2016–2017

ANNUAL REPORT
 2016–2017 ANNUAL REPORT

As the world changes,

so too does the Atlantic Council.
Yet all along we are driven by the
conviction that if the United States
shapes the future constructively with its
friends and allies, the world will thrive.
If we fail to do so, less benevolent
forces—or chaos—will fill the void.

ATLANTIC COUNCIL
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

04
LETTER FR OM THE

TABL E O F CHA I R MA N & CEO

06
CONTEN TS
CHAPTER 1
THEMATI C
PR OGR A MS
08 B
 rent Scowcroft Center
on International Security
12 Global Energy Center
54
CHAPTER 1II
16 Millennium Leadership Program
GLOB A L
20 G lobal Business
& Economics Program CON V EN I N GS
INTRODUCING: 56 D istinguished
Leadership Awards
24 Adrienne Arsht
Center for Resilience 58 G lobal Citizen Awards
26 D igital Forensic Research Lab 60 Istanbul Summit
62 Wrocław Global Forum
64 G lobal Energy Forum
28
CHAPTER II
R EGI ON A L
66
CEN TER S
CHAPTER 1V
30 R afik Hariri Center COMMUN I T I ES
for the Middle East OF I N F LUEN CE
34 Adrienne Arsht 68 B oard of Directors
Latin America Center & International Advisory Board
38 Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center 70 H onor Roll of Contributors
42 Future Europe Initiative 72 F inancial Summary
46 South Asia Center 74 B y the Numbers
50 Africa Center 76 Atlantic Council Staff

02 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 03

 MESSAG E FR OM
T H E C HA IR M A N & C E O
The Atlantic Council emerged more than a half century ago to
defend and advance the rules-based international order that
far-sighted US leaders, working alongside allies, built on the
ashes of World War II. of two world wars to define a grouping of North
Atlantic nations united by shared interests and “We focus on a mission of
values, as those ideals have spread across the globe,
Today’s challenges demand new thinking to renew that system so too has the Atlantic Council widened our circle ‘working together
and advance stability and prosperity. of partners and adjusted the scope of our mission.
to secure the future.’”
The work of our five regional centers is global—
In this 70th anniversary year of the Marshall Plan, a destabilized Middle East with waves of refugees from Latin America to South Asia—reflecting the
one of the most visionary initiatives in US history, a and exports of violent extremism that have turned rise of new powers and centers of commerce. Our focus on results has also attracted an extended
host of rising challenges threaten one of the greatest a regional crisis into a global threat. At the same network of global citizens who join our community
periods of major power peace, global prosperity, time, the United States struggles to conjure the Our half dozen thematic programs—including of influence. Many of them are mentioned in
and democratic progress the world has ever seen. capacity, political will, and strategy to address this the newly launched Adrienne Arsht Center for Chapter IV: Communities of Influence—from our
inflection point in history. Resilience—combine efforts with the high-impact Board of Directors and International Advisory
Today’s challenge is starkly similar to our founding regional centers to work in a way that mirrors the Board members to those named in the Honor
mission: working alongside partners around the These geopolitical trials come at a time of complexity of our contemporary world. We operate Role of Contributors and the Atlantic Council’s
world to secure the future while recognizing our unprecedented acceleration in technological not in a vacuum, but in a collaborative effort that individual and corporate members, our partners,
failure—witness Ukraine, witness Syria—will open and societal change, driven by a fourth industrial breaks silos and draws from a range of expertise, and our impressive staff.
the door to less benevolent forces or violent chaos. revolution that is testing the capacity of all countries, steered by an over-arching strategy and world view.
communities, companies, and individuals to navigate. Thank you for joining our mission.
What is dramatically different is the context. As a single organization, we focus on a mission
We at the Atlantic Council are the heirs to a of “working together to secure the future”—a This is the Atlantic Council’s moment.
While the post-World War II years were shaped commitment not only to sustain, but to improve mission that has never been more crucial at the
same time that our capabilities have never been Onward and upward,
primarily by a superpower competition, the forces the world—to adapt and advance the international
at work now are more complex and confounding, system that has produced so much good for so as robust. Over the past decade, the Council has
requiring the Atlantic Council to operate globally many. Seldom have our tools and capacities been seen tremendous growth in size and impact, with
and across more diverse functional areas to address so urgently required. a more than ten-fold increase of revenue and
the threats and pursue the opportunities. staff. This advance has been driven by our focus,
The Council represents a set of ideals, not a dynamism, and optimism—what we call our culture
These challenges include European fragmentation, particular geography. Although the concept of an of intellectual entrepreneurialism. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. Frederick Kempe
Russian revanchism, a more assertive China, and Atlantic community emerged from the destruction Chairman President and CEO

04 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 05

 THEMATIC PROGRAMS

CHAPTER I

T HEMAT IC
PROGR A MS
08
B rent Scowcroft Cente r
on Internationa l Secur it y

12
Globa l Energy Cente r

16
Millennium Lea ders hip Prog ram

20
Globa l B usiness & Economic s Prog ram

INTRODUCING:

24
Adrienne A rsht Cen te r for Re silie nce

26
Digita l Forensic Res e arc h L ab

06 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 07
 BRENT SCOWCROFT CENTER
ON INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

STRATEGIES FOR
NAVIGATING A TURBULENT
AND DYNAMIC WORLD
The Brent Scowcroft Center’s work is inspired by
General Scowcroft’s lifetime of commitment
to purposeful and collaborative US leadership—
particularly among NATO countries and partners—
to tackle the world’s most challenging security issues.

In the spirit of Gen. Scowcroft, one of America’s leading strategists and the only
individual to serve two presidents as national security advisor, and led by Atlantic
Council Senior Vice President Barry Pavel, the Scowcroft Center emphasizes the search
for comprehensive, lasting, long-term strategies.

Leading that effort, the center’s Foresight, Strategy, and Risks Initiative in 2016 in California—in study trips designed to acquire
published eight Atlantic Council Strategy Papers. They included Global Risks 2035, a a deeper understanding of what powers US
flagship quadrennial report examining unfolding global mega-trends that will shape the economic dynamism and how federal and state
next two decades. The aim was to provide deeper understanding of potential future policies can advance international innovation
scenarios at a moment of transition between US administrations. and competitiveness.
At the same time, the center reached far beyond Washington, DC, to inspire its future Meanwhile, the Transatlantic Security Initiative,
thinking and scenario planning, drawing upon local leaders, tech innovators, and in a year of geopolitical turmoil, leveraged its core
venture capitalists from some of America’s most vibrant communities—including NATO and European security expertise to address
Madison, Wisconsin; Boulder, Colorado; Austin, Texas; and the San Francisco Bay Area the risks associated with Russia’s increasingly
assertive posture. The initiative led an all-star
RIGHT: A US Navy serviceman (left) launches an unmanned aerial vehicle assisted by a delegation to the 2016 NATO Warsaw Summit
Philippine Navy serviceman during an annual joint military exercise called “Carat” at former and published two critical reports on restoring
US military base Sangley Point, west of Manila. (Photo by REUTERS/Erik De Castro.) the power and purpose of the Alliance and on the
eroding European pillar of NATO. Both reports
sparked debate in Washington, DC, Brussels, key
allied capitals, and beyond.
As one element of the center’s mission to
strengthen global security partnerships, the
Middle East Peace and Security Initiative also
led a high-level delegation—this one to the United
Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia—
to meet decision makers such as Saudi Crown
Prince Mohammad bin Nayef, Deputy Crown
Prince Mohammad bin Salman, and the United
Arab Emirate’s ministers of energy and oil, Suhail
Al Mazrouei and Sultan Al Jaber.

08 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 09

 BRENT SCOWCROFT CENTER ON INTERNATIONAL SECURITY THEMATIC PROGRAMS

The Scowcroft Center promotes strategies and policies for the United States “Thanks to the Atlantic Council for an opportunity to
and its allies to navigate a turbulent and rapidly changing world. It is the exchange some thoughts…. I think it is one of the most
flagship for the Atlantic Council’s global mission of “Working Together to
Secure the Future,” focusing on issues that range from NATO’s future and relevant institutions in this town, with a reach around
Mideast security to cyber statecraft and strategic foresight.
the world that’s rather significant.”
CHUCK HAGEL, FORMER US SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
With the Council’s Middle East Strategy Task Force included two panel discussions, which assembled
(see page 30), the initiative also conducted war- four Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to address defense
game simulations on how to defeat the Islamic requirements alongside commercial opportunities
State. The participants tested various scenarios and a conversation with the chiefs of corporate-
of increased or decreased US engagement in the venture investing at Lockheed Martin, Northrop
2 016 – 2 01 7 AN NUA L R E P O R T

Middle East to help incoming US administration
officials identify fruitful strategic pathways.
The center’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative focused
on how the rapid evolution of the Internet of
Grumman, Thales, and Airbus. To better understand
the security needs of the future, the initiative turned
to fiction and the arts. The Art of the Future project
hosted Hollywood writers and directors together
with the National Intelligence Council to imagine WHO IS...

Things is increasing our dependence on connected
technology faster than we are developing the ability
to secure it from failure or attack. Underscoring
the Atlantic Council’s results-oriented purpose,
the initiative’s ideas helped inspire actions by the
US Department of Homeland Security, the Food
and Drug Administration, and the Presidential
Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity.
The Emerging Defense Challenges Initiative
continued to shape the discussion around the
evolution of defense-industrial resources. Highlights
the future of global governance and armed conflict.
The initiative even hosted an evening of stand-up
comedy to analyze and roast the center’s Global
Risks 2035, an event hailed by Think Tank Watch as
“the best think tank event of 2016.”
Reflecting the growing importance of security
issues in the Pacific Rim, the center’s Asia Security
Initiative launched its Asia-Pacific Strategy Task
Force to develop a comprehensive, nonpartisan
Asia-Pacific strategy for the United States and its
allies and partners.
BRENT SCOWCROFT
A soldier-scholar turned statesman, Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft remains the only man to have ever served
two presidents as national security advisor.
Over the course of Scowcroft’s career in public
service, he developed a reputation as a source
of balanced, bipartisan analysis that made him
a sought-after voice on national security for
commanders-in-chief of both parties.
“He would not try to run over the head of
cabinet members, or cut them off from contact
with the president, yet I also knew he would
give me his own experienced views on whatever
problem might arise,” President George H. W.
Bush said of Scowcroft.
When looking back at the events of 1989—what we
commemorate is an attitude more than anything
specific. It was the values that won.”
The Atlantic Council in 2012 honored Scowcroft’s
legacy by relaunching its flagship international
security program as the Brent Scowcroft Center.
Guided by Scowcroft’s vision, the center blends
analysis of today’s challenges with long-term
strategic thinking about how the United States’
role in the world interacts with historical forces,
technological change, geography, and culture.

At the heart of the Cold War, Scowcroft was a
leading and consistent advocate for NATO and
strong transatlantic cooperation as a means to
preserve peace and security. As national security
advisor, he—with President Bush—presided over
the Berlin Wall’s fall, German unification, and
the Cold War’s peaceful resolution, events many
thought were beyond reach.
ABOVE LEFT: Then-US Senator Jeff Sessions (left), now US attorney general, explains the dynamics of the US
“The events were great. The hazards were
presidential election and the potential implications of a Trump presidency to the Atlantic Council’s International deep,” said Scowcroft. “But we navigated the
Advisory Board. IAB members Aleksander Kwaśniewski (center), former Polish president, and Jacob Wallenberg, complexities to advance freedom and security, at
chairman of Investor AB, listen. ABOVE RIGHT: Michael Morell (left), former deputy director of the central intelligence a time when many others deemed it impossible.
agency, and Gen. James L. Jones, former national security advisor and chairman of the Brent Scowcroft Center,
give highlights of their versions of the president’s morning briefing at the Atlantic Council Annual Forum.
“In 1961, the Council’s founders—those ‘present
at the creation’ of our international rules-based
system—joined forces across party lines and
among disparate organizations to form the
Atlantic Council,” said Scowcroft. “They did so
out of a need for sustained US engagement in
the world and to develop an ambitious agenda
for the Atlantic community. They succeeded. The
Council convinced me to lend my own name to
the effort by showing me how it would help carry
forward that same mission at this similarly crucial
moment in history. I’m so proud of the work it
accomplishes each day.”

10 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 11

 GLOBAL ENERGY CENTER

W H AT ’S POWER I N G
A CH ANG I N G WOR L D
The Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center
provides reliable, objective, nonpartisan expertise
that has made it the go-to venue for the exchange
of ideas and practical policy solutions at the
intersection of geopolitics and energy markets.

