About Us

Talha Haroon is Managing Editor of the Helsinki Geoeconomics Monitor, where he oversees editorial direction and commissioning across the publication. He is currently pursuing an MA in International Political Economy at King’s College London.

Brendan Van Crout is a Consultant in Access Partnership’s Space & Connectivity team, advising clients on strategy, policy, and market intelligence across the space sector.

Madeline Burns is a recent Politics and Economics graduate of Georgetown University. She has extensive economic research experience, having held positions at the Council on Foreign Relations, Brookings, and other D.C.-based think tanks. Madeline currently works as a Senior Research Assistant at Keybridge.

Georgios Alexakis holds an Advanced Master’s in European Interdisciplinary Studies from the College of Europe in Natolin and a BA in International and European Studies from the University of Macedonia. He has worked as an Executive Assistant at the College of Europe in Natolin, supporting the Analytics and Educational Innovation and Capacity Building offices.

Haroon Khan is a doctoral candidate and researcher in legal artificial intelligence in Switzerland, and has previously lectured in tech law & international security at leading Dutch universities. In his spare time, Haroon leads workshops on media literacy and AI ethics at Axolotl Intelligence, his educational practice. He also serves as a specialist in the Swiss Air Force.

Michael Dekhtyar is a graduate student at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, concentrating in Geoeconomics, Business, & Finance. Prior to his graduate studies, Michael worked as a Research Analyst at Project Liberty, a tech policy initiative in NYC.

Andrea Casetta is a financial risk manager, working for major international groups in London and Brussels. He has built an international career across Europe. He was trained in economics, management, and public policy in Italy, Germany, and has also studied in the US.

Hongcheng Hsiao is a PhD researcher at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He holds an M.Sc. in International Relations and Diplomacy from Leiden University, the Netherlands, and a B.A. in Political Science from Soochow University, Taiwan. Hongcheng has worked in various positions related to cross-border investment analysis in banking industry, completing a traineeship at GMF.

Brandon Juvani is a Susan Strange Fellow with the Helsinki Geoeconomics Society and the Industrial Policy Section Editor of HEGEMON. He currently works in corporate governance, shareholder activism, and sustainability advisory in New York. He has worked at the the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and United Nations.

Thomas Murphy is an External Affairs Associate at the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. He graduated with Distinction from the International Christian University in Tokyo with a Master’s in International Relations. Previously, he worked as a Program Coordinator at the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies.

Arrizal Jaknanihan is Researcher for the ASEAN Studies Program at The Habibie Center in Jakarta. His research and publications cover economic security, international trade, and regional security in ASEAN and Indonesia. He graduated from The Australian National University with a Master of International Relations.

Javiera Casanova Montiel is a final-year International Relations student at the University of Navarra, with a background in Law and a growing focus on global finance and wealth management.

Meylinda is a geoeconomics and public policy researcher with a background in international political economy and law. She currently serves as Scientific Editor for Investment at the Helsinki Geoeconomics Society and works in business operations at GoTo Gojek Indonesia. She holds a Master of Public Policy and Management from the University of Melbourne.

Neville Lai is an Asian macro analyst. His insights were featured in leading media platforms. He has experience in consulting and philanthropy across Europe and Asia, including with the UN and the WTO. He completed his Master of Business Administration from the University of Oxford

Aushaz Irfan is a PhD candidate at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. His doctoral research examines how great powers respond to states pursuing hedging strategies amid intensifying strategic competition.

Jaakko Pakarinen is a Susan Strange Fellow and Business Editor at HEGEMON. He works within Sunly's energy trading team, building quantitative frameworks for market pricing, power data, and asset hedging. He holds a BSc in Economics from Aalto University, alongside a parallel degree in Information Technology.

Mostafa Bushehri is a Business Editor for Finance at Hegemon. He is a former Global Energy Fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy and holds a Master of Public Administration, International Finance, from Columbia University in the City of New York.

Gustavo Moura holds an M.A. in International Political Economy from the Federal University of ABC. He is a corresponding member of the French Academy for Economic Intelligence, and is currently a Visiting Researcher at the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Madalina is a legal expert and researcher in EU and international law. She holds a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Florence (cum laude) and a Master’s in Global Law Making from the University of Trento (cum laude), where studied the impact of green industrial policies on trade.

Arbnor Bajraliu is a doctoral researcher at Loughborough University, London. He has published research on geoeconomic competition and fossil-fuel asset stranding. He also works as a research assistant on projects examining European enlargement, democratic resilience, and low-carbon transitions.

Lorenzo Cori is an International Business major at the George Washington University. He has studied in Rome, Beijijng, and Washington, DC. He currently serves as Business Editor at Hegemon.

Miguel Ángel Casquet Cano is a PhD researcher in Economics at Complutense University of Madrid and a research fellow at the Complutense Institute for International Studies. He has completed research stays at the University of Alicante, Durham University, CERFACS, and Politecnico di Milano.

Michael Budiman is a recent International Relations graduate from Satya Wacana Christian University, Indonesia. He was previouly an intern at the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies at Universitas Gadjah Mada, and led his university’s student newspaper.

Priyanshu Agarwal is a Senior Research Fellow at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has presented his research at multiple international conferences and academic forums and has published in peer-reviewed journals.

Matilda Kaari is a Master of Science graduate in International Politics from KU Leuven. She is currently an Intern at the Council of the Baltic Sea States Secretariat (CBSS) and works with the priority area Sustainable and Prosperous Region.

Luka Danelia is a recent international relations graduate from Tbilisi State University. He has contributed policy analyses to outlets such as the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs and Cambridge Journal for Political Affairs, and currently receives the Don Lavoie Fellowship.

Apoorba Banerjee is an industrial strategy and geoeconomics professional with leadership experience across ASEAN, including regional operations at Osborne Engineering. She serves as a Task Force Observer on the Industrial Policy Committee at the Helsinki Geoeconomics Society.

Matthew Potts is the Regional Correspondent for China at Hegemon, having graduated with an MSc Economics from LSE. A technologist and researcher, he currently works as a software engineer for high performance trading systems at Lloyds Banking Group in London.

Hamna Shakeel is a multimedia journalist and researcher specializing in European tech regulation, AI policy, and regional media ecosystems. A graduate of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi, she is an Fellow of CNN Academy.

Massimiliano d'Amore is HEGEMON's Sectoral Correspondent for Sanctions. He founded The Red Zone, an OSINT and geopolitical intelligence platform, and is a Strategic Development Partner at Blue Water Strategy.

Julius Lustfeld is the Sectoral Correspondent for Monetary Systems at Hegemon. He is completing an MSc in Economic and Social Sciences at Bocconi University in Milan, with a focus on financial economics and time-series analysis.

Dr Freeman M. Mateko is an economist and policy analyst specialising in industrial development and economic transformation in Africa. He holds a PhD in Economics and Management Sciences, a Master of Management in Governance, and a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Economics.