Rear Admiral Valentino Rinaldi was born in Pollena Trocchia (NA) on May 31, 1972. He joined the Naval Academy in Livorno in 1990 and graduated in 1994.
During his career, he has served onboard different units of the Italian Navy and was appointed as Commanding Officer of the followonig ships:
From 2006 to 2011, he was assigned to the Defense General Staff, and from 2013 to 2017, he served at the Fleet Command Headquarters. From 2019 to 2021, he served at the Italian Navy General Staff, firstly as Head of Operations Department, and then as the Head of the Interministerial Relations and Territorial Coordination Office.
Rear Admiral Valentino Rinaldi achieved a degree in Maritime and Naval Sciences (University of Pisa), and in Computer Sciences (University of Salerno). He obtained a second-level Master’s degree in Marine Geomatics (University of Genoa), a second-level Master’s degree in Strategic-Military International Studies (LUISS university), and a second-level Master’s degree in Global Security Strategy (University of Turin).
He also attended the following courses:
1999 – Telecommunication. Navigation, Command and Control Officer;
2009 – Joint Staff College in Rome (12th Course);
2010 – Legal Advisor of the Armed Forces (11th Course);
2018 – Regular Session of the Defence Higher Studies’ Institute (70th Course).
From September 2021 to February 2023 Admiral Rinaldi assumed the role of Commander of the Third Naval Division (COMDINAV 3), Commander of the national Amphibious Task Force (CATF), and Deputy Commander of the Italian Maritime Forces (Deputy COMITMARFOR). During this commitment, he carried out the following duties:
– Commander of Amphibious Task Force (CATF) for the NATO Response Force (NRF) during rotation 2022 (with a stand-by period of 1 year), after the achievement of NATO readiness certification achieved on October 2021 during the major Italian Navy exercise MARE APERTO 21;
– Force Commander of Task Group 425.01 during national operation MARE SICURO – 47th rotation during the period November – December 2021;
– Commander of the Amphibious Task Force during NATO excercise Cold Response-22 (March 2022), the main exercise of the NATO Response Force, conducted in the Arctic region of Norwegian fjords;
– Force Commander of Task Group 425.01 during the 1st Rotation of Operation MEDITERRANEO SICURO (July – September 2022).
From April to September 2023 he served as the Force Commander of the EUNAVFOR MED – IRINI operation.
From October 2023, he held the position of Head of the Amphibious Department and the Command of the Italian Amphibious Force.
From 19th July 2024, he is the Operation Commander of EUNAVFOR MED Operation IRINI.
The Rear Admiral Rinaldi has been awarded the following honors and service ribbons:
– Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic;
– Maurician Medal for Merit of 10 Decades of Military Career;
– Medal for Long Command (15 years);
– Medal of Honor for Long Navigation (15 years);
– Gold Cross for Length of Service (40 years);
– Commemorative Cross for participation in cooperation operations outside the national territory;
– Commemorative Cross for operations in safeguarding free institutions and maintaining public order;
– Commemorative Medal for Antarctic Research Campaign;
– Eunavfor Med – Operation IRINI Medal;
– Ribbon of merit for service rendered at the Defense General Staff;
– Ribbon of merit for service rendered at the Navy General Staff;
– Ribbon of merit for Admiral Officers in Command of a national operation or campaigns;
– Ribbon of merit for Admiral Officers in Command of an international operation or campaigns;
– Ribbon of merit for personnel involved in the Covid-19 emergency;
– German Sports Badge (DOSB).
He is married to Mrs. Silvia and has two children: Eleonora and Davide.
Having joined the Naval Academy in Brest in 1986 and graduated from the Military School for Atomic Energy, Vice-Admiral Didier Maleterre served aboard conventional and nuclear submarines for the majority of his sea-going deployments across a number of theatres, including the Indian Ocean for Operation HERACLES in support of the CHARLES DE GAULLE Carrier Strike Group immediately after the September 11 attacks. He served on SSK VENUS and SSN EMERAUDE, XO on SSN RUBIS and SSBN Le VIGILANT, and commanded SSN SAPHIR and SSBN LE TRIOMPHANT. He completed this period as Head of the Submarine Operations Centre at the Strategic Oceanic Force (FOST) headquarters from 2010 to 2011.