In 2016 and 2017, the center combined a robust agenda in Washington, DC, with two
major convenings abroad to explore the most pressing energy and environmental issues.

Sensing a growing need for a truly global platform where energy producers and
consumers could seek solutions to common concerns, the center launched the Atlantic
Council Global Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi in January 2017, with CNN International as
its media partner (see page 64). The forum will continue as an annual event, with the
ambition of setting the global energy agenda year after year.

In its inaugural iteration, the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum kicked off Abu Dhabi
Sustainability Week, welcoming more than five hundred delegates—including energy
ministers from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s OPEC member states; Fatih Birol,
the head of the International Energy Agency; Adnan Amin, the director-general of the
International Renewable Energy Agency, some fifty chief executives, and dozens of
diplomats, civil society leaders, and media.

OPPOSITE: Oil pumps and wind-energy turbines work together to produce energy supplies.
According to the International Energy Agency, 2.5 wind turbines and 30,000 solar panels are
installed globally every hour. (Photo by Krasowit.)

12 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 13

 GLOBAL ENERGY CENTER
The Global Energy Center identifies trends and devises creative strategies
to promote global access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy.
What set the forum apart was its success in
bringing together leaders from both traditional
and renewable energy worlds to discuss the
intersection of geopolitics and energy production,
technological innovation, and climate issues.
At the same time, the center redesigned the
Atlantic Council’s eighth annual Istanbul Summit
as a regional discussion of energy, economic, and
2 016 – 2 01 7 AN NUA L R E P O R T
security issues that included keynotes from Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Minister of
Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak,
among others (see page 60).
Covering topics as diverse as infrastructure
financing, rebuilding Syria, and regional energy
production, the summit in April 2017 zeroed in
on forging stronger cooperative partnerships for
the future—building on the Council’s successful
effort to host the first public meeting since 2010
of Turkish and Israeli energy ministers in October
ABOVE: Participants at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum snap a picture before test-driving one of several
electric and hybrid vehicles at Yas Marina Circuit, home of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. For more on the Global
Energy Forum, see page 64.
14
THEMATIC PROGRAMS
“This broad range of prominent participants assembled
[at the Global Energy Forum] reflects the convening
power and global standing of the Atlantic Council,
2016. This meeting proved to be instrumental in
the normalization of relations between Turkey and which it not only enjoys in Washington, DC, its home,
Israel and points toward significant cooperation
on gas development in the Eastern Mediterranean. but also in many different parts of the world.”
In Washington, DC, the Global Energy Center, ADNAN AMIN, DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY
under the leadership of Founding Director and
Chairman Richard Morningstar, focused on the
changing dynamics of the energy world and their
geopolitical implications.
The center’s team of experts produced a range
of cutting-edge analysis, including a report
that encouraged ending the US oil export ban,
innovative research on energy development
opportunities in Latin America, a ground-
breaking examination of downstream oil theft, and
thought-provoking studies of gas development
opportunities in the Eastern Mediterranean and on
gas pipeline interconnections across central and
southeastern Europe.
ABOVE LEFT: From left, Senators Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) share details of their bipartisan
legislation, the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA), during a public event at the Atlantic
Council. ABOVE RIGHT: Then-US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz headlines the Atlantic Council board meeting.
Anticipating congressional action, the center’s US Climate Envoy Jonathan Pershing ahead of the
report, Surging Liquefied Natural Gas Trade, historic Marrakesh climate change conference—the
demonstrated the commercial and political value first major climate gathering of nations following
to US, European, and global audiences of US the US election. In addition, it initiated a series of
liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports just before reports to address power sector transformation
the first commercial cargoes of US LNG hit the in the developing world, led bilateral senate staff
international market. dialogues on carbon pricing, hosted US Senators
James Inhofe (R-OK) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-
The center houses the Council’s rapidly growing RI) to discuss nuclear innovation, and convened
body of work on climate change and energy numerous discussions on carbon capture and
transformation and on October 25, 2016, hosted sequestration for fossil-fuel power plants.
ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 15
 MILLENNIUM
LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

ORGANIZING COMMUNITY
DESIGNED FOR IMPACT
Matt McDonald, the head of strategy and
operations at YouTube Marketing, and Albert Cho,
the vice president for strategy and development
at Xylem, a global water management company,
have more than just business acumen in common.
They are both Atlantic Council Millennium Fellows,
members of a growing community of the most
promising rising leaders designed to advance
transformational, global leadership.

Each year, the Millennium Leadership Program, across four unique fellowship initiatives,
gathers seventy-five of the highest-impact leaders under thirty-five through a
recruitment process that is more competitive than Harvard College admissions. Fellows
represent diverse sectors and backgrounds, hailing from more than fifty countries, and
now include alumni numbering more than five hundred since 2011.

OPPOSITE: A demonstrator stares down a riot policeman during a protest in Santiage marking
the anniversary of Chile’s 1973 military coup. (Photo by REUTERS/Carlos Vera.)

16 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 17

 MILLENNIUM LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
2 016 – 2 01 7 AN NUA L R E P O R T
ABOVE:Carl Bildt (left), former prime minister and foreign minister of Sweden, speaks to regional press at the
FutureNATO Summit in conjunction with the NATO Summit in Warsaw.
Directed by Jonathan Silverthorne, the program
integrates its fellows into the heart of Atlantic
Council programming as full participants, forging
a memorable experience that catalyzes lifelong
friendships and robust professional networks.
Fellows leverage the opportunities presented by
the program to deepen their influence on the issues
of greatest importance to them.
Examples include post-9/11 veteran fellow Tom
Brennan, founder of the War Horse—which pushed
the boundaries of military reporting by breaking the
Marine Corps illicit photo-sharing story with support
from the Council’s Take Point Fellowship—and
Millennium Fellow Mira Patel, former senior adviser
in USAID’s Global Development Lab, who helped
to launch the Atlantic Council’s groundbreaking
“The future…belongs to the young, but the young have to
believe that there is a way for them to make a difference.”
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, FORMER US SECRETARY OF STATE
18
LGBTI Diplomacy Initiative, convening top leaders
in foreign policy to advance inclusion and diversity.
MLP’s 2016 class featured seventy-five innovators
and frontline practitioners in all four of the
program’s core initiatives.
The Millennium Fellows, like McDonald and Cho,
are high achievers from the private sector, as well
as civil servants and civil-society activists.
Among them was Omaid Sharifi—the co-founder
of ArtLords—whose anti-corruption themed blast-
wall stencils have made their way from the streets
of Kabul, Afghanistan, to galleries around the world.
Millennium Fellows participate in exclusive
programming, including executive retreats, study
ATLANTIC COUNCIL
THEMATIC PROGRAMS
The Millennium Leadership Program forges and empowers a community
of remarkable rising leaders to tackle the increasingly complex challenges
they will need to navigate to secure the future.
tours, and flagship Atlantic Council conferences, Portugal, focused on the threat of coastal erosion
as well as join the activities of MLP’s other and the health impacts of climate change; the
thematic fellowships. president of the Arctic Institute in Washington,
DC—a leading think tank bringing the frontline
The Council also continues its long-standing work of research of scientists stationed throughout the
cultivating the next generation of NATO leaders. Arctic and Antarctic regions directly to policy
makers; and business leaders representing Solar
In 2016, the Atlantic Council tapped fifteen City, Southern California Edison, and other
FutureNATO Fellows, selected through a photo companies at the fore of the new energy economy.
and essay competition, to share the stage at the
NATO Summit in Warsaw with heads of state and
top leaders—including former Prime Minister of
Sweden Carl Bildt and former US Secretary of
State Madeleine K. Albright.
Millennium Fellows attending the NATO Summit
first participated in the program’s inaugural study
tour to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Fellows
learned firsthand about the important role NATO
played, and continues to play, in “winning the
peace” in Europe, helping to anchor the subsequent
conversations at the summit in the concrete reality
of NATO’s everyday impact.
The Council also selected ten exceptional post-
9/11 military veterans for the 2016 class of the Take
Point Fellowship, which is designed to allow these
individuals to translate their downrange experience
into international affairs leadership.
In its three years, the program has trained more than
thirty veterans and awarded more than $150,000
to support veteran-founded initiatives, including
the War Horse—the only nonprofit newsroom
dedicated to investigative coverage of the Defense
and Veterans Affairs departments—and HillVets, a
leading veteran-run nonprofit placing veterans into
staff roles on Capitol Hill.
For the sixth consecutive year, the Millennium
Leadership Program also welcomed thirty new
up-and-coming professionals into the network of
ABOVE: Millennium Leadership Fellow Peter Kalotai
Emerging Leaders in Energy and Environmental
Policy (ELEEP).
(left), former deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of
Hungary in the United States, moderates a panel with
Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger (right), chairman of
The 2016 class of fellows included Dr. Ricardo the Munich Security Conference, at the 2016 NATO
Baptiste, an elected member of the Portuguese Future Leaders Summit on the margins of the official
national parliament and city counselor in Cascais, NATO Summit in Warsaw.
2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 19
 GLOBAL BUSINESS
& ECONOMICS PROGRAM

INCLUSIVE
ECONOMIC GROWTH
TO ANCHOR STABILITY
The Atlantic Council’s Global Business & Economics
Program explores and advocates policy innovation
to modernize economic institutions, address persistent
economic stagnation and rising income inequality,
and develop a transatlantic and global economy that
produces the greatest benefit for the most people.

In 2016 and 2017, under the leadership of former executive director of the International
Monetary Fund, Andrea Montanino, the program’s flagship EuroGrowth Initiative
galvanized a transatlantic community behind free trade, regulatory harmonization, and
macroeconomic coordination as an essential element of global prosperity.

OPPOSITE: Students, trade union members, and federations of pensioners and food and
tourism workers demonstrate against unemployment and pension cuts during a protest
rally outside the Greek Ministry of Labor in central Athens. (Photo by NURPHOTO/
Panayiotis Tzamaros.)

20 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 21

 GLOBAL BUSINESS & ECONOMICS PROGRAM THEMATIC PROGRAMS

“I still believe in the European social model but we also
need growth. That is why I was very pleased to hear
about the EuroGrowth Initiative.”
JYRKI KATAINEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION VICE-PRESIDENT
Co-chaired by José Manuel Barroso, former
president of the European Commission, and Stuart
Eizenstat, former US ambassador to the European
Union, the initiative published five reports tackling
the implications of Brexit, the EU’s excessive fiscal
2 016 – 2 01 7 AN NUA L R E P O R T
Among them, European Trade Commissioner
Cecilia Malmström was the first European leader
to speak in Washington following the Brexit vote.
Her message: It’s now more important than ever
to continue the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
The Global Business & Economics Program works to deepen the integration
between North America and Europe—and increase job-creating growth on
both sides of the Atlantic—as the bedrock of global economic leadership.
transparency can advance innovation and economic
dynamism, strengthen the rule of law, and combat
corruption and terrorism. In partnership with
Thomson Reuters, the series hosted six speakers
in 2016 including Christine Lagarde, the managing
director of the International Monetary Fund, and
Marcel Lettre, then-undersecretary of defense for

burden, and other challenges to inclusive economic
growth across Europe.
The EuroGrowth Initiative became a forum of choice
for European decision makers visiting Washington.
In 2016, five former European prime ministers and
six European commissioners chose the Atlantic
Council to present their thoughts and engage top-
level audiences, physically and digitally.
Partnership negotiations. intelligence at the Pentagon.
European Commission Vice-President Valdis The Global Business & Economics Program
Dombrovskis, who has broad responsibilities for also expanded its work on economic sanctions,
the euro and financial markets, stressed the need partnering with the Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia
to increase investment, deepen structural reforms, Center (see page 38) to release the report:
and consolidate responsible fiscal policies. Evaluating Western Sanctions on Russia by Sergey
Aleksashenko, the former deputy governor of the
After a year of research and fact-finding, the Central Bank of Russia.
EuroGrowth Task Force launched its flagship
report, Charting the Future Now, a road map for
the European Union to stimulate economic growth,
safeguard the European project, and reinvigorate
the transatlantic economy—all as cornerstone
priorities for prosperity in the United States.

Working together with the Delegation of the

European Union to the United States, the program
also launched a four-event series to promote
greater knowledge and understanding of the
European Union within American communities
beyond Washington, DC.

For example, the program sponsored a discussion

of the EU’s banking and capital markets unions at
the University of Pennsylvania with Mario Nava,
director of the European Commission’s Directorate-
General for Financial Stability, Services, and Capital
Markets Union.

