Think Tank GLOBSEC Creates the New Board of Directors, Former Austrian Vice-Chancellor Wilhelm Molterer Was Elected Its Chairman

Bratislava, May 13th. The international think-tank GLOBSEC created the Board of Directors to underline its international mission. The new Board consists of eight renowned individuals from Central Europe with vast experience in politics, business, international affairs and the NGO sector.

„We have used this difficult time of pandemic for making internal reforms, building new partnerships and adjusting our strategy to make sure we get out stronger from the pandemic. The creation of the Board is a new chapter in advancing the international ambition of GLOBSEC,” said Róbert Vass, the Founder and President of GLOBSEC. „The Board members are coming from the six countries from Central Europe with broader European and global business and political networks. The various backgrounds of its members and the composition of the Board reflect the ambition of GLOBSEC to be more visible in the key European capitals as the constructive voice of Central Europe in global affairs. It also reflects our continuing ambition to support public-private collaboration across the region to tackle the economic, security, social and technological challenges of today and tomorrow”, added Vass.

The GLOBSEC Board of Directors will be led by Wilhelm Molterer, the former Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister of Austria. „Constructive participation of Central Europe importantly contributes to the European Union to be a strong global partner but also as a reliable partner for our citizens. GLOBSEC will be this voice for a better European Union” commented Mr Molterer. Gordon Bajnai, the former Prime Minister of Hungary and Vazil Hudák, the former Minister of Economy of Slovakia and the former Vice-President of the European Investment Bank were elected as its Vice-Chairmen.

The GLOBSEC Board of Directors consists of the following members:

Wilhelm Molterer is the former Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister of Austria and chairman of the Austrian People’s Party. He has held several high-level positions in the public sector over the course of his career. For several years, he was Managing Director of the European Fund for Strategic Investments. He is also the former Vice President of the European Investment Bank and from 1994 to 2002, he served as the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management.

Gordon Bajnai, the former Prime Minister of Hungary, currently working as the Chairman of the Advisory Board and Global Head of Infrastructure of Campbell Lutyens, based in London. Mr Bajnai is bringing his vast experience both from the public and private sector. He was a member of the Investment Committee of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and he also served as COO of Meridiam Infrastructure.

Vazil Hudák is a member of the National Investment Council of the Czech National Development Fund and a member of the JP Morgan Senior Advisory Council for EMEA. Prior to this, he served as Vice-President of the European Investment Bank from 2016 – 2019, and as the Chief Negotiator for the EU Budget during SK EU PRES 2016. Mr Hudák was Minister of Economy and Deputy Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic. He also has extensive experience working in the private sector having served as the Vice-President of Citigroup.

Ivan Krastev, an influential intellectual, the Chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies and permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. Mr Krastev brings his broad network of contacts with experts, business representatives and political leaders to advance the mission of GLOBSEC. He is a founding board member of the European Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the Board of Trustees of The International Crisis Group. Moreover, he is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and author of several highly acclaimed books.

Michał Krupiński, is a Polish economist and former President of the Management Board of the largest Polish bank Bank Polska Kasa Opieki Spółka Akcyjna (Bank Pekao SA). He also served as CEO of the PZU Group, the region’s largest financial group, and as Head of Global Banking and Markets for Central and Eastern Europe at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Between 2008-2011, he was the Alternate Executive Director at Board of Directors of the World Bank Group in Washington and prior to this, he served as Undersecretary of State Treasury for the Polish government.

Anita Orbán, currently working as the External Affairs Director at Vodafone Hungary. Previously she was Vice President for International Affairs at Tellurian LNG in London and an Ambassador-at-Large for Energy Security of Hungary. Prior to that she was Director of Constellation Energy Institute, a think tank facilitating cooperation in the Central Eastern European energy sector.

Petr Pudil is a leading Czech entrepreneur, investor, co-founder of an influential NGO Post Bellum and Kunstahalle Praha. He is also a co-founder of bpd partners. Mr Pudil and his partners have been active in real estate development projects in Prague and have made a significant footprint in the architectural landscape of the Czech capital. The bpd global investment platform is mostly carried out through the chemical company Draslovka. The company is a global leader in the field of innovations based on CN chemistry, especially agrarian chemicals like new fumigants and biocides with a sustainable footprint.

Róbert Vass  is a founder and President of GLOBSEC and he was also instrumental in establishing the GLOBSEC Policy Institute which provides high-quality research for a global audience. Róbert currently manages an international team composed of 12 different nationalities and works with a widely respected global network of leaders from both the public and private sector. He is also a member of the advisory board of the Counter Extremism Project.

The Board of Directors serves as a strategic consultative and support body to the organisation. Its role is to help with achieving the mission of GLOBSEC and setting a strategy and vision by serving as an advisory organ. Its work will aid in developing the necessary networks to achieve the goals of GLOBSEC and to build a financially sustainable organisation.

The mission of GLOBSEC remains unchanged; to contribute to a more secure, prosperous and sustainable Europe and the world, to serve as an independent platform for public-private collaboration across Central Europe and to tackle the key challenges looming on the horizon.

For more information, visit www.globsec.org.

For media requires please contact Lucia Milanová at [email protected] or +421 948 561 703