After graduating from the 8th Advanced Command and Staff Course (Joint Command and Staff College in UK) in 2004, he complemented his preparation for Senior Officer appointments by attending the Centre for Higher Military Studies (CHEM) and the Institute of Higher National Defence Studies (IHEDN) in 2011. He started the senior-level part of his career with shore appointments including Director for nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and export control within the Minister of Defence, followed by Advisor to the Defence and National Security Council at the Prime Minister’s Office in the General Secretariat for Defence and National Security (SGDSN).
Promoted Rear-Admiral (LH) in 2016, he joined the Naval Staff as coordinating authority for International Relations in 2017. In 2018, he assumed Command of French Naval Forces deployed in the Indian Ocean and of the Joint French Forces based in Abu Dhabi (UAE), acting also as French National Contingent Commander for Operation Inherent Resolve (Iraq). He was the first Commander of Operation EMASOH, the European naval operation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Promoted Vice-Admiral on September 2020, he was assigned to the Joint headquarters in Paris, where he was deputy CHOD for Performance and Human Resources. He then served in 2022 as the advisor to the Minister of the Armed Forces and in January 2023, was appointed Director of the ministerial “Task Force Support Ukraine”. In June 2023 Vice-Admiral Maleterre was appointed the Deputy Commander at Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) in Northwood (UK).
He holds various decorations and awards, including commander of the National Merit, Officer of the Legion of Honour, Officer of the Maritime Merit, the Submarine Medal and the Overseas Medal (Afghanistan and Middle East).
Dr Jan Joel Andersson is Senior Analyst at the EU Institute for Security Studies, where he heads the analysis of security and defence, including CSDP, Capability Development, Defence Industry and Technology & Innovation issues.
Between 2017-2022, he was a member of the Chief Executive’s Policy Office (cabinet) at the European Defence Agency, advising the EDA Chief Executive on strategy and policy, specifically on the EU defence initiatives (CARD, PESCO, EDF), relations with the European Commission and the defence and high-tech industries.
Among his earlier experiences is a previous stint at EUISS (2014-2017), when Jan Joel was Senior Analyst for Transatlantic Security, NATO and US Politics. He was a member of the Institute’s senior staff supporting the consultation and drafting process of the EU Global Strategy, and a member of the secretariat assisting the “Group of Personalities” in the drafting of their proposal for a Preparatory Action for defence-related research, presented to the Commission in 2016. Starting in June 2017, the Preparatory Action began delivering as the precursor to the European Defence Fund.
Dr Andersson has also worked in the private sector for a world-leading crisis management consultancy and has held faculty appointments at universities and in think-tanks in the United States, Sweden, and France. He has published widely on European and transatlantic security and defence, capability development, and defence industry issues. He has been invited to lecture in more than 30 countries around the world.
Jan Joel was educated at the United World College of the Adriatic in Italy, graduated from Uppsala University in Sweden, and received his MA and PhD in political science from the University of California at Berkeley.
Christian Bueger is Professor of International Relations at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen. He is also an honorary professor of the University of Seychelles, a research fellow at the University of Stellenbosch and one of the directors of the SafeSeas network.
Previously he was professor of international relations at Cardiff University and held visiting fellowships at the University of Malta (2022), University of Bologna (2022), National University of Singapore (2015 & 2018), University College London (2015) and the University of Copenhagen (2013 & 2014). He was a Leverhulme Fellow at the Greenwich Maritime Institute, London (2011) and a research fellow at the Institute for Development and Peace, Duisburg, Germany (2010).
Professor Bueger is the author, co-author and editor of several books and over 150 articles on global governance, international practice theory, the politics of expertise, maritime security, and blue crime. In his current grant funded projects he is studying regional responses to blue crime in the Indo-Pacific (TOCAS), maritime security governance in Ghana (AMARIS), the protection of submarine data cables (DACANE) and ocean infrastructures (OCINFRA). His research has been funded, among others, by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the British Academy, the Leverhulme Trust Fund, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA) and the Velux Foundation. In 2013 he was recipient of an ESRC future research leader award.
