Our Leadership

President and CEO

Ambassador (ret.) Mark Brzezinski is President and CEO of Brzezinski Global Strategies, LLC. With a distinguished career in public service and the private sector, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Poland from 2021-2025. This was a period when Poland hosted over 13,000 American troops, and President Biden announced the first permanent U.S. military installation in Poland. Mark spearheaded the selection of American firms Westinghouse and Bechtel to build Poland’s first civil nuclear power plant, a $30 billion deal. For his service in Poland, in January 2025, he was awarded by the President of Poland the "Order of the Commander's Cross" for his role in fostering international cooperation and the U.S.-Polish relationship.

During the Obama Administration, Mark served as U.S. Ambassador to Sweden between 2011-2015. This was a period in which the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm was recognized for spearheading innovative new approaches to advance U.S.-European trade and landing key Swedish investments, including Volvo's decision to invest $1 billion to build a factory in South Carolina. He arranged the first-ever U.S. Presidential visit to Stockholm in 2013, which brought together all five heads of governments of the Nordic countries for a summit that galvanized a U.S.-Nordic strategic approach on energy, innovation and sustainability. For his service, Mark was awarded the Royal Order of the Polar Star by the King of Sweden, a high honor rarely bestowed on a foreign ambassador.

In 2015, Mark was asked by the White House to lead a strategic effort on the Arctic. As the first Executive Director of the White House's Arctic Executive Steering Committee, he spearheaded President Obama's historic engagement in the Arctic and was the driving force behind the White House's hosting of the first-ever Arctic Science Ministerial. His leadership resulted in new markers being set for commercial development in the fragile Arctic region. From 1999 to 2001, he served in the White House on President Clinton's National Security Council staff, first as a Director for Russia and Eurasia, and then as a Director for the Balkans.

In the private sector, Mark was a Managing Director of Makena Capital Management where he spearheaded the firm’s sustainability efforts and assisted in responding to the growing demand for environmentally and socially responsible investment portfolios. Before joining the Obama Administration, Mark was a partner at McGuireWoods LLP, where he helped build the law firm's international compliance practice. He has published articles in the Financial Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal Europe, and has been interviewed on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, BBC and others.

Mark received his BA from Dartmouth College, his JD from the University of Virginia, and a Doctorate in Political Science from Oxford University. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), where he has served on the board of advisors of CFR's Corporate Program. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Poland in 1991-93, and in 2010 President Obama named him to the U.S. State Department's Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. In January 2018, Mark served as a University of Virginia adjunct professor, co-teaching the “World of Investing” course at the McIntire School of Commerce.

Managing Partner

Erik Brattberg is Managing Partner of Brzezinski Global Strategies, LLC. Prior to co-founding the firm, Erik served as Senior Vice President at DGA Group-Albright Stonebridge Group where he advised numerous high-profile clients on U.S. national security policy and transatlantic relations, government affairs and stakeholder engagement, political risk, and market entry and exit issues in Europe and globally.

A recognized expert on Europe and transatlantic relations with over 15 years of experience in the consulting and think-tank sector on both sides of the Atlantic, Erik previously served as Director of the Europe Program and a Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and before that as Director for Special Projects and Senior Fellow at the McCain Institute for International Leadership, among other roles with prominent think-tanks in Berlin, Brussels, Stockholm, and Washington, D.C. He has also advised companies, investors, and foundations and is the co-founder of a VC-funded cybersecurity startup firm.

He has written articles for numerous outlets, including Washington Post, Financial Times, Politico, Foreign Policy, and Foreign Affairs, contributed to several books and publications on U.S.-Nordic relations and European foreign policy, and is a frequent commentator in major U.S. and international media including ABC, BBC, Bloomberg, CBS, CNBC, CNN, NBC, NPR, and The Wall Street Journal. He is a regular speaker at international conferences and think-tank events and has testified before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Erik currently serves on the national board of directors of the World Affairs Councils of America, is a member of the Meridian Council, and is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center.

He received an M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, which he attended as a Fulbright scholar, an M.A. and a B.A. in Political Science from Uppsala University, and an executive certificate in scenario planning from Oxford University Saïd Business School.