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2021 Consortium

Dr. Anita Abbott, APSI Forum, New Zealand

Dr. Anita Abbott is the chair of APSI Forum committee, and adjunct professor at Charisma University. She was a research fellow at NATO Defence College. She regularly contributes to publications and is invited nationally and internationally for research projects and speaking engagements. Her research areas include strategic foresight analysis and future warfare. She has published more than 40 articles. Her first book develops education sovereignty model in international negotiation. In her second book, published by Palgrave MacMillan, she uses Indonesia and several countries as examples of how negotiation works for maintaining sovereignty in education.

Chris Penk

First elected to Parliament in 2017, as successor to Sir John Key in that seat, Chris is enjoying being part of National’s strong caucus that’s holding the government to account.  A key focus is providing great representation for his electorate Kaipara Ki Mahurangi, which includes advocating for constituents and lobbying Ministers on various local issues.

Within the National Caucus, Chris holds the role of Shadow Attorney General and is the Spokesperson for Defence, Courts, Veterans and Electoral Law Reform.

After completing his secondary education at Kelston Boys High School, Chris studied at Auckland University, gaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1999 and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree in 2009.

He had joined the Royal New Zealand Navy in 2000, which included serving as an officer of the watch on the HMNZS Te Kaha. He also worked at Government House as aide-de-camp to the Governor-General in 2003. Later, Chris joined the Australian Defence Force and fulfilled his dream of serving in submarines, being appointed navigating officer of HMAS Sheean in 2006, and finally was stationed in the Northern Arabian Gulf in late 2007.

Chris returned to New Zealand in 2008 where he completed his legal training. This culminated in his admission to the bar in 2010 and working as staff solicitor in Auckland. In late 2015 he established his own firm, leaving Ong & Penk Lawyers behind in late 2017 to enter Parliament.

He is a husband, father and dog owner, and lives towards the south of the Kaipara Ki Mahurangi electorate in the Waitakere area.

Claire Chia-Chi Chin

Work
First Secretary,
 
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in NZ Wellington, New Zealand 2020-now
 
 Senior officer, Department of Policy Planning Ministry of Foreign Affairs Taipei, Taiwan
 2018-2020
 
Section Chief, Bureau of Consular Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs Taipei, Taiwan
2016-2018
 
Representative assistant, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vietnam                                    
Hanoi, Vietnam 2008-2016
 
Desk Officer, Department of NGO affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Taipei, Taiwan 2008-2011
                                       
                                              
Education
MSc in International strategy & diplomacy, LSE, London, UK
M.A. in Anthropology, National Tsing-Hua University, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
B.A in Psychology, Kaohsiung Medical College, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Colonel Yosuke Ota, Japan Army Attaché – Japan

Colonel Yosuke Ota is a Japan Army Attaché officer. He is to commence his current role as the Army Attaché to Australia in July of 2021. Colonel Ota is also accredited to Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga. He also serves concurrently as the Defence & Army Attaché to PNG.

As a field artillery officer, Colonel Ota has had several postings at the 12th field artillery unit. Then, he has led a battery as 2nd battery commander of the 13th field artillery unit. One of Colonel Ota’s key postings was as the chief of the training section at G3 in the 13th Brigade. Another key posting was to the staff of the bilateral, Japan and US, operation section of J3 in the Joint Staff Office. Colonel Ota also had experience as an instructor at Training Evaluation Research and development Command (TERCOM).

Colonel Ota has studied at the National Defence Academy of Japan, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in science engineering (2002). He has also completed the Captains’ Career Course at the field artillery school in the US (2010). He has studied at the Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force Command and Staff Course (2012) and graduated from the Australian Command Staff College with a Master of Military and Defence Studies from the Australian National University (2019).

Hunter Stires

Hunter Stires is a Fellow with the John B. Hattendorf Center for Maritime Historical Research at the U.S. Naval War College and is a Strategy and Policy Professional at Cydecor supporting the OPNAV N522 Navy Warfare Group. His area of inquiry centers on strategy and logistics in the Western Pacific and maritime irregular warfare. Mr. Stires has been recognized twice in the U.S. Naval Institute’s General Prize Essay Contest.  His 1st prize winning entry is published as “The South China Sea Needs a ‘COIN’ Toss” in the May 2019 issue of Proceedings alongside a companion piece, “Why We Defend Free Seas,” and his 2nd prize entry, “Win Without Fighting,” is published in the June 2020 issue.  His related article, “’They Were Playing Chicken:’ The U.S. Asiatic Fleet’s Gray-Zone Deterrence Campaign against Japan, 1937-40,” is featured in the Summer 2019 issue of the Naval War College Review. His most recent Proceedings piece,  “Littoral Combat Ships for Maritime COIN,” coauthored with Captain Dan Straub, Ph.D, is published in the January 2021 issue. Mr. Stires is a graduate of Columbia University. Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Cydecor, Inc., U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

Rodger Baker

Rodger Baker is Senior Vice President for Strategic Analysis for Stratfor, a RANE company. He has spent more than two decades with Stratfor focused on the Indo-Pacific region, with special attention to China and the Korean Peninsula. He addresses the strategic dynamics of an evolving world system, looking at great power competition, the role of middle powers, and the impacts of technological, environmental, and demographic changes on geopolitical relationships. His core emphasis is the multidisciplinary approach to geopolitics and the evolution of international relations to develop mid-and long-term forecasts to assist companies, governments, and other globally engaged organizations make informed decisions. Mr. Baker is a Senior Fellow at the George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations, a Steering Fellow for the Mackinder Forum, and teaches a certificate program in Geopolitical Analysis at Florida Atlantic University.

Major General Ravi Arora

Maj Gen Ravi Arora is the chief editor of Indian Military  and CEO of IMR Media, which organises defence events and publishes military books.

Gen Ravi Arora commanded 12 Infantry Division in India's desert sector and India’s only amphibious brigade in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. He was Head of the Red Forces (Wargaming) Branch of the Army Training Command, before he took voluntary retirement.
Gen Arora has been a senior instructor at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington (India), Director in the Perspective Planning Directorate, Army HQ and Secretary Joint Operations Planning Committee in the Ministry of Defence.
He has served as a peacekeeper with the United Nations in Iran and attended an year long Army Staff Course in the UK, besides another year-long Higher Command course at the Army War College Mhow (India).

Lieutenant Colonel John W. Black, Regional Affairs Officer United States Marine Corps

Lieutenant Colonel (LtCol) Black is an Infantry and Regional Affairs Officer in the United States Marine Corps. He has served in the Marine Corps for more than 24 years. As an Infantry Officer, he has commanded at the platoon, company, and battalion levels. He has served in OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM, OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM – AFGHANISTAN, and has completed two deployments with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit – Special Operations Capable (MEU SOC) in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.As a Regional Affairs Officer, he has served as a Country Director for Marine activities in Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific Islands, and Timor Leste, and as the Office of Defense Cooperation Chief at the American Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand.LtCol Black holds a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. He is a graduate of Harvard's Program of Leadership Development. He is currently serving as the Marine Corps' National Security Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Security Studies Program for Academic Year 2020-2021. He will promote to Colonel in Fiscal Year 2021.  LtCol Black's awards include the Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, U.S. Department of State Meritorious Honor Award, a Commendation from the Chief of the Australian Army, and the German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency (Gold).LtCol Black is married to Dr. Aime Black, former Education Advisor at the American Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand.  She is currently an Evaluation Specialist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) John H. Glenn Research Center.  She leads several evaluation studies, including a program-level evaluation study of the NASA Minority University Research and Education Program (MUREP), one of four Congressionally-funded programs that NASA manages. 