Another of the program’s major projects, the Power

of Transparency speaker series, investigated how

LEFT: Thomas Barrett (left), minister of the EU

delegation to the United States and director of the
European Investment Bank, and Laura Lane, president
of global public affairs for the United Parcel Service
(UPS)—both members of the EuroGrowth Initiative
Task Force—talk after a private task force meeting on
how to stimulate economic growth across Europe.
ABOVE LEFT: Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, takes audience questions
at an Atlantic Council event on the importance of transparency and integrity in the world of international finance.
ABOVE RIGHT: Then-US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker (right) shares her perspective on the challenges
facing the next US administration alongside Aleksander Kwaśniewski, former Polish president.

22 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 23


ADRIENNE ARSHT
CENTER FOR RESILIENCE
CRAFTING
THE ANT IDOTE
TO DISRUPTION
The Atlantic Council in 2016 launched the
Adrienne Arsht Center for Resilience as part of its continuing
effort to break policy-making silos and cultivate innovative
approaches to increasingly complex global challenges.
Recognizing the building costs of the accelerating
disruption that has become a hallmark of the early
twenty-first century, Atlantic Council Executive Vice
Chair Adrienne Arsht convened a unique, high-level
group of first responders, local and national policy
makers, and leading academics—including former
Boston Policy Commissioner Ed Davis, who led the
response to the Boston Marathon terror attack;
former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
David Petraeus; and Nancy Lindborg, president of
the United States Institute of Peace.
The Arsht Resilience Task Force identified a host
of leading international challenges ripe for the
application of resilience-based solutions and set
the stage for the launch of the Adrienne Arsht
Center for Resilience to help fill the gap between
resilience as a theory and as a practical tool for
building stronger societies.
24
In late May 2017, the Atlantic Council welcomed
former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
Christine Wormuth as the center’s first director.
Focused on promoting information-sharing and
coordination across policy-making silos and at all
layers of governance—from local and municipal
organizations to transnational institutions—the
center leverages the Atlantic Council’s convening
power and creative communication tools to reach
new audiences, whether they reside in rural US
communities or govern an Asian megacity.
In early 2017, the center published its first report,
Crafting a Resilient World: A Strategy for Navigating
Turbulence, which makes the case for resilience
as a strategy to address a host of interconnected
threats and disruptions—from global pandemics
and severe weather to violent extremism.
ATLANTIC COUNCIL
THEMATIC PROGRAMS
“A single event or disruption
can spark any number of
unexpected, reverberating
consequences....
Resilience is the antidote
to turbulence.”
ADRIENNE ARHST RESILIENCE TASK FORCE
The Adrienne Arsht Center for Resilience strengthens the ability of
individuals, communities, cities, and nations to navigate an age of accelerating
disruption, arming them with tools to meet shocks and bounce back better.
With that framework, the center launched several in better integrating immigrants in a way that
initial projects to highlight the importance of maximizes the social benefits.
integrating resilience into public policies, to
showcase the center’s creative capacity, and to At the same time, the center began investing
demonstrate that resilience is a tangible tool for in new resilience gaming techniques with
both the public and private sectors. Distinguished Fellow Peter Neffenger—a former
administrator of the Transportation Security
The first project, led by Nonresident Senior Fellow Administration—while also beginning to build
Amy Pope—previously deputy homeland security a repository of “stories of resilience,” tales of
adviser at the National Security Council—looks resilience sucesses and failures to include the
at how communities have responded to irregular Deepwater Horizon disaster and the international
migration flows in order to identify best practices response to the 2015 Ebola crisis.
OPPOSITE: US Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly speaks at the Atlantic Council on the importance of
border security and the cross-disciplinary strategies—from civil society partnerships to increasing economic
opportunities in emigrees’ home countries—to better secure the US southern border. “If we can improve the
conditions—the lot in life of Hondurans, Guatemalans, Central Americans—we can do an awful lot to protect
the southwest border,” Kelly said. ABOVE: Adm. Thad Allen (left), commandant of the US Coast Guard (ret.) and
executive vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton, shares his thoughts on the role of resilience policy in defense
with Adrienne Arsht (right) and other members of the Arsht Resilience Task Force.
2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 25

DIGITAL FORENSIC RESEARCH LAB
COUNTERING
DISINFORMATION
Following the record-breaking success of the
Atlantic Council’s report Hiding in Plain Sight,
which demonstrated that the Kremlin was, in fact,
in Ukraine by charting the movements of Russian
soldiers through their own social media posts,
the Atlantic Council launched the Digital Forensic
Research Lab in 2016 as a standing capability to
identify and understand security and political
developments, often in real time, through social
media research.
Organized into digital research units—described
by Michael Gordon of the New York Times
as “experts operating like digital Sherlock
Holmeses”—the DFRLab builds on the new tools
26
and methodologies used in Hiding in Plain Sight to
investigate different areas of conflict and tension.
Its methods provide fact-based insight into what
is happening on the ground and analysis of the
implications for decision makers.
One of its first major undertakings as a permanent
fixture of the Atlantic Council’s toolkit, the DFRLab’s
report Distract, Deceive, Destroy focused on the
Syrian conflict and Russia’s pattern of information
and disinformation around its armed intervention.
Using official footage and satellite imagery to
pinpoint troop movements and airstrikes, the report
demonstrated Russian activities were often far away
from their claimed targets.
ATLANTIC COUNCIL
THEMATIC PROGRAMS
“These 21st century
technologies enable
the entire world to bear
witness to events as they
are happening.”
MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT,
FORMER US SECRETARY OF STATE
The DFRLab uses open-source information such as social media posts, news
reports, and online images and videos to produce fact-based, on-the-ground
reporting and to develop analysis of misinformation campaigns.
As a follow-up report in early 2017, the lab’s
BreakingAleppo exposed the deliberate and
systematic destruction of eastern Aleppo, Syria. The
CNN, BBC, Vice, Der Spiegel, and BILD, as well as
the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and New
York Times.
report chronicled six months of siege, during which
government forces led by Syrian President Bashar Throughout the year, the DFRLab’s #MinskMonitor
al-Assad and his allies subjected opposition-held project also continued to track ceasefire violations
eastern Aleppo’s more than 100,000 residents— committed by both sides in the Ukrainian conflict.
most of them noncombatants—to a crescendo of Combining online photos, videos, news reports,
brutality using barrel bombs, cluster munitions, and and satellite and ground imagery, the project
chemical weapons. The report garnered more than determined the precise locations of artillery strikes
130 million Twitter impressions in just four weeks and equipment movements, and, sometimes,
and was featured in major media coverage by identified the likely culprits.
OPPOSITE: Ben Nimmo, the Atlantic Council’s information defense fellow with the Digital Forensic Research Lab,
gives a press interview on patterns and trends in disinformation and hybrid warfare—and their implications for
US security. ABOVE LEFT: Elliot Higgins (left), DFRLab nonresident fellow and founder of Bellingcat, and Faysal
Itani, a Syria expert in the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East (see page 30), speak on a panel at the launch of
Distract, Decieve, Destroy—a collaborative effort between DFRLab, the Hariri Center, and the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia
Center that exposed the extent of Russian involvement in the Syrian Civil War. ABOVE RIGHT: Lina Murad, a board
member of the Syrian American Medical Society, speaks on a panel at the launch of the BreakingAleppo report.
2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 27
 REGIONAL CENTERS

CHAPTER II

REGION A L
PROGR A MS

30
R a fik Ha riri Center for t he Mid d le East

34
Adrienne A rsht Latin A me r ic a Ce nte r

38
Dinu Patriciu Eura si a Ce nte r

42
Future Europe Initiat ive

46
South A sia Center

50
Africa Center

28 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 29
 RAFIK HARIRI CENTER
FOR THE MIDDLE EAST

FRAMING A NEW FUTURE

OF PART NERSHIP
The Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for
the Middle East builds on the legacy of the late
Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a visionary
leader who saw the potential for a prosperous
and secure Middle East where citizens share
equally in dignity, freedom, and justice.

For the past two years, the Hariri Center, through its Middle East Strategy Task Force,
has advanced that mission with intensive investigation focused on developing a new
strategy of partnership for the region aimed at winding down four raging civil wars and
unleashing the potential of the region’s greatest resource: its people. East is not condemned to never-ending cycles of findings in print media as varied as Al Arabiya,
conflict. With regional leadership and support from Politico, and the Chronicle for Higher Education.
The task force—co-chaired by former US Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and former international partners, the Middle East has a path Task force members appeared on the Diane Rehm
US National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley—developed a holistic and long-term road forward to a better future. Show on National Public Radio and Fareed Zakaria
map for the future of the region. The task force’s study reached deeper and wider than the GPS on CNN, among others. Additionally, the task
usual security report, examining issues as diverse and nuanced as religious division, robust Following the report’s release, the Hariri Center— force conducted scores of private briefings in the
but obscured economic vitality, and demographic trends. The key takeaway: The Middle directed by former Ambassador Frederic C. United States, Europe, and across Middle East
Hof—has galvanized a community committed to capitals, and took its findings to the American
implementing its recommendations. The co-chairs heartland, convening conversations on the future
OPPOSITE: A volunteer teaches inside a mobile educational caravan created by Saraqib Youth testified before the House Armed Services and of the Middle East in communities from Boise,
Gathering for children without access to traditional schools on the outskirts of the Syrian Senate Foreign Relations committees; and along Idaho, to Chicago, Illinois.
rebel-held town of Saraqib, Idlib province. (Photo by REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi.) with other task force leaders, they published their

30 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 31

RAFIK HARIRI CENTER FOR THE MIDDLE EAST
The task force’s strategic framework is shaping
the Hariri Center’s entire body of work, with local
outreach and regional voices augmenting its core
themes and recommendations for specific countries
and crises. That broadened global conversation
is documented and shared through expanded
multimedia and English-Arabic content—including
photo essays, interactive infographics, videos, and
a new Arabic-language website.
As the siege of Aleppo reached its devastating
crescendo, Hariri Center Senior Fellow Faysal
Itani launched a cutting-edge project to identify
immediately actionable opportunities for rebuilding
the country and preventing further suffering
WHO IS...
RAFIK HARIRI
Rafik Hariri was a dedicated statesman, businessman, and philanthropist—a two-time
prime minister of Lebanon whose vision for a secure and prosperous Middle East, based
on human dignity for all its people, was cut short when he was assassinated in 2005.
Known affectionately as “Mr. Lebanon,” Hariri was
renowned for his leadership in solving problems
through political dialogue and compromise, a gift
that called him to become an influential change
maker in Lebanon and throughout the Middle East.
After launching a successful construction
business in Saudi Arabia, Hariri returned home
to Lebanon to play an integral role in brokering
the 1989 Taif Agreement that ended that
country’s sixteen-year civil war.
In the years that followed, fueled by his
fundamental belief in the untapped potential of
ordinary people, Hariri became an instrumental
leader in rebuilding his homeland. In 1992, he
became Lebanon’s first post-civil war prime
minister, serving until 1998 and again from
2000–2004, during which time he worked
tirelessly to revive Lebanon’s war-weary economy
and promote the country’s independence from
Syria, which had occupied his country since 1976.
32
and instability. Meanwhile, the SyriaSource blog
expanded its influence as a global multimedia
forum for Syrian voices calling for civil society, rule
of law, and legitimate self-government.
As US-trained Iraqi forces pushed the Islamic State
out of Ramadi and parts of Mosul, an Atlantic
Council task force led by former Ambassador to
Iraq Ryan Crocker—and supported by former CIA
Director General David Petraeus and now-National
Security Council Director Joel Rayburn—met with
leaders in Iraqi Kurdistan, Baghdad, and Najaf, as well
as Berlin and Washington, DC, to develop a strategy
to strengthen post-ISIS Iraq.
He remained devoted to the country’s rebirth until
his assassination, along with twenty-one others, in
a suicide bomb attack in Beirut in February 2005.
When the Arab Spring changed the political
landscape, Rafik Hairri’s eldest son, Bahaa, was
moved to help. He recognized in the revolutions
that the Arab world needed global citizens, like
his father, more than ever to help people find the
strength and wisdom to secure a more vibrant
and just future.
“With the Council’s unique platform for debate
and dialogue among global voices—combined
with the Council’s capacity for strategic analysis—
we are helping the people of the Middle East
discover their talent, initiative, and capability,”
said Bahaa Hariri. “Together we are helping
bend the forces of change to guide a
convergence of the Middle East and the
international community—promoting robust
civil society, democracy, and free markets.”
ATLANTIC COUNCIL
REGIONAL CENTERS
The Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East works to advance peace,
prosperity, and political legitimacy across the world’s most volatile and
violent region by galvanizing North American and European action alongside
regional friends and allies.
In Libya, Senior Fellow Karim Mezran convened coup in July 2016, publishing analyses in the New
leaders of the internationally recognized York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other media
Libyan government—including Foreign Minister outlets and providing critical expertise to the US
Mohamed Syala—with key US, European, and administration. At the same time, he maintained
international leaders to discuss options for ending his long-term focus on the complicated
the violence there. relationship between al-Qaeda and recruits in
ISIS networks in Turkey and the future of Turkey’s
Aaron Stein, the center’s senior fellow studying nuclear power investments.
Turkey, stepped up following the attempted
LEFT: Zainab Salbi (right), author and humanitarian,
speaks with former Turkish Minister of State Mehmet
Audin (left) at an event on overcoming Islamophobia.
She urges Muslims to “demystify” Islam and showcase
the Muslim community as diverse and peaceful.
ABOVE: Former National Security Advisor Stephen J.
Hadley (right) and former Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright (left), the two co-chairs of the Middle East
Strategy Task Force, present the conclusions of their
two-year endeavor to develop a new road map for
securing peace in the Middle East.
“This Middle East Task Force, I think, may be one of the
most important undertakings that we’ve had in recent
years in the community that studies and tries to examine
ways to approach some of our most difficult problems.”
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, FORMER US SECRETARY OF STATE
2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 33
 ADRIENNE ARSHT
LATIN AMERICA CENTER

R EI MAG I N I N G
LAT I N AM ER I CA’S R OL E
I N THE WOR L D
The Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center
spotlights Latin America’s evolving role as a
global player. As the region’s political and
economic landscape took rapid and uncertain
turns in 2016 and 2017, the center used its
innovative techniques to quickly understand,
analyze, and communicate the implications.

