goods.

Prior to joining DG TRADE, Jean-Luc Demarty was Director-General in charge of Agriculture and Rural Development (“DG AGRI”), in the European Commission (2005-2010). He previously held several senior management functions in DG AGRI and in the Directorate-General for Research.

Emma Navarro has been a Vice President of the European Investment Bank since June 2018. Ms. Navarro is a member of the EIB’s Management Committee, which draws up the Bank’s financial and lending policies, oversees its day-to-day business, and takes collective responsibility for the Bank’s performance. She is responsible for financing operations in Spain, Portugal, Latin America, the Caribbean States and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria.She is also responsible for financing the environment, climate action, circular economy, the EIB Institute and relations with national promotional institutions and the European Association of Long-Term Investors (ELTI).

Before joining the EIB, Ms. Navarro was General Secretary of the Treasury and Financial Policy in Spain and Member of the Bank of Spain Governing Council and Board Member of the Spanish National Securities Market Commission. Prior to this, she had been President of Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO), Director of the Office of the Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry and Competitiveness and advisor at the International Monetary Fund. Previously, Ms. Navarro held various positions in the public sector in Spain.

In 2005, Ms. Navarro became “State Economist and Trade Expert” of the Spanish Administration. She holds a degree in Law, a master’s degree in EU law from CEU San Pablo University and a joint postgraduate degree in EU law and economics from Madrid’s Complutense University and the Sorbonne in Paris.

Paul Adamson is chairman of Forum Europe and founder and editor of Encompass, an online magazine dedicated to covering the European Union and Europe’s place in the world.

Paul is a member of the Centre for European Reform’s advisory board and Rand Europe’s Council of Advisors. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Policy Institute, King’s College London, a patron of the University Association of Contemporary European Studies (UACES) and a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences.

In 2012, Paul was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) “for services to promoting understanding of the European Union” and in 2016 he was made a Chevalier in the Ordre national du Mérite by the French government.

Saul joined T&E in 2019, bringing a passion for e-mobility and 15 years’ experience in supply chains and transport. He leads campaigns to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles with a focus on corporate fleets, sustainable batteries and charging infrastructure. He is already an established online campaigner through his YouTube channel and social media networks, raising awareness on transport emissions and promoting technology disruption in mobility.

Saul is from Madrid, Spain, where he studied political science and international relations. He has lived in Belgium, Luxembourg, the UK, Algeria, Norway and currently resides in France. As well as his native Spanish, Saul speaks French and English, and claims to know Italian but, in truth, it sounds more like Itañol. He likes scuba diving and never misses an opportunity to go on a diving trip.

He joined E3G in May 2019 from Ofwat, the water regulator for England and Wales, where he was Director of Strategy. Prior to that, he was Chief Economist for the English Environment Agency. He has also worked for the National Grid Company and the UK Department of Environment.

Ronan has broad experience in regulation, economic and environmental, and in infrastructure and climate adaptation. He sits on advisory panels for the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, Sussex Energy Group and Twenty65, among others.

He is passionate about inclusion and disability rights. He also love languages, speaking Irish and French, and has been known to dip occasionally into Spanish and German.

Paul Adamson is chairman of Forum Europe and founder and editor of Encompass, an online magazine dedicated to covering the European Union and Europe’s place in the world.

Paul is a member of the Centre for European Reform’s advisory board and Rand Europe’s Council of Advisors. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Policy Institute, King’s College London, a patron of the University Association of Contemporary European Studies (UACES) and a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences.

In 2012, Paul was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) “for services to promoting understanding of the European Union” and in 2016 he was made a Chevalier in the Ordre national du Mérite by the French government.

Astrid Ladefoged is Head of Unit for Sustainable Development Goals, Green Finances & Economic Analysis within DG Environment at the European Commission. Her unit works on developing environmental strategy through the implementation of the European Green Deal and providing input for future orientations. The unit promotes implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the EU and globally and ensures co-ordination of environmental issues in G7/G20 and OECD processes. It is in charge of better regulation and economic analysis. It drives the integration of environment and resource efficiency considerations into other EU policies, with special focus on energy policy, promotion of market based instruments. It contributes to the promotion of green jobs and skills and promotes investments for green economy solutions and greening the financial system.

Ms Ladefoged has more than 20 years of professional experience working on the EU’s green policies including at national level in a ministry, at European level in a think-tank and finally for more than 15 years in the European Commission in DG Climate Action and DG Environment and in the cabinet of former Commissioner Vella.

Katrina Williams is the UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the European Union, leading on issues ranging from agriculture, environment and energy to the digital single market and space. Katrina was Director General, International and Growth in the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) from December 2016-April 2017. Prior to this she was Director General for International, Science and Resilience in the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and then in BEIS.

Before joining DECC, Katrina was Director General for Strategy, Evidence and Customers in the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), advising ministers on the department’s strategic focus and overseeing all its international and EU work. From 2008 to 2012 she was Director General for Food and Farming in Defra, having joined the department as a director covering a range of animal health policies.

From 2003 to 2006 she was Deputy Head of the European Secretariat in the Cabinet Office, co-ordinating Whitehall policy and advising the Prime Minister on European matters in the run-up to and during the UK’s 2005 Presidency of the EU. She has had a range of roles in the Department of Trade and Industry, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Cabinet Office as well as the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and DEFRA and has twice previously served in the UK’s Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels.

As Vice-President in charge of EU Government Affairs at Schneider Electric, Bertrand Deprez is heading the Group’s liaison office to the EU institutions. Bertrand is working in the strategy division of Schneider Electric where he is in charge of developing public affairs strategy for the group at EU level. He is currently holding responsibilities in several associations and groups related to the EU.
Prior to that, Bertrand worked several years at Edelman/The Centre a well-known PR/PA agency specialised in EU affairs. Bertrand graduated at University Lyon 3 (France) and the London School of Economics and Political Science (UK). He lives in Brussels.