Major General (Ret) Gert-Johannes Hagemann, APSI Center of Excellence

Major General Gert-Johannes Hagemann retired as active military September 2020, after having served almost 43 years as a Paratrooper and Infantryman in the German Army. He joined APSI Forum in 2020.

Between 2016 and 2020 he was the Deputy Commander of Headquarters Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ RRC-FR) in Lille, France. Created in 2005, HQ RRC-FR is a French NATO certified headquarters able to command a national or multinational force of between 15,000 and 60,000 personnel. With around 450 military coming from fifteen different nations, HQ RRC-FR is stationed within a 17th-century citadel also known as the Queen of the Citadels, designed by the famous French Field Marshal Vauban. Reactive, flexible and ‘open to the world’, HQ RRC-FR is a purpose-built organization, designed to handle the complexity of military operations of the early twenty-first century.
Prior to his appointment as Deputy Commander of NATO’s HQ RRC-FR, Major General (Ret) Hagemann was Commander of the Infantry School and the Infantry Training Center in Hammelburg, Germany and the General and Director of the German Infantry, Paratrooper and Mountain Infantry. From 2011 to 2013 he was the twelfth Commander of the German-French Brigade in Müllheim, after having served as the German Regional Commander of NATO’s Training Mission Afghanistan 2010 to 2011.
His operational experience and theatre expertise covers additionally the Balkans, Iraq, Somalia, Lebanon, Djibouti, Chad, Central African Republic and Mali. 
Major General (Ret) Hagemann is decorated with various German, Belgian, U.S., French and NATO medals and was made a member of the French Légion d’Honneur. His fellowships include associations in Norway and Switzerland.
His academic expertise stretches from University studies (graduation in macroeconomics and business management, summa cum laude) to post-graduate studies and courses in Germany and Belgium, covering a wide array of topics in Military Affairs, Defence and Security, Politics, History and Social Science. 

Anthony A. Spadaro Sergeant Major (Retired), USMC. Former Command Senior Enlisted Leader, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

Anthony Spadaro is a retired United States Marine Corps senior noncommissioned officer (Sergeant Major) who retired from the United States Marine Corps in 2020 after a distinguished 35-year military career. During his service, Anthony served at the most senior levels for the Marine Corps and Department of Defense. He culminated his service to our Nation as the Command Senior Enlisted Leader for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the largest geographic combatant command with 380,000 uniformed (Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines),and civilian members along with 36 partner nations.  In this role, he provided the commander with the enlisted perspective on theater security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies, and deterring aggression throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, he was responsible for mentoring senior enlisted leaders at four component commands, and coordinating with command joint directorates and senior enlisted members on matters pertaining to the command’s mission, vision, core values, commander’s intent, enlisted utilization, and professional development.

Hailing from New Brunswick, New Jersey, Anthony enlisted in the Marine Corps on 3 April 1985, and attended recruit training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina.
His operational assignments (Fleet Marine Force) included: Artillery Fire Direction Controllman and Artillery Nuclear Projectileman, Battery R, 5/11; Assistant Operations Chief, Battery G, 3/12; Intel Analyst/Chief, 11th Marines S-2; Regiment/Area Guard Chief; Regimental Meteorological Chief, 11th Marines; HQ Battery Platoon Sergeant; 11th Marines, Regimental Survey Chief, 11th Marines; Battery First Sergeant, Battery B, 1/12, Sergeant Major, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165, Sergeant Major, Aviation Combat Element, 15th MEU, Sergeant Major, Marine Aircraft Group-16.
His supporting establishment tours included: Watchstander, American Embassy Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire; Assistant Detachment Commander, and Detachment Commander, American Embassy Gaborone, Botswana; Drill Instructor, Senior Drill Instructor, Chief Drill Instructor, Company I, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego; Instructor, Drill Instructor School, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego; Company First Sergeant, Special Training Company, MCRD San Diego; Company First Sergeant, Company C, First Recruit Training Battalion, MCRD San Diego; Sergeant Major, First Recruit Training Battalion, MCRD, San Diego.
Combat Tours and deployments include, Desert Shield/Storm with Battery G, 3d Battalion, 12th Marines (attached to Battalion Landing Team, 3/1); two Unit Deployment Programs (UDP) to Okinawa (with Battery B, 1st Battalion, 12th Marines); Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) (with the Aviation Combat Element of the15th Marine Expeditionary Unit) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), with the Aviation Combat Element, Regional Command Southwest, First Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).
At the General Officer/Flag Officer Level, SgtMaj Spadaro served with: 3d Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward); the Aviation Combat Element, Regional Command Southwest, First Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward); the Third Marine Aircraft Wing; Marine Forces Reserve/Marine Forces North; and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
Sergeant Major Spadaro’s military education encompasses all levels of Professional Military Education courses: NCO Academy, SNCO Career Course, SNCO Advance Course, First Sergeant’s Course, Expeditionary Warfare School (by extension), Command and Staff College (by extension), Navy Senior Enlisted Academy, the Senior Enlisted Professional Military Education Course, the Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education Course, the Keystone Fellows Course (National Defense University), the Asian-Pacific Orientation Course and the Asia-Pacific Senior Executive Course, (Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies).  SgtMaj Spadaro holds a Bachelor of Science Degree (Summa Cum Laude), from Rutgers University in Labor and Management.  He is currently enrolled in the John F. Kennedy School, Harvard University (completing a Masters Degree in Public Policy).  SgtMaj Spadaro served as a Senior Mentor for the Keystone Course, (National Defense University) and the Regional Leadership Development Program – Pacific, (United States Army Pacific).
SgtMaj Spadaro’s significant awards and decorations include: the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (with Gold Star), the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (with Gold Star), the Air Medal (with strike numeral “3”), the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (with three Gold Stars), the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Army Achievement Medal the Combat Action Ribbon, and Naval Aircrewman Insignia. He was inducted into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara in 1996.
Though recently retired from the Marine Corps, Anthony’s next chapter has him serving as a consultant and strategist with the following companies/organizations: The Robert Irvine Foundation, Beaver Fit USA, and Bravo Sierra, Additionally, he serves on the advisory boards for: Emory Healthcare, Veterans Program, FourBlock.org, FitOps and the Youth Impact Program. Furthermore, he is the Vice President for Training, 5th Principle LLC; a leadership coach with the Resilience Building Leader Program and an Adjunct Faculty member with the Marine Corps University. Anthony owns his own consulting firm, Gravitas Leadership Solutions, LLC. He continues to focus his attention on empowering and assisting military members, veterans, and their families.
Anthony and his wife, Kathryn reside in Honolulu.

COL MARCELINO XIMENES (RIZAI)

I am Colonel Marcelino Ximenes, and I was born on the 5th of May 1970 in a village called Loidua, Buibau, in the town of Baucau in the East of Dili. In 2001 I joined the Army, and after completing Officer Cadet School in Aileu District, I was promoted to Captain. In Jun 2001-2005 I was posted to Metinaro Training Center. In December 2005, I was promoted to Major and became the Operational Commander in the Metinaro Training Center Headquarters.

In September 2008 to April 2009 I studied English Language for Adults at Charles Darwin University and then completed basic military training with Nor Force in Darwin for six months. Following this, in 2009 I returned to the Defence International Training Centre for Australian Defence College preparation and in 2010 I attended the Australian Command and Staff Course (ACSC) in Canberra and graduated from ACSC in December 2010.

In 2011 I was assigned as the Second Component Commander and Director of Training at the Metinaro Training Center for new recruits and in same year, 2011to 2012, I was assigned to the Component Commander in Metinaro Training Center. In 2012 I was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and in May of that year I was assigned as Aide de Comp to the East Timorese President of the Republic His Excellency Mr Taur Matan Ruak until August 2014. In 2014 I returned to the Defence International Training Centre for Defence Strategic Studies Course preparation and in 2015 I attended the Defence and Strategic Studies Course in Canberra Australia and graduated from CDSS in December 2015. In 2016 to 2019 I assigned as Land Component Commander in Lanud Baucau.

