Derek Chollet Chosen as GMF Executive Vice President; Daniel Twining Named Counselor

WASHINGTON – The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is pleased to announce Derek Chollet as executive vice president and senior advisor for security and defense policy and Daniel Twining as counselor and director of the Asia Program. This news comes as Ivan Vejvoda steps down from the role of senior vice president, ending 13 years at GMF to join the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna.

Chollet joined GMF in 2015 as counselor and senior advisor for security and defense policy. Prior to coming to GMF, he served in senior positions in the White House, State Department, and most recently as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, overseeing defense policy issues related to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Western Hemisphere. Chollet’s recent book The Long Game is among the first and most comprehensive analyses of the Obama administration’s foreign policy. In the role of executive vice president, Chollet will help manage GMF’s operations in both the United States and Europe, as well as programming activities of GMF’s DC headquarters. He will continue to lead GMF’s security and defense work.

Twining joined GMF in 2009 and serves as senior fellow and director of the Asia Program. He was previously a member of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s policy planning staff, the foreign policy advisor to U.S. Senator John McCain, and a staff member of the U.S. Trade Representative. He is currently an associate of the U.S. National Intelligence Council. Twining’s writing appears regularly in Foreign Policy, Nikkei Asian Review and other prominent publications. In his role as counselor, Twining will guide GMF’s efforts to interpret political developments in the United States and collaborate with transatlantic allies to fortify a fraying liberal international order. He will continue to lead GMF’s Asia Program, which works to align the United States and Europe around a common platform to engage with a rising Asia.

“GMF benefits tremendously from the track record of accomplishment represented by Derek and Dan,” said GMF President Karen Donfried. “They offer GMF perspectives and insights that will be crucial to fulfilling our mission of strengthening transatlantic cooperation in a time of rapidly increasing complexity.  As Ivan returns to Europe after his remarkable tenure at GMF, I can’t think of two better individuals to help me lead GMF.”

Chollet and Twining will serve on GMF’s executive management team, complementing vice presidents Courtney Bickert, Debbi Iwig, Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff (as of March 2017), and Ian Lesser. Both Chollet and Twining will be based in GMF’s Washington, DC headquarters. These appointments take effect immediately.