In Colombia, voters unexpectedly rejected the peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Columbia, followed only two months later by the national congress’s approval
of a modified agreement. Mexico witnessed a US presidential candidate publicly question
the value of the two countries’ bilateral relationship. A new administration in Argentina
excited investors when it brokered a long-overdue debt settlement. Across the region,
incumbent presidents faced weakening mandates, and in Brazil, impeachment.

LEFT: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos holds up his right hand—with the Spanish word
for “peace” written on his palm—in celebration of his election to a second term as president.
The president fulfilled a key campaign promise with the ratification of the peace deal with the
FARC in November 2016. (Photo by REUTERS/Jose Miguel Gomez.)

34 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 35

 ADRIENNE ARSHT LATIN AMERICA CENTER
The Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center expands awareness of the new
Latin America across diverse communities of influence by positioning the
region as a core partner of the Atlantic community.
“This organization [the Atlantic Council] focuses on the
new Latin America. I wanted to come here because…
our hemisphere and the relationship between the
United States and our partners across the Americas is at
2 016 – 2 01 7 AN NUA L R E P O R T
a transformational moment.”
SUSAN RICE, US NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
With each of these shifts, the center scrutinized the Launched in June 2016, the #WhyMexico
layers of disruption head-on, revealing the regional campaign is now at the core of the center’s work,
and global impact using new tools of engagement. comprising videos and infographics that illustrate
the inimitable economic and security partnership
When the US presidential campaign turned up the between the United States and Mexico. The
heat on US-Mexico relations, the center positioned campaign’s messages have reached more than
itself as a principled advocate of strong ties with the 800,000 users on social media. Complemented by
United States’ southern neighbor, focusing on the Google Hangout events on Mexico’s burgeoning
facts and forces that drive this crucial relationship. knowledge economy, the campaign continues to
gather steam.
The center’s China-Latin America Initiative
explored the implications of the internationalized
renminbi and China’s involvement in regional
industrial development. To understand the region’s
role as an energy producer, the center studied
Argentina’s and Brazil’s sustainability efforts and
examined the implications of Venezuela’s influence
in the Caribbean. These analyses were undertaken
in concert with voices from the Americas and Asia.
Expanding its presence in Latin America, the
center hosted three major events in Mexico, two
in Brazil, and one each in Argentina, Colombia,
and Guatemala. Government ministers, business
LEFT: “Air Force One will depart Andrews Air Force
Base en route to Havana, Cuba. No national security
advisor has ever said that before. No US president
has traveled to Cuba since Calvin Coolidge came on a
battleship eighty-eight years ago,” said then-National
Security Advisor Susan Rice at the Atlantic Council just
days before President Barack Obama’s trip to Cuba.
36 ATLANTIC COUNCIL
WHO IS...
ADRIENNE ARSHT
Adrienne Arsht is a renowned business leader and philanthropist. In her role as Atlantic
Council executive vice chair, her leadership and support have propelled the Council into
some of its most cutting-edge areas of work.
Adrienne’s life as a trailblazer began with her
parents, both of whom were children of Russian
Jewish immigrants but who rose to become
successful lawyers in Delaware. Arsht’s mother,
Roxana, became Delaware’s first female judge and
fifth woman member of the bar.
Arsht herself became the eleventh woman
admitted to the Delaware bar. Later, after nearly
three decades in New York at Trans World
Airlines (TWA)—she moved to Washington, DC.
In 1996, she moved to Miami where she served
as chairman of the board of the family-owned
TotalBank. During her decade of leadership, the
bank grew from four locations to fourteen, with
more than $1.4 billion in assets. In 2007, she sold
TotalBank to Banco Popular Español for $300
million and was named chairman emerita.
Inspired by her experience engaging the Hispanic
community in Miami, Arsht returned to Washington,
DC. She felt it important to expand awareness of
the new Latin America on the global stage.
Reminding audiences that “the Atlantic also
washes up on the shores of South America,” she
took the first steps in expanding the Council’s work
titans, and media and civil society leaders gathered
to examine some of the leading issues shaping
the region’s future: trade, innovation, energy, and
economic partnerships.
Even as the immediate crises and uncertainties
of 2016 captured the world’s attention, the center
maintained its long-term, forward-thinking analysis
of US-Latin America relations. Working with the
Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security
(see page 8) and the Inter-American Development
2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT
REGIONAL CENTERS
to include Latin America, eventually founding the
Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center in 2013.
“What am I aspiring to? Just to make a
difference, just to matter,” Arsht told the
Washington Post in 2011.
It was that perspective—along with the lingering
grief over her younger sister’s suicide—which
guided her to her latest effort: the launch of
the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Center for
Resilience (see page 24), aimed at promoting
the ability of nations, cities, communities, and
individuals to manage disruption.
Said Arsht, “We are at a critical moment of
increasing global disruption. We must cultivate
the strength of communities and individuals to
thrive in today’s unpredictable world.”
In addition to her contributions shaping the global
landscape, Arsht’s efforts to increase women’s
representation in business and philanthropy—as well
as her role in promoting artistic, business, and civic
growth in the three cities she calls home (Miami,
Washington, DC, and New York)—have had impact
on diverse people across sectors and geographies.
Bank, the center laid out how unfolding global
trends could impact Latin American governance,
citizenship, and economic competitiveness.
The center also launched task forces on the
future of post-conflict Colombia and on security
and prosperity in the Northern Triangle countries
of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—two
efforts where US participation may hold the key to
continued progress.
37
 DINU PATRICIU
EURASIA CENTER

COUNTERING
REVISIONIST RUSSIA
TO SECURE FREEDOM
The Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center is Washington’s
leading voice on Russia’s activist foreign policy
and military interventions—which have cost
thousands of lives and upended the rules of
the international system.

The program’s Ukraine in Europe Initiative draws intense public policy and media
attention to the historic risks arising from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s revisionist
policies and influence operations. Eurasia Center Director John Herbst focuses the
initiative’s work to demonstrate the urgent need for the United States and Europe to
sustain sanctions on Russia and counter propaganda while also supporting democratic
reform throughout Europe’s East.

In 2016 alone, the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center hosted more than one hundred events,
including the center’s flagship conference, New Dawn: Russia and the West after the US

RIGHT:Russia’s President Vladimir Putin holds a glass during a ceremony to receive diplomatic
credentials from foreign ambassadors at the Kremlin in Moscow. (Photo by REUTERS/Sergei
Karpukhin.)

38 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 39

 DINU PATRICIU EURASIA CENTER REGIONAL CENTERS

In addition to producing original Atlantic Council Then-Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) partnered with
The Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center reinforces the transatlantic cooperation content, Eurasia Center experts published the Eurasia Center on an event exposing human
needed to promote stability, democratic values, and prosperity across Eastern extensively in leading national and international rights violations in Putin’s Russia.
publications, including the New York Times, Wall
Europe, Turkey, the Caucasus, Russia, and Central Asia. Street Journal, Foreign Policy, Politico, American US Representatives Gerry Connolly (D-VA 11) and
Interest, and others. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH 9) took part
in Atlantic Council discussions on frozen conflicts
Even while the center worked publicly to and the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, respectively.
Presidential Elections, which drew more than three traced the Kremlin’s influence operations in underscore the risks in Eastern Europe, it labored
hundred participants and 4.4 million impressions Western Europe as Russian hackers and political behind the scenes to build relationships in
on social media. A session with key leaders from fellow travelers sought to undermine presidential
Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine—former President elections in the United States.
Congress to support real bipartisan solutions. “We are in for, as my
of Belarus Stanislav Shushkevich, former Deputy When Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Chris
Prime Minister of Russia Gennady Burbulis, and At the same time, the center worked with the Global Murphy (D-CT) launched their Countering father would say,
former President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk Business & Economics Program (see page 20) to Disinformation and Propaganda Act to help US
(signatories to the Belovezha Accords that produce Evaluating Western Sanctions on Russia. a spell of bad weather.”
2 016 – 2 01 7 AN NUA L R E P O R T

allies counter foreign government propaganda

disbanded the Soviet Union)—explored the new
dangers associated with assertive Kremlin policies.
Parallel to its impressive convening efforts, the
center published eight policy-focused research
papers. Downloaded more than 1,500 times—and
named Atlantic Council publication of the year—
The Kremlin’s Trojan Horses: Russian Influence
in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom,
The report analyzed the effects of Western sanctions from Russia, China, and other nations, they RET. GEN. PHILIP BREEDLOVE,
on Russia’s economy, policies, and relations with the selected the Atlantic Council as the place to FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED
West and called for the international community to discuss it with top policy actors. COMMANDER EUROPE
do more to address Russian aggression in Ukraine.
UkraineAlert, the center’s subscription-based
blog, continues to reach thousands of readers in
Washington and European capitals—including
Moscow and Kyiv—with real-time analysis on
politics, reform, and the war in Ukraine.

WHO IS...

DINU PATRICIU
Dinu Patriciu founded the Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center in 2009 to
pursue his dream of a Black Sea region—torn apart by World War II and the Cold War—
reunited by common values, mutual interests, and economic cooperation.

As a philanthropist and businessman, Patriciu
put his ideas into action. His businesses ranged
from energy, media, and real estate to automotive
technologies and banking. A founding member
of the National Liberal Party in Romania, and one
of the most effective advocates of Romania’s
NATO membership, Patriciu was a pioneer of his
country’s democratic evolution in the early 1990s.
He was also one of Central Europe’s earliest
philanthropists. In 2014, with his enthusiastic
ABOVE LEFT: Samantha Power (center), in her last days as the US ambassador to the United Nations, speaks at the support, the Eurasia Center launched the
Atlantic Council to outline the “major threat” Russia poses to the United States and the international rules-based Atlantic Council’s flagship Ukraine in Europe
system. Pictured here, Power pauses for a selfie with ten journalists and bloggers from independent media outlets in Initiative—designed to galvanize international
Russia who were visiting Washington, DC, as part of a US government-sponsored tour to cover the Trump inauguration. support for an independent Ukraine under threat
ABOVE RIGHT: With Swedish Ambassador to the United States Björn Lyrvall (center) looking on, US Secretary of of Russian aggression. Since then, the Eurasia
State John Kerry greets former Ukrainian Army pilot, recently released Russian prisoner of war, and Atlantic Council
Freedom Award recipient Nadiya Savchenko at the Atlantic Council Global Citizen Awards in New York.
Center has greatly expanded its work on Russia,
and has increased its programming on Moldova
and Georgia.
Patriciu was also a gifted architect and, in his
later years, an artist.
At its 2014 Global Citizen Awards in New York,
the Atlantic Council presented a special tribute
to Patriciu—received by his daughters, Ana and
Maria, and his longtime partner, Melanie Chen.
“The Atlantic Council will be forever grateful
for Dinu’s wisdom, ingenuity, and generosity,”
said Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick
Kempe. “We will miss his unique insights and
his determination to make a difference.”