In 2016 I attended Advanced Security Coooperation Course and in same year I also attended Transnational Security Cooperation Course in Honolulu – Hawaii – United States America.  In 2017 I attended Asia Pacific Program for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO) Course in Singapore. In the same year 2017 I also attended International Symposium Course at Defense University of PLA, Shanghai-China. In 2018 I attended Asia Pacific Intelligence Chiefs Conference in Kathmandu Nepal and in 2019 I attended Tempest Express 34 Planning Staff workshop in Nadi Fiji. In 2018 I also attended Postgraduate in Strategic Studies and National Resilience at National Defence Institute of Timor-Leste, I also Element of the Defense Planning Office (Force 2020) 2018 to May 2021. I was promoted to Colonel in 2020 and functions as Chief of the Cabinet of the CDF F-FDTL in 2020 to May 2021 and now I am Defence Attache Timor-Leste to Australia.

I attended Primary and Secondary school during the time of Indonesian rule. After completing my education I joined the guerilla fighter resistance group in the jungle until 1999. I am married to Alina Margarida da Costa, and we have five children, three girls and two boys. My hobbies are basketball, soccer, and volleyball.

Major General Karsten Stoye

Major General Karsten Stoye assumed his position as Chief of Staff at NATO’s Headquarters Allied Air Command at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on 1 March 2019 after his previous assignment as Deputy Chief of Staff Operations at NATO’s Headquarters Allied Air Command.

After studying economics and administrative science at the University of the German Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg, General Stoye has served in various operational and staff positions.As a senior operations officer and command pilot in the Tactical Reconnaissance Wing 51 ‘Immelmann’, he contributed from 1995 to 1996 to the United Nations and NATO missions during the conflict in the Former Yugoslavia. In 1998 he graduated from the Command and General Staff Officer Course at the Federal Armed Forces Command and Staff College in Hamburg.

Until 2000, General Stoye served as a Branch Chief at the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre 4 (CAOC 4) in Messstetten, Germany, where he was responsible for training and exercises. In 1999 he contributed to the NATO Operation in Kosovo as Chief Air Task Order Planner at the Balkan CAOC in Vicenza. From 2000 to the end of 2003, he was Commander of the Flying Group of Fighter Bomber Wing 31 “Boelcke” in Nörvenich. The following year, he was assigned to the German Ministry of Defence as Assistant Branch Chief at the Air Staff, responsible for concepts and requirements for Air Force Operations. After a follow-on assignment at the Air Force Command from 2005 to 2006, he served at the Ministry of Defence as Military Assistant to the Parliamentary State Secretary. At the end of 2007, he assumed command of the Tactical Reconnaissance Wing 51 “Immelmann” in Schleswig, Northern Germany until 2010. During this time he was appointed as Base Commander at the Operation Wing Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan for operations under NATO International Security Assistance Force from 2008 to 2009. As Base Commander and command pilot, he was responsible for all flying operations of the Reconnaissance Tornados, the Transall C-160 transport aircraft and the CH-53 helicopters as well as for the entire force protection and combat support operations.

Next, General Stoye went through two assignments at the Ministry of Defence, first as Branch Chief responsible for Concepts and Requirements for Air Force Operations (in 2011), and subsequently as Branch Chief, Department of Defence Plans & Policy (in 2012), where he was responsible for the capability management of information, surveillance and reconnaissance affairs of the DEU Armed Forces.

From 2013 until 2015 he was the Deputy Commander at NATO’s Deployable Air Command and Control Centre in Poggio Renatico, Italy. General Stoye had been the Commander of the NATO E-3A Component in Geilenkirchen, Germany, from 2015 until 2018, where he led an international military and civilian staff, representing 16 NATO nations which provide an airborne early warning, command and control and battle management capability in support of NATO commanders.
General Stoye has flown more than 3,000 flying hours primarily on the TORNADO weapon system, including more than 70 operational missions.
Major Awards and Decorations
Gold Cross of Honour of the Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr Foreign Duty Medal UNPF
Bundeswehr Foreign Duty Medal IFOR
Bundeswehr Foreign Duty Medal SFOR
Bundeswehr Foreign Duty Medal ISAF
NATO Medal for the former Yugoslavia
NATO Non-Article 5 Medal for ISAF
NATO Meritorious Service Medal
Knight of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy
Spinoza Medal of the German War Graves Commission
Effective dates of Promotion
Second Lieutenant 1986
First Lieutenant 1989
Captain 1992
Major 1996
Lieutenant Colonel 2000
Colonel 2008
Brigadier General 2013
Major General 2019

Robert Dresen

Robert Dresen is a policy planning advisor in the Office of the Secretary General at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. As part of the Policy Planning Unit, he prepares strategic advice and policy options on current and future challenges and opportunities for NATO, with a mid- to long-term perspective. For example, he has recently contributed to the development of NATO’s new policy on climate change and security and to the Secretary General’s NATO 2030 recommendations that were endorsed at the 2021 Brussels NATO Summit. Mr. Dresen is seconded to NATO from the Dutch Foreign Service, where he started his diplomatic career in 2004. He has served, inter alia, at the Dutch embassies in Pakistan and in the United States, head of the Task Force on the MH17 airplane downing, policy coordinator in the Task Force for the Dutch membership in the UN Security Council, and team leader for policy regarding Russia and Eastern Europe. Mr. Dresen holds master degrees in geography from Utrecht University (Netherlands) and in European politics and administration from the College of Europe in Bruges (Belgium).

​Dr Jesus S. Domingo, Philippine Ambassador to New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa & Tonga

Jesus “Gary” S. Domingo is a career Philippine Foreign Service Officer.  His diplomatic assignments have included postings at the Philippine Missions to the United Nations in New York and Geneva, and the Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia.  He has also served as Philippine Focal Point for Multilateral Humanitarian Affairs and Disarmament, and coordinated international assistance for Supertyphoon Yolanda in 2013 –  one of the biggest  civilian and military humanitarian operations to date. 

Ambassador Gary is a graduate of the Georgetown University School  of Foreign Service, the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, National Defense College of the Philippines, and the Philippine College of Criminology.  He is an advocate of Human Security, and  has developed  “Universal Diplomacy” – a framework for multi-stakeholder and grass-roots Public Diplomacy.  He also holds commissions in the Philippine Marine Corps Reserve and Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary.  He is married to Maria Remedios, they have a daughter, Julianne Marie.

Amb. Dr. Fabrizio BOZZATO

Fabrizio Bozzato is a political analyst focusing on Indo-Pacific dynamics. He earned his MAs in Political Studies and International Relations from the University of Milan (Italy) and the University of Tasmania (Australia) respectively, and received his PhD in Political Science from Tamkang University in Taipei. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (Japan). He is also a Research Fellow at the CEMAS Center of the University of Rome “La Sapienza” (Italy). Dr. Bozzato publishes and lectures on an eclectic range of themes: from thalassopolitics to Cross-Strait security problematics. He is frequently asked to provide expert comment for international media, especially on China-Pacific Islands relations and Sino-Vatican dialectics.

Bionote (abridged): Fabrizio Bozzato received his PhD in Political Science from Tamkang University in Taipei. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (Tokyo, Japan). He is also a Research Fellow at the CEMAS Center of the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. Dr. Bozzato is frequently asked to provide expert comment for international media. In addition, he serves as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (non-resident) of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the Republic of Nauru.

