‘The concept of security is changing dramatically, and it is expanding into areas that were not deemed security sensitive before.’

In this episode of the podcast, Manas Chawla speaks to Assistant Secretary General for Executive Management at NATO Giedrimas Jeglinskas about the value of Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO as well as the traditional and non-traditional security issues that the alliance is presented with on its southern flank and in the Asia-Pacific. Giedrimas also discusses the ways in which NATO is opening itself up to the worlds of investment and technology, which the Assistant Secretary General’s vast array of professional careers has helped him to understand the importance of.

Giedrimas joined the Lithuanian military in 2003 where he was an officer for five years. On completing his MBA in Finance & Strategy at the Columbia Business School, he then went on to have an extensive career in banking working for Citigroup for over six years. In 2017, he returned to Lithuania to take up the position of Deputy Minister at the Ministry of National Defence before becoming the Assistant Secretary General for Executive Management at NATO just under three years ago.

Giedrimas’ professional experience across a variety of different sectors makes for an incredibly interesting conversation about the importance of approaching today’s challenges with a multisectoral approach and connecting the dots between business, politics and technology.