Professor Dr. Marios Panagiotis Efthymiopoulos serves as Director of Strategy International (SI), an international think tank and strategic advisory organization headquartered in Cyprus. He is a Professor of International Security and Strategy at Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas (Lithuania). He studied in the United Kingdom, Austria, and Greece, completing his academic formation in Security and Strategic Studies, while earning his PhD in Political and Strategic Studies in Greece as an Onassis Scholar, with a specialization in NATO–Russia relations and alliance transformation. He has worked academically and professionally in Italy, Austria, Greece, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates, and currently serves in Kaunas, Lithuania. In the United States, he has engaged in various positions with institutions including Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, Johns Hopkins University, George Washington, Columbia University, contributing to research, publication and discussions on transatlantic security, NATO adaptation, hybrid threats, Middle East and Gulf and emerging defense technologies. In the United Arab Emirates, he held senior academic and administrative roles at the American University in the Emirates as the inaugural Dean of the College of Security and Global Studies. Then engaged with the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, contributing to executive education and research on Gulf security architecture, regional defense cooperation, and strategic foresight. In Cyprus, he has served in academic leadership and research capacities as Head of the Department of History, Politics, and International Affairs at Neapolis University Pafos, strengthening institutional research output in international security and geopolitics. He is the author and editor of several academic works published internationally. His recent books include “Hybrid Alliances and the Changing Nature of Security Cooperation” (-Ed- Emerald Publishing, 2023) and “Strategic Adaptation and Alliance Transformation: Emerging Security Challenges” (IGI Global, 2024). His broader research agenda addresses NATO strategy, EU strategic and security policy, Eastern Mediterranean geopolitics, Gulf regional dynamics, cybersecurity, and applied strategic security, strategy and foresight (2025–2035). Beyond academia, he maintains an active media presence, regularly providing strategic analysis and commentary to international television networks, newspapers, digital platforms, and policy forums on issues related to Middle Eastern security, European defense, transatlantic relations, and global geopolitical risk. More information can be found on his personal website: https://www.efthymiopoulos.gr, on the official website of Strategy International (SI): https://strategyinternational.org, and on his faculty profile at Vytautas Magnus University: https://pmdf.vdu.lt/en/about-the-faculty/department-of-political-science/