Dr Barnaby Pace

Dr Barnaby Pace is a trained human factors psychologist and cognitive scientist who holds Masters degrees from the University of Waikato and Massey University. He has 15 years experience in risk management and behavioural analysis, having worked in both the public and private sectors. He is an experienced researcher with more than 40 publications and has been an invited speaker at many international conferences. Most recently Mr Pace presented a workshop at the Australian Enterprise Risk Management of Government Conference on the use of design thinking for risk management framework development.

Professor Sascha Dov Bachmann, University of Canberra

Professor in Law at Canberra Law School - University of Canberra

Extraordinary Reader (Docent) in War Studies – Swedish Defence University (FHS) Stockholm 
Fellow - NATO SHAPE, Hybrid War and Lawfare Pacific
Research Fellow - CEMIS, Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University
State Exam (Ludwig-Maximillians-Universität, Germany), Ass Juris, LLM (Stell, RSA), LLD (UJ, RSA) Attorney (Munich High Court)
Fellow of The Higher Education Academy (UK)
Dr. Sascha Dov Bachmann, Assessor Jur., LL.M, LL.D is an international scholar and former Lieutenant Colonel (GER Army Reserves with operational experience in the Balkans and as an exchange officer to the US Marines) and a career professional in law and higher education. In the last 20 years he worked in various capacities and functions in the USA, the Middle East, South Africa and various European countries. He joined Canberra Law School in September 2019. The University of Canberra is ranked among the top 2 per cent of universities in the world, top 10 in Australia and 34th among the THE Young University group.
Prior to that he worked as an Associate Professor at Bournemouth University (UK) since 2013 and the University of Lincoln in the UK, and as a Docent (Reader) in War Studies at the Swedish Defence University in 2016. In November 2017 he was appointed (Professorial) Research Fellow at CEMIS, Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University. Dr. Bachmann was educated in Germany (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), South Africa (Stellenbosch University and University of Johannesburg) and the United Kingdom (University of Portsmouth). 
He has presented to NATO, US CENTCOM, US AFRICOM, the Austrian Ministry of Defence, the Swedish Defence University, the Royal Danish Defence College, the South African National Defence Force and the Australian Defence College on the subjects of Hybrid War/Threats, Lawfare, InfoOps and Targeting.
His research, consisting of more than 70 academic outputs, is interdisciplinary and discusses topical issues arising from new Security Challenges of the 21st Century such as Hybrid Warfare, Information Operations, the use of Lawfare, Cyber Enhanced Hybrid Warfare alongside other law topics such as International Criminal Justice, HumRts Litigation. He is a regular contributor to NATO’s Legal Advisor Web (LAWFAS), with his publications often being used as NATO reference documents. Last but not least, he is a Fellow of NATO SHAPE for the Asia Pacific (Hybrid Threats and Lawfare).

Dr Eddy Kristianto

Ater graduating from medical school, Eddy was determined to serve in remote areas of Indonesia. After getting married, Eddy and his wife decided to go to a village in West Kalimantan to provide health services and training for residents.

Even though he is a doctor who always deals with chemical drugs, it does not reduce Eddy's belief in the health benefits of herbal plants. He believes that between herbal medicine and conventional medicine, the two can complement each other. Since 1993, Eddy has been researching various herbal plants. Eddy formed a small and medium enterprise 'grow together' group. Here he teaches character education, knowledge of herbs, and makes herbal products such as tea bags from Moringa leaves and herbal soaps for beauty. He cooperates with local people, especially from remote areas. He did this as a form of empowering residents in remote areas. He admitted that there are too many herbal treasures in Indonesia that have health benefits, but they still need contributions from experts to research and develop them so that these treasures get a place in modern health science. Eddy continues to share insights about healthy living and build public awareness of the potential benefits of herbs in Indonesia.



Dr Joanna Siekiera, University of Bergen

Dr Joanna Siekiera is an international lawyer, Doctor of Social Sciences in public policy sciences from Poland. She currently works at the Faculty of Law, University of Bergen in Norway on the legal consequences of ocean change and sovereignty of states in Oceania. Dr Siekiera did her PhD studies in New Zealand, at the Faculty of Law, Victoria University of Wellington on the topic of Pacific regionalism. She completed internships i.a. in the Polish diplomatic missions, the Institute of Cultural Diplomacy in Germany, the School of Humanitarian Law in Russian, the United Nations CIMIC Training School, the French Institute of International and Strategic Affairs and NATO. She lectured at the University of Wrocław and the War Studies University in Warsaw in Poland, also serving as a legal advisor (LEGAD) during international military exercises. She is the author of over 100 scientific publications in several languages, 40 legal opinions for the Polish Ministry of Justice, as well as an author of a book (Regional policy in the South Pacific), and co-author of 3 monographs on international relation. Dr Siekiera cooperates with the NATO Stability Policing Centre of Excellence since February 2021 as an external subject matter expert (SME) in legal matters. Her area of expertise is the South Pacific region, Pacific Ocean governance, science diplomacy (ocean diplomacy), and the law of armed conflict (legal advising, NATO legal framework, Central Europe, security in the South Pacific, gender in armed conflict).

MODERATORS

Maxwell Abbott, BTheo

Maxwell is the editor-in-chief of the APSI Forum and Center of Excellence. He is also the editorial director of Global Partnership and Development Ltd. He taught English as a second language, and a coach at the work place training.

Ester Rats

Ester is a certified life coach and a counsellor practitioner. 
She has been hired by many companies for coaching human resources



2021 Summit

Dr. Anita Abbott, APSI Forum, New Zealand

Dr. Anita Abbott is the chair of APSI Forum committee, and adjunct professor at Charisma University. She was a research fellow at NATO Defence College. She regularly contributes to publications and is invited nationally and internationally for research projects and speaking engagements. Her research areas include strategic foresight analysis and future warfare. She has published more than 40 articles. Her first book develops education sovereignty model in international negotiation. In her second book, published by Palgrave MacMillan, she uses Indonesia and several countries as examples of how negotiation works for maintaining sovereignty in education.

Major General (Ret) Gert-Johannes Hagemann, APSI Center of Excellence

Major General Gert-Johannes Hagemann retired as active military September 2020, after having served almost 43 years as a Paratrooper and Infantryman in the German Army. He joined APSI Forum in 2020.

Between 2016 and 2020 he was the Deputy Commander of Headquarters Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ RRC-FR) in Lille, France. Created in 2005, HQ RRC-FR is a French NATO certified headquarters able to command a national or multinational force of between 15,000 and 60,000 personnel. With around 450 military coming from fifteen different nations, HQ RRC-FR is stationed within a 17th-century citadel also known as the Queen of the Citadels, designed by the famous French Field Marshal Vauban. Reactive, flexible and ‘open to the world’, HQ RRC-FR is a purpose-built organization, designed to handle the complexity of military operations of the early twenty-first century.

Prior to his appointment as Deputy Commander of NATO’s HQ RRC-FR, Major General (Ret) Hagemann was Commander of the Infantry School and the Infantry Training Center in Hammelburg, Germany and the General and Director of the German Infantry, Paratrooper and Mountain Infantry. From 2011 to 2013 he was the twelfth Commander of the German-French Brigade in Müllheim, after having served as the German Regional Commander of NATO’s Training Mission Afghanistan 2010 to 2011.

His operational experience and theatre expertise covers additionally the Balkans, Iraq, Somalia, Lebanon, Djibouti, Chad, Central African Republic and Mali. 

Major General (Ret) Hagemann is decorated with various German, Belgian, U.S., French and NATO medals and was made a member of the French Légion d’Honneur. His fellowships include associations in Norway and Switzerland.

