George Scutaru is founder and the CEO of the New Strategy Center, the leading Romanian think tank in security and foreign affairs field. He started his professional career in journalism, in Bucharest, then as a press correspondent to Moscow, before he became the general director of a consultancy agency in Romania. Between 2004 and 2014 he was a member of the Parliament of Romania and successively held the positions of Secretary and Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Defense. Between 2014 and 2015 he was national security advisor to the President of Romania. On behalf of the President, Scutaru coordinated the negotiation process for the national agreement, assumed in 2015 by all Romanian political parties, for a 2% of the GDP financing of the defense sector. George graduated from the Faculty of History (University of Bucharest) and holds a master’s degree in International Relations. He also graduated from the National Defense College and the National Intelligence College in Bucharest, and also attended training courses and programs organized by NATO and the US Department of State. Area of expertise: Russia, security challenges in the Black Sea. He authored studies dedicated to Russia in the Black Sea region, hybrid warfare and energy security.