He was the lead editor (Europe) of the European Journal of International Security (Cambridge UP) from 2014 to 2019, and the founding editor of piracy-studies.org – the research portal for maritime security (until 2019). Actively combining research with practical work he regularly acts as consultant and speaker at conferences on international policy, maritime security and transport security. His research has featured in different media, including, Al Jazeera, ITV, The Guardian, Africa Renewal, or Wall Street Journal.
He obtained his PhD in Political and Social Sciences from the European University Institute, Florence, Italy (2010). During his PhD studies, he was a visiting researcher at Cornell University and a research assistant to the European Report on Development 2009. Prior he graduated as a Diplom-Politologe from the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main and worked as a research assistant at the Institute for Social Research (IFS), Frankfurt am Main and the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (HSFK).
Dr Silvia Maria Colombo is a Researcher and Faculty Advisor at the NATO Defense College where she contributes to the NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC). Previously she held senior research positions at the International Affairs Institute (IAI) and acted as the head of the Mediterranean and Middle East Programme.
Her research work focuses on contemporary politics in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the EU and US foreign policy towards and their role in conflicts in the Middle East as well as the implications for NATO. Among her research interests there is also the geopolitics and security of the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Politics from the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa and a Master’s Degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. She speaks Arabic fluently.
Dr. Daniel Fiott is Head of the Defence and Statecraft Programme at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS) of the Brussels School of Governance (BSoG-VUB). Daniel is also a Non-Resident Fellow at the Madrid-based Real Institute Elcano, where he analyses defence industrial issues. Daniel was educated at the University of Cambridge and he holds a PhD from the VUB. He earned his PhD on European defence-industrial cooperation at the Brussels School of Governance in 2017, and conducted research from 2012-2016 at the School on European defence policy and defence industrial issues. From 2016-2022, Daniel was Security and Defence Editor at the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) – the Institute is an official agency of the EU. From 2017-2022, Daniel served as a Visiting Lecturer at the Brussels School of International Studies (BSIS), University of Kent. From 2014-2016 Daniel was a fellow of the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) following their decision to award Fiott with a scholarship for his doctoral research. Before this time Daniel worked for the College of Europe and various other think tanks.
A graduate of HEC Paris in International Affairs and Organizational Theory, as well as in Political Philosophy from the University of Paris Sorbonne, François-Joseph FÜRRY is a former auditor of the IHEDN. He is a specialist in energy markets, infrastructure financing, and socially responsible investment (SRI)
-Senior Officer, Political Advisor and Civil-Military Relations (International Organizations & NGOs) of NATO within the staff of the France Rapid Reaction Corps in Lille, in charge for 2022 of the NRF alert and strategic watch on the eastern flank of the Alliance.
Member of the Board of Directors of the Impac Regional Fund Autonomy and Solidarity and the CMNE Foundation
Rear Adrmiral (l.h.) Massimiliano Lauretti was born in Frosinone on April 3rd 1970.
Upon completing the high school, he joined the Naval Academy in Livorno where he attended his initial officer training, from 1989 to 1993, graduating in Maritime and Naval Sciences at the University of Pisa.
In 1994 he was appointed as Surface Warfare Officer and sent on board (FFG) ITS ALISEO as weapons officer until 1997.
In 1998 he was employed with the same duty on board (FFG) ITS GRECALE until 2001.
In 2003, after attending the Naval Commanding School in Augusta and the Naval Warfare Advanced School in Venice, was appointed Commanding Officer of the (AWT) ITS TICINO (August 2003 – August 2004).
In 2004 he was assigned on board (DDG) ITS DURAND DE LA PENNE where he attended several staff duties (up to OPSO).
From November 2006 to June 2012, he served at the ITALIAN NAVY GENERAL STAFF, as Head of “Operational Planning and Training” Section.
On July 11th 2012, he was appointed Commanding Officer of the (OPV) ITS CIGALA FULGOSI.
From August 2013 to August 2017 he was assigned at the ITALIAN NAVY GENERAL STAFF, as the Head of Operations Office for Plans, Operations and Maritime Strategies Department.
From 11th September 2017 to 15th October 2018, he was appointed Commanding Officer of the (DDG) ITS FRANCESCO MIMBELLI.
Since 1st November 2018 to date he has been serving as Head of Plans and Operations Department of the Command in Chief of the Fleet (CINCNAV).