His academic expertise stretches from University studies (graduation in macroeconomics and business management, summa cum laude) to post-graduate studies and courses in Germany and Belgium, covering a wide array of topics in Military Affairs, Defence and Security, Politics, History and Social Science. 

Lieutenant Colonel John W. Black, Regional Affairs Officer United States Marine Corps

Lieutenant Colonel (LtCol) Black is an Infantry and Regional Affairs Officer in the United States Marine Corps. He has served in the Marine Corps for more than 24 years. As an Infantry Officer, he has commanded at the platoon, company, and battalion levels. He has served in OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM, OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM – AFGHANISTAN, and has completed two deployments with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit – Special Operations Capable (MEU SOC) in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

As a Regional Affairs Officer, he has served as a Country Director for Marine activities in Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific Islands, and Timor Leste, and as the Office of Defense Cooperation Chief at the American Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand.

LtCol Black holds a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. He is a graduate of Harvard's Program of Leadership Development. He is currently serving as the Marine Corps' National Security Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Security Studies Program for Academic Year 2020-2021. He will promote to Colonel in Fiscal Year 2021.  LtCol Black's awards include the Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, U.S. Department of State Meritorious Honor Award, a Commendation from the Chief of the Australian Army, and the German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency (Gold).

LtCol Black is married to Dr. Aime Black, former Education Advisor at the American Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand.  She is currently an Evaluation Specialist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) John H. Glenn Research Center.  She leads several evaluation studies, including a program-level evaluation study of the NASA Minority University Research and Education Program (MUREP), one of four Congressionally-funded programs that NASA manages. 

General Paolo RUGGIERO, Italian Army, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation

General Paolo Ruggiero assumed duties as the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation on July 19, 2019. Born on September 26, 1957 in Naples. He is a graduate of the Italian Military Academy in Modena and was commissioned as a Field Artillery (FA) Officer on September 1, 1977.

As a junior officer he served in the "Ariete" Armoured Division as FA Battery EXO, Battery Commander, FA Battalion S3 and S1. As a Lieutenant Colonel, he commanded the 1st FA Battalion at the Field Artillery School and as a Colonel he commanded the 52nd FA regiment "Torino". He held several positions as a staff officer at both the Italian Army and Defence General Staff, including Chief of the Operations Office at the Army General Staff; Chief of the Executive Office of the Chief of Italian Defence Staff; Chief of the Executive Office of the Deputy Chief of the Army General Staff; and Chief of Staff of the Army Logistics Command.

From 1997 to 2000, he served as Assistant Army Attaché and the Italian Embassy in Washington D.C..
Promoted to Brigadier General in 2005, he commanded the 132nd "Ariete” Armoured Brigade. During this period, he was deployed as the Commander of the Joint Task Force - Sector West to South Lebanon within the UNIFIL Operation (October 2007 to May 2008).

In 2009, he was promoted to Major General and commanded the Field Artillery Headquarters.
He was promoted to Lieutenant General on the 1st of July 2014, and served as Commander of the Army Command for Education, Training and School of Applied Military Studies in Turin. From February to September 2015 he was deployed to Afghanistan first as Chief of Staff and then as Deputy Commander for Transition of the NATO "Resolute Support" mission. On January 15, 2016, he was appointed Deputy Commander NATO Land Command in Izmir, departing in June of 2019. General Ruggiero received his fourth star on the 15th of July 2019. Highlights of studies and courses he has attended include Officer Advanced Course, at the US Army FA School in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma (1987); Basic and Advanced Staff Courses at the Italian Army Staff College (1991 and 1995); Command and General Staff Course at the US Army Command and General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas (1992). He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Strategic Military Studies.

His principal honorary awards include the Army Meritorious Gold Cross; Army Meritorious Silver Cross; Commander of the Meritorious Order of the Republic of Italy; Army Gold Medal for Longevity in Command; the U.S. of America Legion of Merit; NATO Medals for peace-keeping missions in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan ; UN Medal for participation in the UNIFIL Mission; US Army Meritorious Service Medal; Order of the Cedar of the Republic of Lebanon; and the Medal of Multinational Cooperation (level II) of the Republic of Slovenia.

He is married to Holly Ann, and they have two daughters, Adriana and Valeria. General Ruggiero enjoys running, jazz music and history.

Colonel Shigehiro Noshita, Defence Attaché to Papua New Guinea and the Army Attaché to Australia, Fiji and New Zealand in the Embassy of Japan in Canberra, Australia.

Colonel Shigehiro Noshita is currently the Defence Attaché to Papua New Guinea and the Army Attaché to Australia, Fiji and New Zealand in the Embassy of Japan in Canberra, Australia.

As a transport officer, he has held a variety of command, training and staff appointments at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. These include serving in Timor Leste as a movement control officer in 2003 and 2004, and commanding the Japanese Transport and Engineering Unit of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force from 2011 to 2012.

Colonel Noshita is a graduate of the National Defence Academy Japan (1999), the United States Army Logistics Management College (2007), the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Command and Staff College (2009), the Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping India (2011), the Australian Command Staff College (2015) and the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (2018). 

He holds a Bachelor degree of Social Science and a Master of Military and Defence Studies from the Australian National University.

Anthony A. Spadaro Sergeant Major (Retired), USMC. Former Command Senior Enlisted Leader, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

Anthony Spadaro is a retired United States Marine Corps senior noncommissioned officer (Sergeant Major) who retired from the United States Marine Corps in 2020 after a distinguished 35-year military career. During his service, Anthony served at the most senior levels for the Marine Corps and Department of Defense. He culminated his service to our Nation as the Command Senior Enlisted Leader for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the largest geographic combatant command with 380,000 uniformed (Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines),and civilian members along with 36 partner nations.  In this role, he provided the commander with the enlisted perspective on theater security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies, and deterring aggression throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, he was responsible for mentoring senior enlisted leaders at four component commands, and coordinating with command joint directorates and senior enlisted members on matters pertaining to the command’s mission, vision, core values, commander’s intent, enlisted utilization, and professional development.

Hailing from New Brunswick, New Jersey, Anthony enlisted in the Marine Corps on 3 April 1985, and attended recruit training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina.

His operational assignments (Fleet Marine Force) included: Artillery Fire Direction Controllman and Artillery Nuclear Projectileman, Battery R, 5/11; Assistant Operations Chief, Battery G, 3/12; Intel Analyst/Chief, 11th Marines S-2; Regiment/Area Guard Chief; Regimental Meteorological Chief, 11th Marines; HQ Battery Platoon Sergeant; 11th Marines, Regimental Survey Chief, 11th Marines; Battery First Sergeant, Battery B, 1/12, Sergeant Major, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165, Sergeant Major, Aviation Combat Element, 15th MEU, Sergeant Major, Marine Aircraft Group-16.

His supporting establishment tours included: Watchstander, American Embassy Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire; Assistant Detachment Commander, and Detachment Commander, American Embassy Gaborone, Botswana; Drill Instructor, Senior Drill Instructor, Chief Drill Instructor, Company I, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego; Instructor, Drill Instructor School, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego; Company First Sergeant, Special Training Company, MCRD San Diego; Company First Sergeant, Company C, First Recruit Training Battalion, MCRD San Diego; Sergeant Major, First Recruit Training Battalion, MCRD, San Diego.

