hosted by Professor Michael Leigh


OKSANA ANTONENKO
Oksana Antonenko is the Director of Control Risks in London. Antonenko is responsible for building strategic engagements with large corporate and investment clients as they evaluate and manage political risk and opportunity. She develops retainer-based client relationships at a senior level across Europe and Africa, drawing on many years of experience advising senior decision-makers – in public and private sectors – around the world. Prior to joining Control Risks, Antonenko held senior roles at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and was Visiting Senior Fellow at the Institute for Global Affairs at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Antonenko has particular expertise on Russia, Turkey, Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, European institutions and international financial institutions. She has also previously worked on conflict mediation, including mediating several high-level talks in the post-conflict situation in Eurasia in cooperation with EU institutions, the UN and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Antonenko holds an Economics Degree from Moscow State University and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

VERONICA ANGHEL
Veronica Anghel is Lecturer of Risk in International Politics at SAIS Europe; Europe's Futures Fellow, IWM – Vienna and Erste Foundation; Visiting Fellow, Robert Schuman Center - European University Institute and Editorial Fellow, Government & Opposition. Anghel was previously a Max Weber Fellow and Assistant Professor (part-time) in the Political Science Department of the European University Institute. She held research fellowships at Stanford University (Fulbright), Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, the Institute for Central Europe in Vienna, the University of Bordeaux, and the Institute for Government in Vienna. She received her PhD summa cum laude from the University of Bucharest in co-direction with the University of Bordeaux. Anghel worked as a foreign affairs advisor for the Romanian Presidential Administration (2014 – 2015) and a Diplomatic Adviser for the Romanian Senate (2012 – 2014). Anghel provides risk analysis for consultancy outfits on European integration, rule of law issues and party politics in post-communist Europe, and was the recipient of the 2020 ‘Rising Star' Award of the European Consortium of Political Research.

TITO CORDELLA
Tito Cordella is Vera and Stefano Zamagni Chair in Development Economics at SAIS Europe. Cordella started his professional career as an academic, teaching at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona and at the University of Bologna. He then had a long stint at Bretton Woods Institutions where, alternating operational and research activities, he gained extensive policy experience on a wide range of issues (monetary and fiscal policies, financial crises, banking, finance, growth, sovereign debt and debt restructuring, financial products, among others). At the IMF, Cordella was a member of the Asian crisis team and then joined the Research Department where he focused on how to reform the international financial architecture. At the World Bank, he was the Brazil Chief Economist, the Deputy Chief Economist for LAC region, and an adviser to the World Bank Chief Economist. He is an honorary member of LACEA, a member of the LTI@UniTO Scientific Committee, and an advisory editor of the Latin American Journal of Central Banking. Cordella has published widely in banking, international finance/development, and trade. An Italian national, he holds a PhD in Economics from the Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium (European Doctoral Program).

STEFANO UNGARO
Stefano Ungaro is a Senior Researcher in the research unit of the ACPR Research Directorate. His work focuses on banking, financial regulation, and economic history. He holds a PhD in Economics from Paris School of Economics and an MSc in Economics and Social Science from Bocconi University. Before joining the Banque de France, Ungaro taught financial and monetary economics at University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, European Business School Paris, and Sciences Po Paris. He also worked as a research economist within two projects related to the creation, development, and exploitation of long-run historical financial datasets.