Oana Lungescu is Distinguished Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and Senior Adviser at the European Policy Centre (EPC). The longest serving NATO Spokesperson (2010-2023) and the first woman to hold the post, she directed alliance communications during the most turbulent period in a generation, providing strategic advice to two Secretaries General – Jens Stoltenberg and Anders Fogh Rasmussen. She was responsible for NATO’s public messaging and chief speechwriter, playing a key role in NATO’s approach to Russia and China, the accession of Finland and Sweden, and operations from the Western Balkans to Afghanistan. She was awarded a NATO Meritorious Service Medal in 2023. She joined NATO after 25 years at the BBC World Service, where she covered EU and NATO affairs.

Richard Weitz is Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at Hudson Institute. His current research focuses on relations with Russia and China along with other international security challenges. Dr. Weitz is a graduate of Harvard University (Ph.D. in Political Science), Oxford University (M.Phil. in Politics), the London School of Economics (M.Sc. in International Relations), and Harvard College (B.A. with Highest Honors in Government), where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Before joining Hudson in 2005, Dr. Weitz worked for several other academic and professional research institutions and the U.S. Department of Defense, where he received an Award for Excellence from Office of the Secretary of Defense. He is proficient in Russian, French, and German. Dr. Weitz has authored or edited several books, monographs, and reports, including “Strengthening International Cooperation in Managing China-Related Proliferation Challenges” (2023); The New China-Russia Alignment: Critical Challenges to U.S. Security (2022); “Countering Emerging Russian and Chinese Hypersonic Threats” (2021); Assessing the Collective Security Treaty Organization (2018); Promoting U.S.-Indian Defense Cooperation (2017); Enhancing the Georgia-US Security Partnership (2016); Parsing Chinese-Russian Military Exercises (2015); China and Afghanistan After the NATO Withdrawal (2015); Reforming U.S. Export Controls Reforms (2015); Turkey’s New Regional Security Role: Implications for the United States (2014); Rebuilding American Military Power in the Pacific (2013); Global Security Watch—China (2013); War and Governance: International Security in a Changing World Order (2011); The Russian Military Today and Tomorrow (2010); Global Security Watch—Russia (2009); China-Russia Security Relations (2008); Mismanaging Mayhem: How Washington Responds to Crisis (2008); The Reserve Policies of Nations (2007); and Revitalising U.S.–Russian Security Cooperation: Practical Measures (2005); and two volumes of National Security Case Studies (Project on National Security Reform, 2012 and 2008). He has also been interviewed or quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, Time Magazine, Sunday Express, The Yomiuri Shimbun, Science Magazine, La Stampa, and other prominent newspapers and magazines.

Dr. Paul van Hooft is a Research Leader at Defense and Security for RAND Europe, and leads RAND Europe’s Deterrence Initiative. He has previously led programs related to Strategic Stability, Europe in the Indo-Pacific region, and the Future of Transatlantic Relations at the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. His primary research focuses on American/EU Grand Strategy, Nuclear Deterrence and Extended Deterrence, Alliance Politics, and Military Innovation, with a specific focus on how the transatlantic alliance can adapt to a changing global security environment.

Van Hooft earned a PhD from the University of Amsterdam in Political Science/International Relations. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Security Studies Program at MIT, as a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow, and at the European University Institute, as a Max Weber Fellow. He has numerous publications and top academic journals such as the Journal of Strategic Studies; Security Studies; International Politics, and War on the Rocks.

Lluc Vidal López is a Professor at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and Director of its Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations. He also serves as co-Principal Investigator of the research group on International Relations and International Law (GERD), contributing actively to the study of global political dynamics and governance.

His research focuses on international security, cooperation and conflict in the Asia-Pacific region, with particular expertise on Japan’s foreign policy and China’s regional influence. He has also received the Merit Award from the Consul General of Japan in Barcelona (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan). With a strong academic background and an international outlook, he brings analytical depth and strategic perspective to his role as a judge in academic debate.

Mr. Zach Carwile serves as the Associate Director for Security and Counterintelligence at The Texas A&M University System (A&M System) Research and Innovation Security and Competitiveness (RISC) Institute. The RISC Institute develops partnerships with higher education institutions and diversifies the scope of innovative solutions by collaborating with industry and government research security expertise.

Prior to helping establish the RISC Institute in 2023, Zach served as the Deputy Chief Research Security Officer, primarily focused on the protection of the integrity of the A&M System research enterprise, including sensitive U.S. Government sponsored research. Zach retired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2021, after serving in the Dallas, Washington D.C., and Bryan/College Station areas.

Zach has committed his professional life in support of U.S. National Security interests for almost 30 years by serving in leadership roles in the U.S. Army and FBI. He has stayed on the cutting edge of threat intelligence to protect intellectual property, research, and facilities across the nation. He has developed trusted partnerships with leaders in academia, industry, and government to protect institutions and their valuable human, physical, and intellectual resources.

Among his many awards and commendations, he is most proud of receiving the FBI Director’s Award for Outstanding Counterintelligence Investigation and the FBI Medal of Excellence.

Hanna Smith was appointed as the Senior Strategic Advisor to the Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), based in Vienna, Austria. She previously served as Director of Research and Analysis at the Hybrid CoE, where she spent five years leading research on Russia and hybrid threats, leveraging her expertise and academic networks to support the Centre’s mission.

Recognized as one of the leading experts on Russia in Finland, Hanna played a key role in shaping the Hybrid CoE’s research agenda, where she provided innovative insights and policy-relevant analysis. In her current role at the OSCE, she advises on strategic security challenges facing Europe and Eurasia, drawing on her deep experience in hybrid threats, regional security, and EU–OSCE cooperation.

Carme Colomina Salo is a Senior Research Fellow on the European Union, Disinformation, and Global Politics at CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs). She also serves as an editor and member of the editorial board. She is a visiting professor at the College of Europe in Belgium, teaching Communications Management in the European Union.

She has worked as Brussels correspondent and Head of International Affairs at Catalunya Ràdio and ARA newspaper, a prominent newspaper in Barcelona which covers dozens of international summits and political conflicts. She remains a frequent contributor to various media outlets as an analyst of European current affairs. Before joining CIDOB, she worked as a consultant on communication projects in the European and Euro-Mediterranean sphere and served as Head of Interregional Cooperation in the Foreign Affairs Department of the Catalan Government.