Combat Tours and deployments include, Desert Shield/Storm with Battery G, 3d Battalion, 12th Marines (attached to Battalion Landing Team, 3/1); two Unit Deployment Programs (UDP) to Okinawa (with Battery B, 1st Battalion, 12th Marines); Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) (with the Aviation Combat Element of the15th Marine Expeditionary Unit) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), with the Aviation Combat Element, Regional Command Southwest, First Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

At the General Officer/Flag Officer Level, SgtMaj Spadaro served with: 3d Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward); the Aviation Combat Element, Regional Command Southwest, First Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward); the Third Marine Aircraft Wing; Marine Forces Reserve/Marine Forces North; and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

Sergeant Major Spadaro’s military education encompasses all levels of Professional Military Education courses: NCO Academy, SNCO Career Course, SNCO Advance Course, First Sergeant’s Course, Expeditionary Warfare School (by extension), Command and Staff College (by extension), Navy Senior Enlisted Academy, the Senior Enlisted Professional Military Education Course, the Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education Course, the Keystone Fellows Course (National Defense University), the Asian-Pacific Orientation Course and the Asia-Pacific Senior Executive Course, (Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies).  SgtMaj Spadaro holds a Bachelor of Science Degree (Summa Cum Laude), from Rutgers University in Labor and Management.  He is currently enrolled in the John F. Kennedy School, Harvard University (completing a Masters Degree in Public Policy).  SgtMaj Spadaro served as a Senior Mentor for the Keystone Course, (National Defense University) and the Regional Leadership Development Program – Pacific, (United States Army Pacific).

SgtMaj Spadaro’s significant awards and decorations include: the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (with Gold Star), the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (with Gold Star), the Air Medal (with strike numeral “3”), the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (with three Gold Stars), the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Army Achievement Medal the Combat Action Ribbon, and Naval Aircrewman Insignia. He was inducted into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara in 1996.

Though recently retired from the Marine Corps, Anthony’s next chapter has him serving as a consultant and strategist with the following companies/organizations: The Robert Irvine Foundation, Beaver Fit USA, and Bravo Sierra, Additionally, he serves on the advisory boards for: Emory Healthcare, Veterans Program, FourBlock.org, FitOps and the Youth Impact Program. Furthermore, he is the Vice President for Training, 5th Principle LLC; a leadership coach with the Resilience Building Leader Program and an Adjunct Faculty member with the Marine Corps University. Anthony owns his own consulting firm, Gravitas Leadership Solutions, LLC. He continues to focus his attention on empowering and assisting military members, veterans, and their families.

Anthony and his wife, Kathryn reside in Honolulu.



Major General (retd) John Hartley AO

John Hartley graduated from Duntroon in December 1965. Three months later, he deployed to South Vietnam as a platoon commander. He returned to Vietnam in 1970 as a senior adviser to a South Vietnamese infantry battalion. He was wounded three times, twice mentioned-in-dispatches, awarded the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, the US Army Commendation Medal for Valour on two occasions and the US Air Force Air Medal for Valour.

As a General Officer, he headed Army’s Training Command, was Director of the Defence Intelligence Organisation, Deputy Chief of the Army and Head of Army’s Land Command.

He was appointed Institute Director and CEO of Future Directions International, in September 2009.

Joseph Mooney

Joseph is both proud and privileged to be the MP for Southland and the National Party’s Spokesperson for Treaty Negotiations, and Associate Spokesperson for Tourism and Defence.

He lives in Queenstown with his wife Silvia and their children.

He was born in Hawke’s Bay and initially grew up in the country.

He put his name forward at the 2020 election to give something back to Southland and to do all he can to ensure our region’s children do not experience what he did, as he remembers how tough it was in the 80s, and times when there was no food on the table.

Joseph left school without any qualifications and worked across a wide range of industries as well as building businesses, later going to university as an adult student and obtaining an honours degree in Law.

Before being elected the MP for Southland, Joseph was a senior trial lawyer appearing in courts through the south. He was on the Southland Branch Council of the New Zealand Law Society. He was appointed in 2017 by the Deputy Solicitor General to the Crown Prosecution Panel for the Invercargill Crown Solicitor. He has also been appointed by the Court as a Youth Advocate.

Joseph has been an Army reservist and volunteer firefighter.

In his spare time, he likes to ski, mountain bike, and spend time with his family.

​Dr Jesus S. Domingo, Philippine Ambassador to New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa & Tonga

Jesus “Gary” S. Domingo is a career Philippine Foreign Service Officer.  His diplomatic assignments have included postings at the Philippine Missions to the United Nations in New York and Geneva, and the Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia.  He has also served as Philippine Focal Point for Multilateral Humanitarian Affairs and Disarmament, and coordinated international assistance for Supertyphoon Yolanda in 2013 –  one of the biggest  civilian and military humanitarian operations to date. 

Ambassador Gary is a graduate of the Georgetown University School  of Foreign Service, the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, National Defense College of the Philippines, and the Philippine College of Criminology.  He is an advocate of Human Security, and  has developed  “Universal Diplomacy” – a framework for multi-stakeholder and grass-roots Public Diplomacy.  He also holds commissions in the Philippine Marine Corps Reserve and Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary.  He is married to Maria Remedios, they have a daughter, Julianne Marie.

Jim Boult, Queenstown Lakes District Council, New Zealand

Jim Boult is a well-known senior member of the New Zealand business community, in both Management and Governance.
His current roles include: -
•             Mayor Queenstown Lakes District Council
•             Member of the Downer NZ Advisory Board
•             Chairman of Wayfare Group
•             Director and Shareholder Partners Finance and Leasing Ltd 
•             Director and Owner of Telelift Sales and Hire Ltd
•             Previous National Chairman and current board member of Child Cancer Foundation

Previously, Jim has been: -
•             CEO and director of Christchurch International Airport Ltd
•             Director Hawkins Group
•             Member of NZ Customs Audit and Risk Committee
•             CEO of  the Shotover Jet  Group
•             Executive Chairman of Baycorp Holdings Ltd
•             Deputy Chairman of Tourism New Zealand
•             CEO of Queenstown Resorts Ltd
•             Chairman McConnell Property
•             Member of the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority

In December 2013, Jim completed five successful years as Chief Executive of Christchurch International Airport and was a government appointee to the CIAL board for six years before that. During his time at CIAL, he managed the airport through the period of and the recovery after the Christchurch earthquakes. He also oversaw the development of a new terminal, which was completed on time and on budget.

He has had extensive business interests in many fields, including construction, aviation, tourism, financial services, property, automotive, plant leasing, publishing and hospitality. Jim has resided at Lake Hayes in New Zealand’s South Island for the past 37 years, where he and his wife Karen have brought up two children – James and Victoria. In his home town of Queenstown, he has chaired several charities, council-sponsored working parties and community groups. His personal interests include jogging, reading and motorsport where he has competed nationally and internationally winning the national Class B Production Sedan Racing series in 2005.

Jim was elected mayor of Queenstown Lakes District Council in October 2016, by a “landslide” majority and was re-elected in October 2019 by a significant margin. Jim was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2014 (for services to Tourism and the community), a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Management in 2012, and given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce in 2014.

GUY B. ROBERTS (National Security and Non-Proliferation Senior Consultant)

Mr. Guy Roberts has over thirty-five years of experience in public policy, foreign affairs, international organizations, bi-lateral and multilateral negotiations on strategic issues and international legal matters.

Most recently, until May 2019, he was the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs.  In that capacity he was the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense on matters concerning nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs and ensuring the U.S. nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure, ready and effective.

Prior to that he was a National Security Consultant and an Adjunct Professor at Mary Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University.

From 2005 to 2011 he was the Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Weapons of Mass Destruction Policy and Director, Nuclear Policy Planning Directorate for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). 

Prior to that Mr. Roberts was a member of the Senior Executive Service serving as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and Principal Director for Negotiations Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense responsible for advising senior Defense Department officials on the entire range of United States arms control and non-proliferation policies and initiatives. 

From 2000 to 2003, Mr. Roberts served as the legal counsel for arms control and non-proliferation in the US Department of the Navy. 