40 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 41

 FUTURE EUROPE INITIATIVE

A STR ON G ,
CO M PE T ITI VE EU R OPE
ALLI E D WI TH THE U S

The Atlantic Council in 2016 launched the Future

Europe Initiative to double down on its efforts
to understand the political, social, and economic forces
at play in Europe, while at the same time working more
closely with transatlantic partners. The initiative helps
manage the challenges Europe faces from Russian
revanchism in the east, Middle Eastern volatility
and refugees in the south, and anti-European
nationalist forces among EU member states.

Under the leadership of Executive Vice President for Programs and Strategy Damon
Wilson, the initiative blends cutting-edge analysis on pitfalls and roadblocks to European
progress while also charting potential new terrain for transatlantic cooperation.

ABOVE: French presidential candidate for the En Marche! movement, Emmanuel Macron, reacts as he gives a
speech during a meeting in Arras, on April 26, 2017, ahead of the second and final round of the presidential
election. Macron’s election was widely regarded as a victory for advocates of European integration. (Photo by
AFP/Eric Feferberg.)
Amid enormous global digital transformation, the initiative recognized a major but rapidly
diminishing opportunity to boost transatlantic cooperation and innovation via the creation
of a transatlantic digital single market, stretching from Silicon Valley to Tallinn, Estonia.
It reacted with the Task Force on Advancing a Transatlantic Digital Agenda, co-chaired by
former Prime Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt and former US Ambassador to the European
Union William E. Kennard, and led by Distinguished Fellow Frances Burwell. Task force

42 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 43

 FUTURE EUROPE INITIATIVE REGIONAL CENTERS

The Future Europe Initiative works to sustain US partnership with a Europe

that is united and empowered to act as a global leader. As Europe’s home
in Washington, the initiative galvanizes attention to the crucial importance
of Europe alongside its North American allies to shape the global future.

The Future Europe Initiative remains a hub of Europe-
related work at the Council and a resource for the
Council’s other programs and centers. Major cross-
program projects in 2016 and 2017 included the
Global Business & Economics Program’s flagship
EuroGrowth Initiative (see page 20) and the Brent
2 016 – 2 01 7 AN NUA L R E P O R T
The Council’s robust work on Europe continues to
attract top talent. In 2016, Sir Peter Westmacott,
former British ambassador to the United States;
Evelyn Farkas, former US deputy assistant
secretary of defense for Russia and Eurasia; Laure
Mandeville, senior reporter for Le Figaro; and

Scowcroft Center’s project on restoring NATO’s power Jeffrey Gedmin; former president of Radio Free
and purpose, led by former US Under Secretary of Europe/Radio Liberty, all joined the initiative’s
State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns. expanding team of experts.

members convened policy makers from Berlin, At the same time, the past year saw the initiative’s
Brussels, Warsaw, and beyond to identify twenty convening power extend more broadly to the
specific steps to build a common digital marketplace other side of the Atlantic. Channeling Brussels,
capable of encouraging trust and preserving the a podcast that goes beyond the headlines and
Internet’s global commercial commons. sound bites to track developments in Europe’s
political epicenter, was conceived to broadcast
The initiative also advances the Council’s nearly sixty- instant insights from the city’s movers and shakers.
year tradition of serving as the platform-of-choice
for European leaders visiting Washington. In 2016, The Council also opened its fourth global office
Future Europe hosted heads of state or government in Stockholm, Sweden, led by Northern European
from seven European countries, including Poland and security expert Anna Wieslander to take a closer
Turkey, three European Commission vice-presidents, look at Nordic-Baltic security challenges in an era
and dozens of European foreign ministers and of assertive Russian activity in the region. The
members of the European and British parliaments. initiative’s major annual gathering, the Wrocław
It also convened regular dinner conversations on Global Forum (see page 62), also grew to include
the future of Europe in partnership with European the Three Seas Initiative, which connects leaders
embassies in Washington. from the Adriatic, Baltic, and Black Seas.
“We need to preserve, defend, and enlarge the scope
ABOVE: Polish President Andrzej Duda (left) discusses European security and the importance of NATO in a of our values of open societies, open Europe,
discussion moderated by the co-hosts of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Mika Brzezinski (right) and Joe Scarborough (not
pictured). OPPOSITE LEFT: Former President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves speaks to reporters after delivering
the seventh annual Christopher J. Makins Lecture at the Atlantic Council. Established in 2005 to honor a former and an open world that prevents us from falling
president of the Council, the Makins Lecture has hosted some of the world’s most prominent internationalists,
from Lord George Robertson to former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. OPPOSITE RIGHT: European Union back on the mistakes of the past.”
Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini offers public remarks immediately following her first meeting with US
President Donald Trump. “We need each other,” said Mogherini. “It is not Europe that needs America only, it is CARL BILDT, FORMER PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF SWEDEN
America that needs Europe, and we better recognize that.”

44 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 45

 SOUTH ASIA CENTER

DEEPENING
RELATIONSHIPS FOR
LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS
The South Asia Center creates new opportunities for
cooperation in a region buffeted by frenetic change
and deep divisions, highlighting common interests
and the power of mutually beneficial economic ties
to overcome the obstacles posed by competing
national ambitions.

In April 2016, the center convened Atlantic Council Chairman and former US Deputy
Trade Representative Jon M. Huntsman, Jr.; Indian Ambassador to the United States
Arun Singh; and the co-chairs of the US Senate’s India Caucus—Senators John Cornyn
(R-TX) and Mark Warner (D-VA)—to launch the US-India Trade Initiative. The effort aims
to foster a stronger US-India trade relationship to match the robust security partnership
that already serves as a cornerstone of the United States’ military presence in the region.

Schoolchildren attend a yoga session at a camp in Ahmedabad, India. (Photo by

RIGHT:
REUTERS/Amit Dave.)

46 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 47

 SOUTH ASIA CENTER
2 016 – 2 01 7 AN NUA L R E P O R T
ABOVE: Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad (left), president of Gryphon Partners and Atlantic Council board director,
welcomes Rula Ghani, first lady of Afghanistan, to discuss her activist work and the challenges and opportunities
facing Afghanistan.
The South Asia Center works to overcome entrenched rivalries and foster
collaboration in one of the world’s most volatile, dynamic, and strategically
significant regions.
Continuing the conversation sparked by the
trade initiative, the South Asia Center organized
a discussion among key US and Indian business
and policy leaders in New Delhi to identify major
impediments to unlocking the potential of US-
India trade. This meeting laid the foundation for
a larger conference to take place in Bangalore in
2017, hosted in partnership with the US Consulate
General in Chennai.
Beyond its programming on trade and economics,
the center has emerged as a leading nonpartisan
voice on regional security and one of the only
organizations capable of credibly working across
the India-Pakistan divide on the critical issue of
nuclear stability.
In cooperation with two key partners, the Center
for International Strategic Studies in Pakistan, and
the Center for Policy Research in India, the South
Asia Center organized conversations on the nuclear
48
future of both countries. The center then broadened
the conversation with a Beijing workshop on the
role of China in South Asia’s nuclear future and a
strategic approach to the “second nuclear age.”
The South Asia Center, directed by Bharath
Gopalaswamy, is also home to the Council’s
primary body of work on Iran through the Future
of Iran Initiative. Co-chaired by Ambassador Stuart
Eizenstat and former Secretary of Defense Chuck
Hagel, and directed by Atlantic Council Senior
Fellow Barbara Slavin, the initiative explores Iran’s
complex political dynamics, including its economic
potential, human rights record, and opportunities
for public-to-public engagement, while also
developing a deeper understanding of Iran and
new approaches to the Islamic Republic.
Throughout 2016, the initiative provided a platform
for a wide range of US and Iranian officials and
experts, including Iranian Foreign Minister Javad
ATLANTIC COUNCIL
REGIONAL CENTERS
“Finding solutions to our global problems is the only
way to maintain peace and stability in a world which has
become multi-polar, characterized by the need to respect
different cultures, values, and political concepts.”
KLAUS SCHWAB, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
Zarif, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, of Pakistan Fellowship Program in partnership with
Senior Adviser for Public Diplomacy in the Office of the US Embassy in Islamabad. In November, fifteen
Iranian Affairs Gregg Sullivan, and United Nations young leaders from Pakistan visited the United
special rapporteur on the human rights situation in States to meet with policy makers, community
the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ahmed Shaheed. leaders, diaspora communities, entrepreneurs, and
regional experts. Over the course of the three-week,
Recognizing that the potential for future regional multi-city program, young Pakistani leaders built
cooperation rests in the hands of the next generation collaborative relationships with each other and new
of leaders, the center continued its Emerging Leaders contacts in the United States.
ABOVE LEFT: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) emphasizes the importance of maintaining the nuclear deal with Iran
during the new administration: “All of the Armageddon predictions that were made about the Iran nuclear deal
have simply not come true.” ABOVE RIGHT: Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) explains the importance of the US-Indian
relationship at an Atlantic Council event: “As the largest and oldest democracies in the world, India and the United
States share a relationship built on common values…We have an opportunity to strengthen our unique bond,
advance American interests in the region, and grow both economies.”
2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 49
 AFRICA CENTER

M O D E R N A PPR OACHES
F O R A VI BR A N T
CON TI N EN T
As populism upended the Western political
landscape in 2016, a different kind of popular
discontent rippled across Africa. In response,
the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center dramatically
expanded its activities as a leading platform of
engagement between the transatlantic policy
community and African political and civic leaders.

In August 2016, the center hosted Zimbabwean Pastor Evan Mawarire for his first public
appearance in the United States. His impassioned speech was the Council website’s most-
viewed event of the year. It galvanized the nascent citizens’ movement in Zimbabwe and
the center’s renewed focus on southern Africa.

At the same time, the center remained a leading voice on troubling developments in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo through the Congo on the Edge campaign. The
center engaged senior opposition and government figures (including twice hosting
opposition presidential candidate Moïse Katumbi), and launched two publications to
expose public corruption and underscore Congo’s strategic relevance.

LEFT:Seasonal fog enshrouds buildings in the city center of Cape Town, South Africa.
(Photo by REUTERS/Mike Hutchings.)

50 51
 AFRICA CENTER REGIONAL CENTERS

The Africa Center connects African states to US and European capitals,

helping to build political and economic partnerships for a growing, changing,
and challenging continent.

J. Peter Pham, Atlantic Council vice president and
Africa Center director, relentlessly took to task South
Sudan’s leaders for their role in the country’s civil war.
Through a series of off-the-record roundtables—
including one with former First Vice President Riek
Machar and current First Vice President Taban
Deng Gai—the center engaged actors on all sides
of the conflict to draw attention to the crisis and the
2 016 – 2 01 7 AN NUA L R E P O R T
Deputy Director Bronwyn Bruton challenged
conventional wisdom on US policy toward
Eritrea, arguing that bilateral engagement would
produce better outcomes than isolation in
two publications, a June 2016 New York Times
op-ed, and September testimony before the
House Foreign Affairs Committee.

urgent need for US leadership to end the fighting.
The Africa Center worked closely with the Brent
Scowcroft Center on International Security to focus
US policy on long-term Africa strategy. Together,
they published the seventh Atlantic Council Strategy
Paper, A Measured US Strategy for the New Africa,
which argued for a whole-of-society approach that
transcends government-to-government relations
and leverages the contributions of civil society and
business. Some of the paper’s recommendations have
already been adopted by the new administration.
The center not only brings African voices to
Washington, but also sends US policy makers and
thinkers to the continent: It organized trips to seven
African countries—from Egypt to Mali, and from
Morocco to Nigeria—over the course of 2016 and
2017. This includes last year’s high-level delegation
to Sudan, led by Atlantic Council Board Director
Ambassador Mary Carlin Yates. Pham also led a
fact-finding tour of the Boko Haram battle theater in
Nigeria with senior military officers from Operation
Lafiya Dole, alongside Yates, Ambassador John
Yates, and General Carter Ham.

ABOVE: Rwandan President Paul Kagame (center) calls for US partnership with Africa. “African aspirations are
rising,” said Kagame. “For decades, the United States has adopted a monolithic approach to Africa. It’s time for
fresh thinking.” Kagame is joined by former National Security Advisor James L. Jones (left) and Africa Center
Director J. Peter Pham (right).

As a new administration took office, Africa Center
expertise was in high demand. In March 2017, Pham
testified before the House Homeland Security
Committee on the terrorism threat from North
Africa. The next month, longtime Senior Fellow Lt.
Col. Rudolph Atallah was tapped to be the National
Security Council’s senior director for Africa.
The center’s focus on Africa’s security challenges did
not, however, blunt its exploration of the continent’s
many economic strengths and opportunities. Senior
Fellow Aubrey Hruby and Pham authored Embracing
Impact, a report charting paths for African countries
to weather emerging-market downturns, spotlighting
Morocco and Côte d’Ivoire for their successes.
In September, a high-level Moroccan delegation
convened at the Council to preview the country’s
innovative, sustainable, and profitable renewable
energy technologies prior to its hosting of the United
Nations Conference on Climate Change.

