Anders Fogh Rasmussen has been at the centre of European and global politics for over three decades as Secretary General of NATO, Prime Minister of Denmark, Danish Minister of Economic Affairs, and, last but not least, as a leading Danish parliamentarian.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen began his political career in 1978, becoming the youngest member of Parliament in Denmark at the age of 25. He was promoted to Minister of Economic Affairs in 1990 and became Prime Minister of Denmark in 2001. He held this position until 2009 when he was appointed Secretary General of NATO. During his tenure, he developed a Strategic Concept which sets the Alliance’s core priorities for the future. In response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, he initiated a “Readiness Action Plan”.

On October 1st 2014 he established Rasmussen Global and in June 2016 he was appointed advisor to the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen holds a M.Sc. in Economics from the University of Aarhus.

Fabrice Pothier has over 15 years of experience in leading international public policy campaigns and strategic communications efforts.

Before joining Rasmussen Global, he served as Head of Policy Planning for two successive NATO Secretary Generals – Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Jens Stoltenberg. During this time, he developed some of the Alliance’s most consequential initiatives and wrote some landmark speeches and articles. Prior to this, Pothier founded Carnegie Europe as part of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which quickly became one of Europe’s leading think-tanks. He was the co-founder of the International Council on Security and Development where he led global advocacy campaigns on public health and security issues. He started his career in London as a senior risk analyst for Japanese energy group Osaka Gas.

Fabrice Pothier holds two Masters degrees in communications and politics from the UK and France, and speaks French, English and Spanish.

Maria Duelund is an experienced professional within the fields of general management and leadership, combining 15 years of experience both in the private sector as well as the military.

Before joining Rasmussen Global, Duelund worked on a range of strategic, operational and organizational projects in the pharmaceutical industry. Previously, she worked in management consulting, providing international companies with advice regarding process optimization, supply chain management, organizational development and market penetration. Maria Duelund is a trained military interpreter in the Russian and Serbian languages. In 2003/2004, she was deployed to Kosovo as part of NATO’s peace-support operation.

Maria Duelund holds a Bachelor degree in International business from Copenhagen Business School and is 1st Lieutenant in the Danish army.

Alexander Vershbow is an American diplomat and former Deputy Secretary General of NATO.

Mr. Vershbow has had a long career in the State Department. From 2005 to 2008 he was United States Ambassador to South Korea. Prior to this, he was ambassador to Russia from 2001 to 2005 and the ambassador to NATO from 1998 to 2001. In March 2009, Mr. Vershbow was nominated by President Obama as Assistant Secretary of Defence for International Security Affairs, a position that holds responsibility for US policy towards NATO. He held this position until 2012 when he took the position of Deputy Secretary General of NATO, becoming the first American in this position.

Alexander Vershbow holds a Bachelor’s degree in Russian and East European Studies from Yale and an MA in International Relations from Columbia University. For his work with NATO, he was awarded NATO’s Distinguished Service Medal and the State Department’s Distinguished Service Award.

Toomas Ilves has had a long career in European politics serving as the fourth President of Estonia, between 2006 and 2016.

Mr. Ilves worked as a journalist at Radio Free Europe before being appointed Estonian ambassador to the United States, Canada and Mexico in 1993. In 1996, Mr. Ilves was appointed Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs. He held this position until he resigned in 1998. He was then appointed Foreign Minister again in 1999 serving until 2002. Mr. Ilves supported Estonian membership in the European Union and succeeded in starting the negotiations which led to Estonia joining the European Union in 2004. In 2004, Toomas Ilves became member of the European Parliament and was elected President of Estonia in 2006. He was re-elected in 2011.

Toomas Ilves holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Columbia University and a master’s degree in the same subject from University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Ilves speaks fluently English, German, Latvian and Spanish besides his native Estonian.

Birger Riis-Jørgensen held senior positions in the Danish Foreign Service for many years, i.a. as Middle East department head and then undersecretary for Asia, Africa and Latin America.

He was appointed State Secretary for foreign trade in 2000. Under his leadership, several public sector organizations were merged into the Danish Trade Council which became a key partner for Danish businesses abroad and for foreign investors in Denmark. In 2006 he was appointed ambassador to the UK. In 2011 he moved from London to Rome and served as the ambassador of Denmark to Italy until 2016. After he retired from diplomatic service Riis-Jørgensen continues to work as an advisor i.a. to the Danish Foreign Service, through his own consultancy firm.

Birger Riis-Jørgensen holds an MA in History from the University of Copenhagen, where he also lectured in international politics before becoming a diplomat.

Olaf Böhnke has more than 15 years of experience as a foreign and European policy expert with a research focus on European foreign policy and Germany’s role in Europe.

Before joining Rasmussen Global, he was director of the Berlin office of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). During this time, he established ECFR as one of the leading think tanks in Berlin. Prior to this, he worked as Director of the Middle East program of the Aspen Institute Germany and served in total for almost ten years as chief of staff and senior foreign policy advisor to several members of the German Bundestag. Recently, Mr. Böhnke was the founding Managing Director of the European Policy Unit at the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) initiating a high-level dialogue with European decision makers on the need for a more coherent China policy of the EU. Mr. Böhnke is an associate fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) and a visiting professor for political sciences at the Free University of Berlin.