Mr. Roberts also had a distinguished 25-year career in the US Marine Corps before retiring with the rank of Colonel, holding a wide range of assignments in policy formulation, operations and operations support, negotiations, management, litigation and serving as a policy/legal advisor both in the US and during overseas assignments. 

Mr. Roberts received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Denver. He also holds masters’ degrees in international and comparative law from Georgetown University, in international relations from the University of Southern California, and in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College and he received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science (Magna cum Laude) from Arizona State University. 

Hunter Stires

Hunter Stires is a Fellow with the John B. Hattendorf Center for Maritime Historical Research at the U.S. Naval War College and is a Strategy and Policy Professional at Cydecor supporting the OPNAV N522 Navy Warfare Group. His area of inquiry centers on strategy and logistics in the Western Pacific and maritime irregular warfare. Mr. Stires has been recognized twice in the U.S. Naval Institute’s General Prize Essay Contest.  His 1st prize winning entry is published as “The South China Sea Needs a ‘COIN’ Toss” in the May 2019 issue of Proceedings alongside a companion piece, “Why We Defend Free Seas,” and his 2nd prize entry, “Win Without Fighting,” is published in the June 2020 issue.  His related article, “’They Were Playing Chicken:’ The U.S. Asiatic Fleet’s Gray-Zone Deterrence Campaign against Japan, 1937-40,” is featured in the Summer 2019 issue of the Naval War College Review. His most recent Proceedings piece,  “Littoral Combat Ships for Maritime COIN,” coauthored with Captain Dan Straub, Ph.D, is published in the January 2021 issue. Mr. Stires is a graduate of Columbia University. Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Cydecor, Inc., U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.



Major General Ravi Arora

Maj Gen Ravi Arora is the chief editor of Indian Military  and CEO of IMR Media, which organises defence events and publishes military books.

Gen Ravi Arora commanded 12 Infantry Division in India's desert sector and India’s only amphibious brigade in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. He was Head of the Red Forces (Wargaming) Branch of the Army Training Command, before he took voluntary retirement.

Gen Arora has been a senior instructor at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington (India), Director in the Perspective Planning Directorate, Army HQ and Secretary Joint Operations Planning Committee in the Ministry of Defence.

He has served as a peacekeeper with the United Nations in Iran and attended an year long Army Staff Course in the UK, besides another year-long Higher Command course at the Army War College Mhow (India).

Professor Sascha Dov Bachmann, University of Canberra

Professor in Law at Canberra Law School - University of Canberra

Extraordinary Reader (Docent) in War Studies – Swedish Defence University (FHS) Stockholm 

Fellow - NATO SHAPE, Hybrid War and Lawfare Pacific

Research Fellow - CEMIS, Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University

State Exam (Ludwig-Maximillians-Universität, Germany), Ass Juris, LLM (Stell, RSA), LLD (UJ, RSA) Attorney (Munich High Court)

Fellow of The Higher Education Academy (UK)

Dr. Sascha Dov Bachmann, Assessor Jur., LL.M, LL.D is an international scholar and former Lieutenant Colonel (GER Army Reserves with operational experience in the Balkans and as an exchange officer to the US Marines) and a career professional in law and higher education. In the last 20 years he worked in various capacities and functions in the USA, the Middle East, South Africa and various European countries. He joined Canberra Law School in September 2019. The University of Canberra is ranked among the top 2 per cent of universities in the world, top 10 in Australia and 34th among the THE Young University group.

Prior to that he worked as an Associate Professor at Bournemouth University (UK) since 2013 and the University of Lincoln in the UK, and as a Docent (Reader) in War Studies at the Swedish Defence University in 2016. In November 2017 he was appointed (Professorial) Research Fellow at CEMIS, Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University. Dr. Bachmann was educated in Germany (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), South Africa (Stellenbosch University and University of Johannesburg) and the United Kingdom (University of Portsmouth). 

He has presented to NATO, US CENTCOM, US AFRICOM, the Austrian Ministry of Defence, the Swedish Defence University, the Royal Danish Defence College, the South African National Defence Force and the Australian Defence College on the subjects of Hybrid War/Threats, Lawfare, InfoOps and Targeting.

His research, consisting of more than 70 academic outputs, is interdisciplinary and discusses topical issues arising from new Security Challenges of the 21st Century such as Hybrid Warfare, Information Operations, the use of Lawfare, Cyber Enhanced Hybrid Warfare alongside other law topics such as International Criminal Justice, HumRts Litigation. He is a regular contributor to NATO’s Legal Advisor Web (LAWFAS), with his publications often being used as NATO reference documents. Last but not least, he is a Fellow of NATO SHAPE for the Asia Pacific (Hybrid Threats and Lawfare).

Major General Karsten Stoye

Major General Karsten Stoye assumed his position as Chief of Staff at NATO’s Headquarters Allied Air Command at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on 1 March 2019 after his previous assignment as Deputy Chief of Staff Operations at NATO’s Headquarters Allied Air Command.

After studying economics and administrative science at the University of the German Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg, General Stoye has served in various operational and staff positions.As a senior operations officer and command pilot in the Tactical Reconnaissance Wing 51 ‘Immelmann’, he contributed from 1995 to 1996 to the United Nations and NATO missions during the conflict in the Former Yugoslavia. In 1998 he graduated from the Command and General Staff Officer Course at the Federal Armed Forces Command and Staff College in Hamburg.

Until 2000, General Stoye served as a Branch Chief at the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre 4 (CAOC 4) in Messstetten, Germany, where he was responsible for training and exercises. In 1999 he contributed to the NATO Operation in Kosovo as Chief Air Task Order Planner at the Balkan CAOC in Vicenza. From 2000 to the end of 2003, he was Commander of the Flying Group of Fighter Bomber Wing 31 “Boelcke” in Nörvenich. The following year, he was assigned to the German Ministry of Defence as Assistant Branch Chief at the Air Staff, responsible for concepts and requirements for Air Force Operations. After a follow-on assignment at the Air Force Command from 2005 to 2006, he served at the Ministry of Defence as Military Assistant to the Parliamentary State Secretary. At the end of 2007, he assumed command of the Tactical Reconnaissance Wing 51 “Immelmann” in Schleswig, Northern Germany until 2010. During this time he was appointed as Base Commander at the Operation Wing Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan for operations under NATO International Security Assistance Force from 2008 to 2009. As Base Commander and command pilot, he was responsible for all flying operations of the Reconnaissance Tornados, the Transall C-160 transport aircraft and the CH-53 helicopters as well as for the entire force protection and combat support operations.

Next, General Stoye went through two assignments at the Ministry of Defence, first as Branch Chief responsible for Concepts and Requirements for Air Force Operations (in 2011), and subsequently as Branch Chief, Department of Defence Plans & Policy (in 2012), where he was responsible for the capability management of information, surveillance and reconnaissance affairs of the DEU Armed Forces.

From 2013 until 2015 he was the Deputy Commander at NATO’s Deployable Air Command and Control Centre in Poggio Renatico, Italy. General Stoye had been the Commander of the NATO E-3A Component in Geilenkirchen, Germany, from 2015 until 2018, where he led an international military and civilian staff, representing 16 NATO nations which provide an airborne early warning, command and control and battle management capability in support of NATO commanders.
General Stoye has flown more than 3,000 flying hours primarily on the TORNADO weapon system, including more than 70 operational missions.