“The Africa Center takes on the tough issues.

ABOVE LEFT: Pastor Evan Mawarire wipes away tears with the Zimbabwean flag and symbol of the #ThisFlag
citizens’ movement. Said Pastor Evan, “If we cannot cause the politician to change, then we must inspire the Their reputation for fairness, balance, and for incisive
citizen to be bold.” ABOVE RIGHT: In her last public remarks as assistant secretary of state for African affairs,
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield draws upon her thirty-five-year diplomatic career to size up Africa’s future.
Said Thomas-Greenfield, “Looking ahead, where Africa ends up on the world stage in the next century will depend
analysis has been critical in establishing trust...”
on how well the continent tackles its own challenges this century.”
GEN CARTER HAM, USA (RET.), FORMER COMMANDER, US AFRICA COMMAND

52 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 53

 GLOBAL CONVENINGS

56
Distinguished Lea der ship Award s

CHAPTER III 58
Globa l Citizen Awa rd s

GLOB A L 60
Ista nbul Sum m it

CON V E N IN G S 62
Wrocław Globa l For um

64
Globa l Energy Forum

54 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 55
 GLOBAL CONVENINGS

THE DISTINGUISHED
LEADERSHIP AWARDS
The Distinguished Leadership Awards, among Washington’s
premier celebrations of global affairs leadership, convenes
some eight hundred government and business decision makers
from fifty countries to honor individuals who personify the
sort of strong purpose, personal commitment, and character
that today’s historic times require. Awardees are chosen to
represent the pillars of the transatlantic relationship—political,
military, business, and artistic leadership.

THE 2016 DISTINGUISHED LEADERSHIP AWARD RECIPIENTS

Robert Gates, Distinguished International Leadership
Joseph Votel, Distinguished Military Leadership
Henry Kravis, Distinguished Business Leadership CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Former NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson of Port Ellen (left) exchanges
business cards with MNG Group of Companies Founder and Chairman Mehmet Nazif Günal; from left, Southwest
Vittorio Grigolo, Distinguished Artistic Leadership
Energy CEO Tewodros Ashenafi jokes with Distinguished Leadership Award recipients Vittorio Grigolo and Henry
Kravis; Distinguished Military Leadership Honoree Joseph Votel (left) shares dinner conversation with Airbus
CEO Tom Enders and Airbus Senior Vice President Jana Rosenmann; from left, former Secretary of Defense
ABOVE: Vittorio Grigolo, celebrated Italian tenor and the 2016 Distinguished Artistic Leadership Award honoree, Robert Gates, Brent Scowcroft, and David Petraeus greet Atlantic Council Chairman Jon M. Huntsman, Jr.; Atlantic
closes the awards celebration with a powerful rendition of Nessun Dorma. Grigolo warned the audience, “This is a Council Board Directors Ellen Tauscher and Mary L. Howell talk with Scott Campbell, managing director of Baker
song that will keep you awake tonight.” Donelson’s Washington, DC, office.

56 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 57

 GLOBAL CONVENINGS

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Jazz legend and Global Citizen Award recipient Wynton Marsalis (left) closes the night
with stirring improvisational jazz; Eurasia Group President and Founder Ian Bremmer (left) meets Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzō Abe; Atlantic Council Executive Vice Chair Adrienne Arsht introduces Wynton Marsalis with a
demonstration of their shared baton malfunction years before; Tsuyoshi Sunohara (left), managing executive officer,
global business at Nikkei, greets Atlantic Council International Advisory Board Member Victor Chu (right) and ANA’s
former board chairman, Yoji Ohashi (center); Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (left) laughs with (from center
left) Wynton Marsalis, Adrienne Arsht, and Jon M. Huntsman, Jr.; Atlantic Council CEO Frederick Kempe (center)
introduces Mehmet Nazif Günal (left) and US Secretary of State John Kerry.

THE GLO BAL

CITIZEN AWARDS
The Global Citizen Awards in New York during the United
Nations General Assembly week celebrates the rare individuals
who capture the essence of “global citizenship” through
their unique professional accomplishments and personal
contributions to improving the state of the world.

THE 2016 GLOBAL CITIZEN AWARD RECIPIENTS

Shinzō Abe, Prime Minister of Japan
Matteo Renzi, Prime Minister of Italy
Wynton Marsalis, American musician, composer, educator, and Managing and Artistic Director
of Jazz at Lincoln Center

ABOVE: US Secretary of State John Kerry presents a Global Citizen Award to Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
Accepting his award, Renzi said, “Global citizenship is not an award but a responsibility. We must not lose the
value of dignity of a human being.”

58 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 59

 GLOBAL CONVENINGS

ISTANBUL SUMMIT

The eighth annual Atlantic Council Istanbul Summit gathered

more than 570 corporate, government, and civil society leaders
from fifty-four countries, including government ministers and
more than seventy global CEOs.

Special guests included the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip

Erdoğan, Qatari Minister of Energy and Industry Mohammed
Saleh Al Sada, Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister
Nechervan Barzani, and former US National Security Advisor
Stephen J. Hadley.

This year, given regional developments, the summit’s scope broadened to include conversations on
securing peace and prosperity, fostering regional energy partnerships, and financing growth through
economic integration. As always, energy was at the heart of the summit, and this year’s pressing
topics explored Eastern Mediterranean natural gas, renewable energy, and global energy governance.
The 2017 summit was covered by more than 130 journalists and featured in more than 1,600 news stories.
ABOVE: Istanbul, one of the world’s most striking cities with a beautiful setting astride Asia and Europe, is at
many cultural, geographic, and business crossroads, making it an ideal location to convene a diverse set of
business and government leaders from the regions around Turkey—the Black Sea, the Middle East, Central Asia,
and the Caucuses. The Istanbul Summit helps galvanize that special community into action around not only
emerging threats but also around unappreciated opportunities. (Photo by REUTERS/Marius Bosch.)
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speaks on topics ranging from counter-
terrorism to the president’s expectations ahead of his upcoming meeting with US President Donald Trump; Mary
Warlick, acting special envoy for the Bureau of Energy Resources for the Trump administration, speaks on the
task of diversifying European and global energy supplies; Israel’s Special Envoy for Energy Ron Adam participates
in a panel discussion amid the growing prospect of Turkish-Israeli energy cooperation; Turkish Deputy Prime
Minister Mehmet Şimşek (left) greets Murat Gigin, chairman of the board of directors for Tekfen; Helima Croft
(left), managing director and global head of commodity strategy and global research at RBC Capital Markets,
and Mohammed Saleh Al Sada, minister of energy and industry of Qatar, appear on the opening panel session to
discuss the global and regional energy outlook; Turkish Transportation Minister Ahmet Arslan (center) speaks to
Turkish and regional press as he arrives to participate in the Summit sessions. ABOVE CENTER IMAGE: Fatih Birol, the
executive director of the International Energy Agency, delivers remarks at the summit’s opening session.

60 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 61

 GLOBAL CONVENINGS

WROCŁAW
GLOBAL FORUM
The seventh annual Wrocław Global Forum opened
on June 2, 2016, bringing together some four hundred
government, corporate, and civil society leaders for discussions
on core transatlantic values and priorities framed within Central
Europe’s growing importance as a global partner.

The forum is also home to the Atlantic Council’s Freedom

Awards, a celebration of extraordinary individuals and
organizations committed to the advancement of democracy.

THE 2016 FREEDOM AWARD RECIPIENTS

Maciej Zięba, Polish philosopher, writer, and theologian
Horst Teltschik, former national security adviser, Federal Republic of Germany
Nighat Dad, executive director, Digital Rights Foundation, Pakistan
Syrian Civil Defense, “The White Helmets”
ABOVE: Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski answers press questions following his opening keynote
address at the Wrocław Global Forum. “NATO’s keyword should be deterrence…not as an offensive measure,
but rather as the most effective and, in fact, only instrument of peacebuilding,” he said, addressing Russia’s
increasingly aggressive posture. “We do not want to wage a war against anyone; but to avoid a war scenario, we
must show that we are very well prepared and determined to defend our territory and values we share.”
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Atlantic Council Distinguished Fellow Frances Burwell (left) talks with US Senator Joe
Manchin (D-WV); former Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz (left) presents a Freedom Award to Pakistani Internet
activist Nighat Dad; former Polish Prime Minister Jan Krzysztof Bielecki takes reporters’ questions between forum
sessions; two-time Prime Minister of Lithuania Andrius Kubilius (left) presents a Freedom Award to Horst Teltschik,
former German national security adviser; former Egyptian Minister of Family and Population Moushira Khattab speaks
about the Middle East’s increasingly fragile security environment, and the implications for Europe; US Representative
Jan Schakowsky (D-IL 9) speaks on a panel during the forum; Maciej Zięba accepts his 2016 Freedom Award.

62 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 63

 GLOBAL CONVENINGS

BELOW, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: Mohammad Sanusi

Barkindo, secretary general of the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries, takes questions

ATLANTIC COUNCIL
during the forum; Atlantic Council Board Director and
Chairman of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International
Security Gen. James L. Jones speaks on a panel; Suhail
Al Mazrouei (left), the minister of energy of the United

GLOBAL ENERGY FORUM

Arab Emirates, speaks with Group Chief Executive of
Petrofac Limited Ayman Asfari and Atlantic Council
Executive Vice Chair Stephen J. Hadley; Atlantic Council
Board Director Paula Dobriansky comments on the
future of US climate and energy policies following the
election of Donald Trump.

The Atlantic Council, in partnership with the Ministry

of Energy of the United Arab Emirates, the Abu Dhabi
National Oil Company, Mubadala, and the International
Petroleum Investment Company, convened the
inaugural Global Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi.

The forum helped kick off Abu Dhabi Sustainability

Week aimed at encouraging dialogue and action
to address some of the globe’s most pressing
sustainable development challenges.

More than five hundred global business and public policy leaders gathered to consider the
evolving geopolitics and geo-economics of energy transformation. Attendees included
energy ministers from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s OPEC member states;
Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency; Adnan Amin, the director-
general of the International Renewable Energy Agency; and some fifty chief executives.

From the role of oil, gas, nuclear, and renewables in supplying the world’s growing energy
needs to the future of related political and security challenges, participants tackled
options for strengthening the resilience of energy markets, creating and promoting new
technologies, and fostering climate action.

ABOVE: Atlantic Council Board Directors Rafik Bizri and Daniel Poneman test drive one of many
hybrid and electric vehicles during the Forum’s Gala Reception at the Yas Marina Circuit, home
of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

64 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 65

 COMMUNITIES OF INFLUENCE

68
B oa rd of Directors

CHAPTER IV 69
Internationa l Adviso r y B oard

COMMU N IT IE S 70
Honor Roll of Contr ib utor s

OF INFLU EN C E 72
Fina ncia l Sum m a ry

74
By the N um bers

66 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 67
 COMMUNITIES OF INFLUENCE

