George Scutaru is founder and the CEO of the New Strategy Center, the leading Romanian think tank in security and foreign affairs. 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 Committee on Defense, Parliament of Romania and between 2014-2015 he was national security advisor to the President of Romania. On behalf of the President, Scutaru coordinated in 2015 the negotiation process for the national political agreement for a 2% of the GDP financing of the defense sector.  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

Dr. Murman Margvelashvili has worked extensively on various research projects in Caucasus Region and Central Asia, participated and presented at numerous international conferences and workshops, conducted policy analyses, advocacy and outreach, interacted with authorities in the EU, Georgia and other countries.

His current research interests include: various aspects of energy security, sustainability and systems thinking, energy planning, energy education, regional and EU cooperation on energy issues, reforming Georgia's energy sector in line with Energy Community Acquis.