Since 10 January 2022, he is Head of Plans & Maritime Policy Department of the Italian Navy General Staff (Rome).
Saint Maurice Commendation Medal
Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Naval Long Command Medal of honor – Silver
Long Command Silver Medal
Gold Cross for long service
NATO and WEO Medals for “Sharp Guard – Maritime Monitor
Roderick Parkes has worked for national and international think tanks across Europe over the past two decades.
Dr Roderick Parkes
The focus of his research has been non-state threats and hybrid warfare, the management of international flows and the protection of critical infrastructure, crisis response and the geopolitical drivers behind internal security threats.
He has managed large-scale research projects and has extensively applied methodologies of strategic foresight.
Before joining the NATO Defense College, Dr. Parkes was the deputy director of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin and led its Alfred von Oppenheim Centre on the Future of Europe.
A British national, Roderick studied at the Universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh and Bonn.
Erica Pepe is Research Manager in the IISS Executive Office and Research Analyst for the Conflict, Security and Development Programme. She supports the IISS leadership and the IISS Research Board in managing research programmes, fundraising, and outreach activities, and is responsible for the IISS Advisory Council. She also conducts analysis and contributes to the annual IISS Armed Conflict Survey publication, as well as other IISS major dossiers, publications, blogs and research projects.
Alessandro Politi is director since 12 years of the NATO Defense College Foundation, the only NATO-recognised NGO strategic affairs centre. A global political and strategic analyst with 30 years of experience, he has taught geopolitics and international security in different public and private establishments. He has worked with four Defence Ministers, while consulting for other three major decision makers and several governmental bodies. Latest book: “Goodbye Merkel”. Last report “IHEDN, Pole Luxembourg, Quelles postures de l’Union Européenne, jeu d’échecs ou jeu de rôles, vis-à-vis de l’Alliance du Traité de l’Atlantique Nord ?”.
Since August 2020, Ariella Viehe currently serves as the Head of Current Operations on the NATO International Staff, a portfolio which includes Kosovo, Iraq and the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, maritime issues and engagement with the African Union. Prior to joining NATO, she served for three years as a defense policy expert at the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and nine years as a foreign affairs expert at the U.S. Department of State.
At the Department of Defense, she served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy as Director for Egypt, Israel and the Levant, including Syria in 2020. Prior to that, from 2018-2020, she served as the first Chief of Staff for Middle East Policy, covering issues from Iran to the Arabian Gulf. In 2017 she was the Senior Director for Israel.
Prior to joining the DoD, she spent nine years at the Department of State, where she covered Near East Affairs, including Afghanistan and Pakistan. In that role, she led the strategic planning for nearly $8 billion in U.S. foreign assistance to the Middle East, as the Libya Country Coordinator for foreign assistance to the post-Qaddafi country, as Senior Advisor to the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP), as Special Assistant to Deputy Secretary of State and as the U.S. liaison to the German Federal Foreign Office for Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs. In 2014-2015 she was selected as a Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) International Affairs Fellow where she led the first and only comprehensive study of Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan. From 2004-2006, she supported the Department of State Office of Iraq Affairs, including at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, primarily covering strategic communications, elections and the initiation of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the post-Saddam country. In 2006, she was selected as a Fulbright fellow and studied Arabic and media issues in Amman, Jordan.
Ariella holds a Masters’ degree in International Affairs and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a Bachelors’ degree in International History from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
Dr Weston is Senior Coordinator for the Coordinated Maritime Presences, as well as Deputy to the Director in the Security and Defence Policy Directorate and Head of Division for Maritime Security, in the European External Action Service. She is responsible for policy development and coordination on maritime security, as well as for the implementation of the political aspects of the EU Coordinated Maritime Presences concept. With significant experience in EU civilian and military crisis management structures, she has been involved in the evolution of the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy from its early stages, including in the planning and conduct of many of the EU’s civilian crisis management missions.
In 2008-2010, she served as Chief of Staff in the International Civilian Office/ Office of the EU Special Representative in Kosovo, led by Pieter Feith. In 2018-19, she was seconded to the European Commission in the framework of the Security Union Task Force, under the authority of Commissioner King.
Dr Weston holds a doctorate in Political and Social Science from the European University Institute in Florence and is a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe.