B OA R D INTERNATIONAL
O F D I R E C TO RS ADVISORY B OARD
David D. Aufhauser James L. Jones, Jr.* Kris Singh Lt. Gen. Brent Mr. Håkan Buskhe Mr. Bahaa R. Hariri Mr. Paul Polman
CHAIRMAN Elizabeth F. Bagley Lawrence S. Kanarek James G. Stavridis
LEADERSHIP Scowcroft, USAF (Ret.) President and CEO CEO
Jon M. Huntsman, Jr.* Chairman Emeritus SAAB AB Ms. Marillyn A. Hewson Unilever
Rafic A. Bizri* Stephen R. Kappes Richard J.A. Steele
Dennis C. Blair Maria Pica Karp* Paula Stern International Advisory Chairman, President,
Thomas L. Blair* Zalmay M. Khalilzad* Robert J. Stevens Board Mr. Victor L.L. Chu and CEO The Rt. Hon. Lord
CHAIRMAN EMERITUS, Philip M. Breedlove Robert M. Kimmitt Robert K. Stout, Jr. Chairman and CEO Lockheed Martin Robertson of Port
INTERNATIONAL Reuben E. Brigety II Henry A. Kissinger John S. Tanner Governor Jon. First Eastern
Investment Group
Corporation Ellen
ADVISORY BOARD Myron Brilliant Franklin D. Kramer Ellen O. Tauscher* M. Huntsman, Jr.
Chairman Mr. Majid H. Jafar
Former Secretary General
of NATO
Brent Scowcroft Esther Brimmer* Richard L. Lawson Nathan D. Tibbits Mr. Claudio Descalzi CEO
Atlantic Council
R. Nicholas Burns Jan M. Lodal* Frances M. Townsend CEO Crescent Petroleum Prime Minister Kevin
Richard R. Burt* Jane Holl Lute* Clyde C. Tuggle Mr. Frederick Kempe Eni M. Rudd
PRESIDENT AND CEO Michael Calvey William J. Lynn Paul Twomey President and CEO Mr. Muhtar Kent Former Prime Minister
Frederick Kempe* James E. Cartwright Izzat Majeed Melanne Verveer Atlantic Council Mr. Markus Dohle Chairman and CEO of Australia
John E. Chapoton Wendy W. Makins Enzo Viscusi CEO The Coca-Cola Company
Ahmed Charai Zaza Mamulaishvili Charles F. Wald Penguin Random House Mr. Stephen
EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRS Sandra Charles Mian M. Mansha Michael F. Walsh Mr. Anil D. Ambani
Mr. Richard W. Edelman
President Aleksander A. Schwarzman
Adrienne Arsht* Melanie Chen Gerardo Mato Maciej Witucki Chairman Kwaśniewski Chairman, CEO,
Reliance Group President and CEO Former President and Co-Founder
Stephen J. Hadley* George Chopivsky William E. Mayer Neal S. Wolin
Edelman of Poland The Blackstone Group
Wesley K. Clark T. Allan McArtor Mary C. Yates
Mr. Philippe Amon
David W. Craig John M. McHugh Dov S. Zakheim Dr. Thomas Enders H.E. Jean-David Levitte
VICE CHAIRS Ralph D. Crosby, Jr.* Eric D.K. Melby
Chairman and CEO
SICPA Holding SA CEO Senior Diplomatic Adviser
Mr. James C. Smith
President and CEO
Robert J. Abernethy* Nelson W. Cunningham Franklin C. Miller Airbus Group and Sherpa to Former Thomson Reuters
Richard W. Edelman* Ivo H. Daalder James N. Miller HONORARY DIRECTORS Mr. Tewodros Ashenafi French President Nicolas
C. Boyden Gray* Ankit N. Desai Judith A. Miller David C. Acheson Founder, Chairman, Mr. Thomas A. Fanning Sarkozy Sir Martin S. Sorrell
George Lund* Paula J. Dobriansky* Alexander V. Mirtchev* Madeleine K. Albright and CEO Chairman, President, Group Chief Executive
Virginia A. Mulberger* Christopher J. Dodd Susan Molinari James A. Baker, III SouthWest Holdings and CEO Secretary Ernest Moniz WPP Group PLC
W. DeVier Pierson* Conrado Dornier Michael J. Morell Harold Brown Southern Company Former United States
John J. Studzinski* Thomas J. Egan, Jr. Richard Morningstar Frank C. Carlucci, III Prime Minister Secretary of Energy Secretary Lawrence
Stuart E. Eizenstat* Georgette Mosbacher Shaukat Aziz Ms. Orit Gadiesh
Ashton B. Carter H. Summers
Former Prime Minister Chairman Mr. Alexey
Thomas R. Eldridge Thomas R. Nides Robert M. Gates Former US Secretary
TREASURER Julie Finley Franco Nuschese Michael G. Mullen of Pakistan Bain & Company Inc. A. Mordashov
Chairman and CEO
of the Treasury
Brian C. McK. Lawrence P. Fisher, II Joseph S. Nye Leon E. Panetta
Prime Minister Dr. James H. Goodnight Severstal
Henderson* Alan H. Fleischmann* Hilda Ochoa- William J. Perry Mr. Jacob Wallenberg
José María Aznar Co-Founder and CEO
Ronald M. Freeman* Brillembourg Chairman
Colin L. Powell SAS Mr. Robert E. Moritz
Former Prime Minister Investor AB
Laurie S. Fulton Sean C. O’Keefe Condoleezza Rice Chairman
of Spain
SECRETARY Courtney Geduldig Ahmet M. Oren Edward L. Rowny Mr. Evan G. Greenberg and Senior Partner Mr. John S. Watson
Walter B. Slocombe* Robert S. Gelbard* Sally A. Painter George P. Shultz Prime Minister Chairman and CEO Pricewaterhouse Chairman of the Board
Thomas H. Glocer Ana I. Palacio* Horst Teltschik Chubb Limited/Chubb Coopers International
Carl Bildt and CEO
Sherri W. Goodman Carlos Pascual John W. Warner Group Limited
Former Prime Minister Chevron Corporation
GENERAL COUNSEL Mikael Hagström Alan Pellegrini William H. Webster and Minister for Foreign
Mr. Mario Greco
Karl V. Hopkins* Ian Hague David H. Petraeus Affairs of Sweden Mr. Rupert Murdoch Mr. John D. Wren
CEO Executive Chairman
Amir A. Handjani Thomas R. Pickering President and CEO
Zurich Insurance 21st Century Fox
John D. Harris, II Daniel B. Poneman *Executive Committee Dr. Fatih Birol Omnicom Group
Group Ltd.
DIRECTORS Frank Haun Daniel M. Price Members Executive Director
International Energy Mr. Steve C. Nicandros
Stéphane Abrial Michael V. Hayden Arnold L. Punaro Ambassador Robert
Agency Mr. Mehmet N. Günal Chairman of the Board
Odeh Aburdene Annette Heuser Robert Rangel List as of April 27, 2017 B. Zoellick
Founder, Chairman of and CEO
Peter Ackerman* Ed Holland Thomas J. Ridge Chairman, International
the Board, and President Frontera Resources
Dr. Zbigniew Goldman Sachs
Timothy D. Adams Robert D. Hormats Charles O. Rossotti MNG Holding A.S. Corporation
K. Brzezinski
Bertrand-Marc Allen Miroslav Hornak Robert O. Rowland Former National Security
John R. Allen Mary L. Howell* Harry Sachinis Secretary Charles Mr. Victor Pinchuk
Advisor to US President
Michael Andersson* Wolfgang F. Ischinger Brent Scowcroft Jimmy Carter T. Hagel Founder
Michael S. Ansari Reuben Jeffery, III Rajiv Shah Former US Secretary East One Ltd.
Richard L. Armitage Joia M. Johnson Stephen Shapiro of Defense

68 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 69

 COMMUNITIES OF INFLUENCE

HO N O R R O LL Charles Koch Institute Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. Linden Blue Robert Homans, Jr.
ConocoPhillips Barbara Humpton Jane Lute Shieh Hsieh
James Cook Christopher Iannaccone Lynx Investment Advisory, Llc Thomas Huf

O F CO N TR IBU TO RS The Dow Chemical Company

Joseph D. Duffey
Omer Er
Frederick Kempe
and Pamela Meyer
Robert M. Kimmitt
Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey
Jr. E Quiroga Advogados
Eric D.K. Melby
Adwoa Jones
Walter Juraszek
Peter Kalotai
European Union Steven Klinsky Franklin C. Miller Zalmay M. Khalilzad
Fire Eye Inc. Christian Lawless James Miller Jonathan Kirschner
Alan H. Fleischmann Radu G. Magdin Ministry of Foreign Carrie Kolasky
April Foley Wendy W. Makins Affairs, Republic of Korea Dávid Korányi
Global Voices Prakash H. Mehta Fay Moghtader Maxim Kryvoruchko-Eristavi
International Petroleum Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
$1,000,000+ Investment Corporation ◊ of Slovakia & Co. L.P.
Gökhan Gündoğdu
Raven Harris
Judith Miller
P. Stephen Minor
Michael J. Morell
Joseph S. Nye
Maciej Kuziemski
Kamila Lepkowska
Lockheed Martin Corporation Pfizer Inc. Leidos Holdings, Inc.
DONATIONS Marie-Josee and Henry R.
Kravis Foundation, Inc.
W. DeVier Pierson
S&P Global Inc.
LexisNexis Legal & Professional
LisaBeth Foundation
Intel Corporation
Reuben Jeffery
Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc.
Movado Group, Inc.
Sean O’Keefe
Norman Pearlstine
Liis Lipre-Järma
Gerhard Mally
Adrienne Arsht Franklin D. Kramer Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg Joshua Peterson Jason Marczak
Ministry of Foreign Affairs SAFRAN SA Jan M. Lodal Lane Mideast Daniel Poneman J. Peter Pham Foad Mardukhi
Bahaa Hariri of Japan Science Applications Mannheim LLC
United Arab Emirates Contracting, LLC. ◊ The Related Companies, L.P. Thomas R. Pickering Daniel L. Martinez
Alexander V. Mirtchev International Corporation William Mayer John D. Macomber Royal DSM N.V. Radio Free Europe/ Margarita Mathiopoulos
Morganti Group, Inc. Seattle International MBDA Incorporated Microsoft Corporation Securities Industry and Radio Liberty Samuel M. McDonald
Mubadala Development Foundation McKinsey & Company Ministry of Foreign Affairs Financial Markets Association Thomas J. Ridge Jelena Milic
$250,000 – $999,999 Company ◊
Nevsun Resources Ltd.
Severstal Group
SGO Co Ltd
McLarty Associates
Mercuria Energy Group Ltd
of the Republic of Poland
Ministry of Foreign and
Security First Corp.
Theodore Sedgwick
Walter B. Slocombe
Paula Stern
Sean Misko
Dan Morrison
DONATIONS Ploughshares Fund
Raytheon Company
Omar Shawaf
Kris Singh
Meridiam SAS
MetLife, Inc.
European Affairs of the
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
James Seng
T & R Chemicals Inc
John Tanner
ThyssenKrupp AG ‡
James Morrison
Manuel Muniz
Abu Dhabi National Oil Robert W. Woodruff Sony Corporation Ministry of Defense of the Moody’s Corporation Toyota Motor North America, Inc. Frances M. Townsend Terence Murphy
Company ◊ Foundation, Inc. Textron Inc. Republic of Lithuania Virginia A. Mulberger Clyde C. Tuggle Scott van Buskirk Eugene L. Nardelli
Airbus Group SE Rockefeller Brothers Fund Thales S.A. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Oliver Wyman Group Unilever Melanne Verveer Ann Nicocelli-Bailey
Carnegie Corporation Southern Company Transatlantic Policy Network the Republic of Finland Open Society Initiative US-Angola Chamber Renate von Boyens Christian Paasch
of New York Squire Patton Boggs Türkiye Petrolleri Moroccan-American for Europe ‡ of Commerce Damon Wilson Walter Parchomenko
Melanie Chen Taipei Economic and Cultural Anonim Ortaklığı § Cultural Center Inc Perkins Coie LLP Charles F. Wald Jeffrey Wright Mira Patel
Cheniere Energy, Inc. Representative Office in the Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. Northrop Grumman David H. Petraeus Dov S. Zakheim Mary C. Yates Raul Perea-Henze
Chevron United States United Parcel Service, Inc Corporation Powszechny Zaklad Yannis Perlepes
Crescent Petroleum ◊ The Techint Group Panasonic Corporation Ubezpieczen na Zycie S.A. ‡ Charles Alan Peyser
Dentons Ukrainian World Congress Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc. ◊ PricewaterhouseCoopers Simone Pflaum
Foreign & Commonwealth United States Department
of State $25,000 - $49,999 Parsons Corporation ◊
Penguin Random House
Robert Bosch Stiftung $1,000 – $4,999 UP TO $999 DONATIONS Philip Pilevsky
Office of the United Kingdom Rockefeller & Co., Inc. Alan Platt
Frontera Resources
Anis Haggar
United Technologies
Corporation ‡ DONATIONS
PKN Orlen S.A. ‡
Renaissance Strategic Advisors
The Ronald & Jo Carole
Lauder Foundation
DONATIONS Florence Akinyemi
Nohemi Lira Albarran
Jelena Putre
Christina Rocca
Victor Pinchuk Foundation Randolph Reynolds Timothy D. Adams Nadia Alkam
George Lund Anonymous (3) Scripps Networks Jason Rockett
Royal Dutch Shell plc Beverly Allen Michael Allen
Marianne and Marcus Peter Ackerman Interactive, Inc. ‡ Bianca-Martina Rohner
Rockwell Schnabel Jawhar al-Sourchi Michael A. Almond
Wallenberg Foundation African Energy Association Stephen Shapiro Sandia National Laboratories
Sempra Energy American Israel Public Anna Andersson
MNG Group of Companies
NATO
$50,000 - $99,999 The Ballard Group LLC
Bank of America Corporation
Simpson Thacher
Shearman & Sterling LLP
Alan Solomont Affairs Committee Stuart Archer
Robert Beecroft
Mayecor Sar
Lily Sarafan
& Bartlett LLP American University
OCP Foundation
QUALCOMM Incorporated DONATIONS Bank Zachodni WBK S.A. ‡
BASF Corporation
Statoil ASA
Thomas F. Stephenson
Southwest Holdings Ltd
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP Devon Archer
The Asan Institute
Jerald Belofsky
Eric Bibby
Peter Schechter
Mark Schwendler
Royal Norwegian Ministry Anonymous The Boeing Company Symantec Corporation Anand Shah
Ellen O. Tauscher for Policy Studies James Bindenagel
of Defence African Rainbow Minerals Ltd BP America Inc. Tauron Group ‡ Adam Louis Shrier
Temasek Holdings Elizabeth F. Bagley Neil Brown
Saab North America, Inc. Dafer Alazri The Carlyle Group L.P. Harlan Ullman Jonathan Silverthorne
(Private) Limited Esfandyar Batmanghelidj David Buffaloe
SCM Holdings All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. John E. Chapoton Unitas Risk Ltd Mark Simakovsky
United States Chamber Peter Behr Andrew Buher
SICPA HOLDING SA Allied Command Ahmed Charai US Water Partnership Pamela Smith
of Commerce Margaret Bennett Keith Bulter
Smith Richardson Transformation Patricia Cloherty Sezen Uysal Daniel Speckhard
United States Air Force Dennis Blair Lawrence Carew
Foundation, Inc. AM General, LLC The Coca-Cola Company Rodolphe Vallee Karen St. John
United States Army Blue Star Strategies, LLC Irwin Chapman
Swedish Ministry for Avascent Group John Paul de Joria The William and Flora Steven Steiner
United States Marine Corps Harold Brown Jon Chicky
Foreign Affairs Beretta USA Corporation Deloitte, LLP Hewlett Foundation Andris Strazds
United States Navy R. Nicholas Burns Albert Cho
Zurich Insurance Group Ltd David Burgstahler Ecologic Institute Jaime Zimmerman Frank Tapparo
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Kenneth Cooper Urrutia Christian
Çalık Holding Edelman Samuel Taylor
Xylem Inc Peter Cunniffe Angela Cockerham
Chubb Limited Ekkou VP § William Theuer
Ivo H. Daalder Frances Cook
Alex Tiersky
$100,000 – $249,999 DLA Piper
ENGIE
Elbit Systems of America, Inc.
European Investment Bank $5,000 – $9,999 Carl de Stefanis
Kirk Elliott
Morgan David
James De Francia
Julien Touati