Major Awards and Decorations
Gold Cross of Honour of the Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr Foreign Duty Medal UNPF
Bundeswehr Foreign Duty Medal IFOR
Bundeswehr Foreign Duty Medal SFOR
Bundeswehr Foreign Duty Medal ISAF
NATO Medal for the former Yugoslavia
NATO Non-Article 5 Medal for ISAF
NATO Meritorious Service Medal
Knight of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy
Spinoza Medal of the German War Graves Commission

Effective dates of Promotion
Second Lieutenant 1986
First Lieutenant 1989
Captain 1992
Major 1996
Lieutenant Colonel 2000
Colonel 2008
Brigadier General 2013
Major General 2019

Nicholas Dynon

Nicholas Dynon is chief editor of New Zealand defence security and safety publications Line of Defence Magazine, New Zealand Security Magazine and FireNZ Magazine. He also practices as a security consultant specialising in protective security documentation, culture and communication. Nicholas previously served 14 years with the Australian Government’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection, which included diplomatic postings to Shanghai, Beijing and Suva. A graduate of the Royal Military College of Australia, he served part-time in the Australian Army as both a non-commissioned and commissioned officer.

Nicholas holds a B.A. with Honours and an M.A. in Asian Studies from the Australian National University, and a Master of International Studies with Honours from the University of Sydney. In addition to a significant body of media reportage, his scholarly articles have been published in The China Journal, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, China: An International Journal, and Massey University’s National Security Journal, of which he is an editorial board member. His research focuses on China-West security relations, theories of security and national power, and the role of public-private partnership in New Zealand’s national security.

Prof. Dwi Andreas Santosa

Professor Santosa is the Head of M.Sc. Program on Soil and Environmental Biotechnology at Bogor Agricultural University (IPB).   He is also the Chairman Governing Board Indonesian Center for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, National Chairman Indonesian Farmer Technology and Seed Bank Association, and Associated Scholar Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) Indonesia and Thamrin School. He holds a PhD in Life Sciences from Braunschweig University of Technology. He was awarded fellowships and postdoctoral fellowships from Yonsei University in South Korea, German Research Center for Biotechnology, German Federal Research Center for Nutrition and Food, and School of Pharmacy at Oregon State University. He has written numerous articles in food security, system and policy, bio politics, and the politics of global food security. He is also the holder of international patent (US Patent 9, 977, and 375; European Patent EP 1 791 823 AO) and national patent.

Dr Andrew Dowse, Edith Cowan University, Australia

Dr Dowse joined Edith Cowan University after a 37 year career with the Royal Australian Air Force.  He joined the RAAF as an engineer cadet in 1981 and, after completing a degree in Communications and Electronics Engineering at RMIT, graduated as an electronics officer. 

His career included working in air defence and communications, as well as managing command and control systems and information technology.  He has also had key leadership roles in electronic and information warfare, and broader capability planning.   

Between 2008 and 2012, Andrew worked to develop future capabilities for the Australian Defence Force, the efforts of which were recognised with his appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia.  Subsequently he was in charge of Air Force strategy and planning, then was the Head of Defence’s Information and Communications Technology operations, and in recognition of his performance in these roles he was promoted to an Officer in the Order of Australia.

In addition to his bachelor degree, he has a Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies, Masters of Science and Doctor of Philosophy.  He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a Fellow Chartered Professional Engineer. 

Don Lord, Hagar New Zealand

Don previously worked for World Vision in New Zealand and Mongolia. Don has been involved in research on Trafficking in Cambodia and has worked in Mongolia on the formulation of an anti-trafficking project to be spearheaded by local project staff. He has also had extensive involvement in developing tools to work with trafficked women and children in Cambodia, National Child Protection standards and systems in Mongolia, and global Children in Crisis initiatives. Don established Hagar NZ in 2009.

Bill Keh-Ming Chen

Current Position: Representative, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New Zealand (Since March, 2018)

Education

 B.A. in Business Administration, National Taiwan University

 Intensive English Language Program, Leeds University, U.K.


Experience

  • Director-General, Department of Policy Planning, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mar 2017-Mar 2018)
  • Senior Negotiator, Office of Trade Negotiations, Executive Yuan (the Cabinet) (Sep 2016-Feb 2017)
  • Deputy Chief Negotiator, Office of Trade Negotiations, Ministry of Economic Affairs (Sep 2015-Sep 2016)
  • Deputy Representative/Director of Public Affairs, Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Canada (Apr 2009-Aug 2015)
  • Executive Secretary/Senior Specialist, Department of Policy Planning, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Jan 2007-Apr 2009)
  • Assistant to the Representatives, Taipei Economic & Cultural Representative Office in the United States (Jun 2000-Jan 2007)
  • Assistant to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs (May 1999-May 2000)
  • Section Chief, Office of Parliamentarian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Dec 1998-May 1999)
  • Special Assistant on Home Assignment, Department of North American Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Aug 1997-Dec 1998)
  • Special Assistant, Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Houston (Jul 1991-Jul 1997)
  • Desk Officer, Department of Information/Department of North American Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Jan 1988-Jul 1991)

Simon O Connor

Simon is currently the Member of Parliament for the Tamaki electorate in Auckland. He has been appointed as the National Party’s Spokesperson for Customs, and Arts, Culture & Heritage, as well as Associate Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs. In previous Parliaments, he was the Chair of the Health Committee and, more recently, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee. Simon is also a part of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, an international group of legislators working towards reform on how democratic countries approach China.

Simon was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Tamaki in 2011, and is now serving this fourth term in Parliament. Prior to his election, his background included a broad range of experiences from the commercial, public, and voluntary sectors respectively.

Simon was educated at the University of Auckland and earned several degrees there; most recently, he completed a Masters of Political Studies in 2010, which he undertook while working full-time. 

Between 1995 and 2004, Simon trained to become a Catholic priest. Though he completed his training, he did not seek ordination. Instead, he sought wider involvement in the community to make a practical, hands-on difference.

Simon is married and has 5 stepchildren.

Gillian Somerville, GES Consulting, New Zealand

Gillian is a highly skilled Human Factors Engineer with 25 years’ international experience integrating human factors through complex systems.  Her strength lies in her ability to create highly efficient operational environments by working collaboratively with people across all levels of an organisation through the application of a user-centred design process.

She has applied this process across a range of high-risk industries including aviation, marine, utilities (power and water), and underground and over ground rail, in the UK, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Australia and New Zealand.  She is currently the Human Factors Specialist on a number of rail projects in Australia including Human Factors Specialist in the design team for a new $1.26bn rail maintenance depot.

Her qualifications include a BA Geography (NZ), CoP Marketing Management (NZ), Diploma in Environmental Management (NZ), and MSc Ergonomics (UK).  She has also completed the Creating Living Buildings course and the Regenerative Practitioner.

Dr Barnaby Pace

Dr Barnaby Pace is a trained human factors psychologist and cognitive scientist who holds Masters degrees from the University of Waikato and Massey University. He has 15 years experience in risk management and behavioural analysis, having worked in both the public and private sectors. He is an experienced researcher with more than 40 publications and has been an invited speaker at many international conferences. Most recently Mr Pace presented a workshop at the Australian Enterprise Risk Management of Government Conference on the use of design thinking for risk management framework development.

Pamela Williamson MCTS, LL.B

Pamela Williamson practiced as a Barrister and Lawyer specialising in litigation and the resolution of family conflict from 1997-2015. Prior to that she was a psychotherapist for 14 years. As an Executive Coach she obtained a US Corporate Masters Pin in Goal-setting. She obtained a Masters in Conflict and Terrorism Studies in the inaugural MCTS programme at the University of Auckland (2017-2018). Her Dissertation was on Strategic Narratives: Effectiveness of Communication Strategies to Disarm Russian Information Warfare (IW) and Immunise Populations Against Influence Operations (IO).

Since 2016 she has curated an international social media network of subject matters experts and maintained a daily blog on Geopolitics, International Relations and Law, Psychology, AI, Extremism, and Terrorism. She is a writer of strategic narratives with a New Zealand theme and opened her consultancy SKY CANOPY in 2019.


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