Olaf Böhnke holds an MA in Political Science, International Relations and Economics from Freie Unversität Berlin, and speaks German and English.

Jonas Parello-Plesner brings on board over 15 years of experience from the three power centres of Washington DC, Brussels, and Beijing from the fields of diplomacy, think tanks, development aid and business advisory. This unique combination can assist organizations in navigating the increasingly complex world where international politics and business overlap. Jonas can bring together diverse groups of people to foster innovative ideas and to create added value.

EU-China relations and investments flows are one of his expertise. He has contributed with numerous briefs on EU-China trade and investment relations and the significance for business, including provided testimony both to the congressionally mandated U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission and to the European Parliament.

He has co-authored a ground-breaking book on China’s protection of nationals and assets in fragile states and what increasing its Global Risk Map abroad for its companies entails for China’s strategic thinking.

Jonas Parello-Plesner has worked on risks for business from foreign policy decisions including US sanctions and in Washington provided business monitoring of the Iran-nuclear agreement.

Jonas speaks fluent French, English and Danish as well as good knowledge of German, some Spanish and basic Chinese. He holds a Msc in Government from London School of Economics (LSE), a diploma from Ecole nationale d’administration (ENA) with the grade ‘tres bien’ and a Msc in Political Science from University of Copenhagen.

He has contributed with op-eds for The Financial Times, and has been quoted in numerous respected media.

James Holtum has over a decade of experience in European and international communications.

Before joining Rasmussen Global he served as Spokesman and Head of Communications for the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Parliament. During this time he managed a group of international press officers, and devised and executed the group’s media and digital communication strategy. He has also worked as head of media for the UK delegation of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, the largest political grouping.

Prior to this, he worked with UK Conservative politicians on media and strategy, speech-writing, outreach and campaign advice. He has significant experience with media strategy, crisis communications, European policy, event organisation and managing complex international relationships.

He holds a Bachelor degree in Politics from the University of Exeter.

Harry Nedelcu has 8 years of experience in policy, research and analysis positions at international organisations in Canada and in Europe.

Before joining Rasmussen Global, Nedelcu worked for the Policy Planning Unit at NATO, where he provided policy analysis and research support to the Private Office of the Secretary General. Prior to this, he was a lecturer at Carleton University and Concordia University, Montreal, Canada where for four years he taught on subjects related to comparative politics, security and defence. In 2009, he was a visiting researcher at the Swedish National Defence College. His work has been published in the Review of European and Russian Affairs and East European Politics and Societies and has been presented at over a dozen international conferences. In 2010, he published a book on extremist and populist politics.

Harry Nedelcu holds a PhD from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada in international relations and comparative politics. He also holds a Prince2 certification in project management. He speaks English, French, German, Romanian and has a basic-knowledge of Russian.

Rasmus Grand Berthelsen is a young professional in the fields of international affairs, politics and business.

Before joining Rasmussen Global, Grand Berthelsen worked with data and policy development in the Danish administration, and later with sustainable finance in an independent state investment fund. Besides his professional experience, Grand Berthelsen has represented his university in international case competitions and headed the partnership division of a student-driven aid organisation.

Rasmus Grand Berthelsen holds a M.Sc. in International Business and Politics from Copenhagen Business School, where he graduated top of his class. He also holds the joint CEMS Master in International Management from Copenhagen Business School and Vienna University of Economics and Business. He speaks Danish, English and German.

Marie-Cæcilie contributes to the firm’s business development and projects for sovereign clients by undertaking economic and political analyses, as well as providing input for the CEO’s ongoing activities.

Prior to joining to Rasmussen Global, Marie-Cæcilie worked as a research intern at Promundo, a brazilian-based NGO. There, she assisted the research team with data analysis, literature reviews, and report writing. She also supported the programs and advocacy teams in the review of training manuals and toolkits. Additionally, she worked with a student-led consulting firm, FreshSight Ltd., where she and her team presented final recommendations based on market research and collaboration with the client, external panelists, and the management team.

Marie-Cæcilie holds a bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Politics from the University of Edinburgh. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Security Risk Management at the University of Copenhagen with a focus on Security Studies and Political Risk Analysis. Marie-Cæcilie is fluent in English and Danish and has a good understanding of Spanish and Portuguese.

Bjarke contributes to the firm’s business development and projects for business clients by undertaking economic and political analyses, as well as providing input for the CEO’s ongoing activities.

Prior to joining Rasmussen Global, Bjarke worked at H. Lundbeck A/S within two departments: Global Customer Engagement and Medical Affairs. At Lundbeck he assisted the lead Congress and Event Business Partner in preparing for two major events while being in charge of managing and producing a Virtual Reality movie. Additionally, Bjarke supported the Medical Affairs team with initiating their digital newsletter, establishing and presenting evaluation forms, handling medical contracts for Health Care Professionals, expense reporting and improving the internal work processes.

Bjarke holds a bachelor’s degree from Copenhagen Business School in International Business and Politics, including a semester abroad at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Ho Chi Minh City. In addition to his role in Rasmussen Global, he is the president of Rotaract Frederiksberg, a youth organization focusing on professional networking and charity. Bjarke is fluent in Danish, English, and has a good understanding of Portuguese and Spanish as well all Scandinavian languages.