DONATIONS Eni S.p.A.

Ernst & Young LLP
First Data Corporation
First Eastern
$10,000 – $24,999 DONATIONS Frank Finelli Rob de Wijk
Christopher J. Dodd
Marten van Heuven
Julie Varghese
Andrew Frank
Anonymous
Robert J. Abernethy
ExxonMobil Corporation
Fund II Foundation
(Holdings) Limited
Brian Fitzgerald
DONATIONS Odeh Aburdene
Baring Vostok Capital Partners
Gabriel Galvan
Global Media Partners
Aaron Dowd
Richard Downie
Samantha Vinograd
Don Wallace
Robert S. Gelbard Ronald M. Freeman 3M Poland Manufacturing Krzysztof Walski
Thomas L. Blair BGR Group Patrick Gross Ana Dukic
Hanesbrands Inc. FTI Consulting, Inc. Sp. z o.o. ul. ‡ Leigh Warner
Asfari Foundation Nancy Brinker Richard Grove Arnold C. Dupuy
İhlas Holding A.Ş. Thomas H. Glocer Akin Gump Strauss Hauer E. Allan Wendt
Baker McKenzie Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Carter Ham Timothy Fairbank
JPMorgan Chase & Co. GPD Charitable Trust & Feld LLP J. Marc Wheat
Bayat Group Centrus Energy Corp. Steven Hefter Virginia Campo Garcia
Korea Foundation Groupe Banque Populaire Allianz Foundation for Neal Wolin
The Blackstone Group L.P. Michael E. Dailey Frederic Hof Glenn Gerstell
KraussMaffei Group GmbH Stephen J. Hadley North America John Woodworth
Chopivsky Family Foundation Andrew Davis Robert D. Hormats Steven Glickman
Leonardo S.p.A. Ian Hague Archicom S.A. ‡ Samuel Zega
Google Inc. Thomas J. Edelman William J. Hybl Mark Goff
MCB Bank Ltd. Brian C. McK. Henderson Victor Ashe Jonathan Zittrain
C. Boyden Gray Stuart E. Eizenstat International Republican Faruk Baturalp Günay
Ahmed Hakki Ministry of Defense of Latvia Steve Herman Farhad Azima Lawrence P. Fisher, II Institute Behrooz Hadavi
Halk Bankası § Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Howard Baker Forum Bank of New York Mellon, Inc. ‡ Barbara Hackman Franklin Kosmos Energy Ltd Natasha Hadijski
HSBC Holdings plc and European Integration Mary L. Howell Bloomberg Philanthropies Laurie S. Fulton John Kreider Tom Henteleff
Inter-American of Montenegro Huntington Ingalls John D. Bowlin Sherri W. Goodman Geraldine Kunstadter John Herbst
Development Bank Ministry of Foreign Affairs Industries, Inc. Byron Callan Chris Griner Philip Lader Adam Hitchcock
of the Republic of Cyprus Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. Caterpillar Inc. Michael V. Hayden Richard L. Lawson Jeffrey Hoffman

‡ denotes support exclusively of 2016 Wrocław Global Forum § denotes support exclusively of 2017 Istanbul Summit This list reflects cash contributions recorded January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2016. We regret any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions.
◊ denotes support exclusively of 2017 Global Energy Forum
† deceased

70 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 71

 COMMUNITIES OF INFLUENCE

FINANCIAL Combined Statement of Activities and Change in Net Assets

for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015*

S U M M A RY
Temporarily
Unrestricted Restricted FY 2016 FY 2015 ASSETS 2016 2015
Cash and Cash Equivalents $ 2,744,968 $ 3,384,173
REVENUE Contributions and Grants Receivable 7,797,922 6,295,869
Individual Contributions $ 1,079,241 $ 5,280,757 $ 6,359,998 $ 9,135,445 Prepaid Expenses and Other 513,440 265,368
Corporate Support 2,669,500 7,888,774 10,558,274 10,633,650 Fixed Assets 5,274,426 5,679,827
Foundations (67,512) 4,164,174 4,096,662 2,716,344 Investments 18,282,400 17,881,328
Grants and Contracts - 3,693,487 3,693,487 2,764,345 TOTAL ASSETS $ 34,613,156 $ 33,506,565
In-kind Contributed Services and Materials 684,177 - 684,177 578,563
Events and Other Revenue 101,845 - 101,845 12,596
LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS
Investment Return Designated for Operations 175,203 490,628 665,831 997,731
Liabilities:
Net Assets Released from Restrictions 20,763,856 (20,763,856) - -
Accounts Payable $ 896,433 $ 747,800
TOTAL REVENUE $ 25,406,310 $ 753,964 $ 26,160,274 $ 26,838,674
Accrued Vacation 542,936 421,709
Deferred Revenue 601,996 335,000
OPERATING EXPENSES Capital Lease Obligation 207,468 74,923
Program/Center Services: Deferred Rent 5,467,992 5,507,520
Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center $ 1,898,908 $ - $ 1,898,908 $ 1,573,458 Other Long-Term Liabilities 114,625 82,823
Adrienne Arsht Center for Resilience 237,172 - 237,172 - Total Liabilities $ 7,831,450 $ 7,169,775
Africa Center 1,053,640 - 1,053,640 870,017
Net Assets:
Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security 6,776,188 - 6,776,188 6,076,896
Unrestricted 5,093,947 5,569,288
Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center 1,449,168 - 1,449,168 3,525,129
Temporarily Restricted 21,687,759 20,767,502
Future Europe Initiative 2,142,154 - 2,142,154 1,498,305
Total Net Assets $ 26,781,706 $ 26,336,790
Global Business & Economics Program 594,405 - 594,405 814,003
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS $ 34,613,156 $ 33,506,565
Global Energy Center 2,189,758 - 2,189,758 1,047,458
Millennium Leadership Program 828,190 - 828,190 683,777
Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East 3,514,912 - 3,514,912 3,463,025
South Asia Center 1,146,484 - 1,146,484 1,391,578
Total Program/Center Service Expenses $ 21,830,979 - $ 21,830,979 $ 20,943,646 DIVERSITY OF SUPPORT, REVENUE BY SOURCE SUSTAINABILITY FOR THE FUTURE, ASSETS BY TYPE
Supporting Services: 3% 2% 8%
Management and General $ 2,248,530 $ - $ 2,248,530 $ 2,444,631 14% 24%
Fundraising 1,846,465 - 1,846,465 1,156,872
Total Supporting Service Expenses 4,094,995 - 4,094,995 3,601,503 23%

Total Operating Expenses $ 25,925,974 $ - $ 25,925,974 $ 24,545,149

16% 53%
CHANGE IN NET ASSETS BEFORE $ (519,664) $ 753,964 $ 234,300 $ 2,293,525
NON-OPERATING ACTIVITIES 1%

15%
40%
NON-OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Investment Income $ 219,526 $ 656,921 $ 876,447 $ (105,301)
Investment Return Designated for Operations Cash and Cash Equivalents
Investment Return Designated for Operations (175,203) (490,628) (665,831) (997,731)
In-kind Contributed Services and Materials Contributions and Grants Receivable
Change in Net Assets (475,341) 920,257 444,916 1,190,493 Grants and Contracts Prepaid Expenses and Other
Foundations Fixed Assets
Net Assets at Beginning of Year $ 5,569,288 $ 20,767,502 $ 26,336,790 $ 25,146,297 Corporate Support Investments
NET ASSETS AT END OF YEAR $ 5,093,947 $21,687,759 $26,781,706 $26,336,790 Individual Contributions

*Financial data for 2016 is preliminary and unaudited.

Percentages may not total to 100% due to rounding.

72 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 73

BY THE NUMBERS COMMUNITIES OF INFLUENCE

FOUR STAR CHARITY NAVIGATOR RATING A DECADE OF GROWTH

& INSTITUTION-BUILDING 938% 705%
24%
REVENUE INCREASE ASSET INCREASE
MORE MENTIONS
OF THE ATLANTIC
48%
OF THE TOTAL
COUNCIL IN GLOBAL
PRINT MEDIA
WAS OUTSIDE THE
UNITED STATES UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA’S FEATURED
IN 14 CATEGORIES

2016 GLOBAL GO TO THINK TANK INDEX REPORT

910
ARTICLES, OP-EDS, INCLUDING
AND OTHER COMMENTARY New York Times, Wall Street Journal,
NAMED ONE OF 2016’S BEST POLICY REPORTS FOR GLOBAL SYSTEM ON THE

31%
IN EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS Financial Times, and Al Jazeera
BRINK: PATHWAYS TOWARD A NEW NORMAL IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IMEMO

IN 2016, AN AVERAGE OF 3 EVENTS EACH DAY AND RANKED #17

A PUBLISHED REPORT OR BRIEFING EVERY 3 DAYS: MORE BEST QUALITY ASSURANCE
AND INTEGRITY POLICIES RANKED #4
835 EVENTS bringing together more than 28,000 PEOPLE AND PROCEDURES THINK TANK TO
207 WEBCASTS EVENTS with 20,000 VIEWS WORLDWIDE
25 FACEBOOK LIVE BROADCASTS viewed 300,000 TIMES
EVENTS RANKED #10
WATCH IN 2017
BEST THINK TANK CONFERENCE

TOP INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

8% increase in web traffic
United Kingdom Turkey
RANKED #2
45% from outside the US Canada Germany BEST INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION
Ukraine Russia
Audience from 120 countries India South Africa INVOLVING TWO OR MORE THINK TANKS

40% MORE PUBLICATIONS

RANKED #13 RANKED #17
THINK TANKS WITH THE BEST TOP FOREIGN POLICY AND

38%
INCREASE IN INCLUDING 112 REPORTS AND ISSUE BRIEFS EXTERNAL RELATIONS / PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
TESTIMONY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM THINK TANKS
BEFORE TOP SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS:
CONGRESS
RANKED #19
#PutinAtWar #StrongerWithAllies
#BeyondIslomphobia RANKED #14 BEST MANAGED THINK TANKS

200+
CONGRESSIONAL
BRIEFINGS TOP THINK TANKS IN RANKED #11
THE UNITED STATES
37% + 50% +
BY AREA OF RESEARCH: TOP
DEFENSE AND NATIONAL SECURITY

74 ATLANTIC COUNCIL 2016 – 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 75

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