Speakers:
Rear Admiral Flávio Augusto Viana Rocha - Director, Navy Social Communications Centre, Brazilian Navy
Rear Admiral Rocha was born in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. He graduated from the Brazilian Naval Academy in 1984, and was promoted to Rear Admiral in 2013. He was nominated to his current position in May of 2015.
Since graduating from the Naval Academy, Rear Admiral Rocha has since attended postgraduate courses in Naval Sciences and Senior Naval Policy & Strategy at the Brazilian Naval War College. He is also a postgraduate in Legislative Affairs (University of Brasilia) and Legislative Law (University of the Senate). Other credentials include the Submarine Command Course and Command & Staff Course (Brazilian Naval War College).
Some of his previous posts include Submarine Force Command, Instructor of Seamanship and Navigation at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Parliamentary Advisor to the Commander of the Navy, Chief of Staff 5th Naval District, Deputy-Chief of Staff of the Commander of the Navy, and Head of Strategy, Naval Staff.
Rear Admiral Rocha holds three Commands at Sea: Patrol Ship Pirajá, South Naval Patrol Force, and the School Ship Brasil.
Dr. Carlos Alfaro Zaforteza - King's College London
Dr. Carlos Alfaro Zaforteza holds a PhD in War Studies from King´s College London. He has presented numerous papers in international conferences, and published on naval history and policy in academic journals on both sides of the Atlantic. He teaches at King´s College London, and his research interests include naval history and current affairs, Latin American politics and strategic studies. He is co-author of the book European Navies and the Conduct of War (Routledge, forthcoming).
André Panno Beirão - Postgraduate Programme in Maritime Studies, Naval War College, Brazil
Ph.D. in International Law from the Rio de Janeiro University, Navy Captain (Ret.), MA in Political Science. Deputy-Coordinator of all Brazilian “Political Science – International Relations” MSc Programs. Professor at the Brazilian Naval War College and was the first Coordinator of the Maritime Studies Postgraduate Programme. He was awarded as the best Ph.D. Thesis on National Defense, from the Ministry of Defense of Brazil (period 2012-2014).
Peter Roberts - Senior Research Fellow, Sea Power & Maritime Studies, RUSI
Mr Roberts has served as commanding officer and national military representative in all three branches of the British armed forces, the US coast guard, US navy and the US marine corps. He has also served as chairman for several NATO working groups as well as 5 Eyes Maritime tactics symposia.
Prof. William de Sousa Moreira - Post Graduate Programme in Maritime Studies, Naval War College, Brazil
Navy Captain (Ret.), he received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) in Rio de Janeiro. He is also an associate researcher at UFF´s Institute for Advanced Strategic Studies. His themes of interest include Strategy, Technology, and Force Planning.
Dr. Martin Robson - Strategy and Security Institute, University of Exeter
Dr. Martin Robson is a Lecturer in Strategic Studies at the Strategy and Security Institute, University of Exeter. He specialises in the utility of history for contemporary application. His research focuses on the formulation and implementation of British policy and grand strategy. His historical work encompasses numerous aspects of eighteenth and nineteenth century naval and military history in a global context including aspects of seapower, joint operations and economic warfare. His contemporary work focuses upon UK defence debates with particular reference to the South Atlantic and Latin America.
Dr. Any Freitas - Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), King’s Brazil Institute. Team Leader, Critical Maritime Routes Monitoring, Support and Evaluation Mechanism (CRIMSON) Project
Any Freitas is a political scientist and policy analyst specialized in European studies and Brazilian external relations. Among Any’s main research interests are: Brazilian External Relations, with special focus on Brazil-EU, Brazil-Africa and Brazil-China relations; the new politics and actors of the South Atlantic, South-South cooperation, Brazilian public diplomacy, energy and climate change and security strategies. Any has also worked on international migration, with particular focus on gender and migration, high-skilled migration (“brain drain”) and Brazilian migration. She was an affiliate member of the ‘Ethnic Relations, Migration and Equality Research Group’ (GERME) of the Free University of Brussels. Any has worked in different international organizations, think tanks and research institutions such as UNESCO, the Council of the European Union, the Free University of Brussels and the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS). She is currently Team Leader of “Critical Maritime Routes Monitoring and Support” (CRIMSON) Project, funded by the European Union and implemented by Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). Any holds a PhD in Social and Political Sciences (European University Institute, Florence), an MA in International Relations (International Relations Institute, IRI-PUC, Rio de Janeiro) and a BA in Law (Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, UERJ). She was also visiting researcher at the Instituto Juan March (Madrid) and the Centre March Bloch (Berlin).
Alan Charlton - Retired British Diplomat and former Ambassador to Brazil (2008-2013)
Alan Charlton was a British Diplomat for 35 years until 2013. He served in Jordan, Germany (including as Deputy Ambassador in Berlin), the US as Deputy Ambassador, Brazil as Ambassador and at the Foreign Office in several roles including the Dayton negotiations on Bosnia in 1995. His 2016 book "Shaking My Briefcase" tells stories from his career. He is an Honorary Professor at Nottingham University, Fellow at the Institute of Latin American Studies, Governor of De Montfort University Leicester and a Member of the King's College Brazil Institute Advisory Board. He helps deliver training for diplomats and civil servants at the Foreign Office and lectures widely including on cruise ships.
Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood - PhD candidate, African Leadership Centre, King's College London
Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood is a third-year doctorate student with the African Leadership Centre. Her research seeks to explore the human security implications of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Gulf of Guinea and how those impacts might affect the national security of countries in the region, using Nigeria as a case study. Her most recent degree is an M.A. in conflict, security and development from King’s College London. Okafor-Yarwood also has a B.A. in International Relations and Peace and Conflict Studies, from London Metropolitan University.
In addition to her PhD research, Ifesinachi has recently worked as a resource person in the Support to West Africa Fisheries' Sector its Security and its Control (PESCAO), an African Union InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) project funded by the EU as part of their collective efforts to combat, eliminate and prevent IUU fishing. Ifesinachi was also involved with the publication of the 2015/2016 Transparency International Defence and Corruption Index, having worked as an expert reviewer for Guinea-Bissau. She has a couple of publications in peer-reviewed journals, with her latest publication being on the Guinea-Bissau–Senegal maritime boundary dispute, published by marine policy.
Ludolf Waldmann Jr. - King's College London/Federal University of São Carlos
Ludolf Waldmann Jr is a visiting PhD researcher at Brazil Institute, King’s College London. He is also PhD student in Political Science at Federal University of São Carlos/Brazil and is sponsored by São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). His currently research is about the Anglo-Brazilian naval relations during the 20th century. His themes of interest include political science, naval history, South American navies, strategic and defense studies.
José Cláudio Oliveira Macedo - PhD candidate, King's Brazil Institute
José Cláudio is a first-year Captain in the Brazilian Navy and holds an M.A. in Strategic Studies from Fluminense Federal University (UFF), in Rio de Janeiro.
He has served as a surface officer in some fleet and district ships, including positions as commanding officer in the Northeast of Brazil and the Amazon region, having also had experience in ships of the U.S. and Argentinean Navies. More recently, he has served as strategic planning advisor in the Naval Staff and has lectured 'international crisis' in Naval War College and Brazilian War College. José Cláudio is also member of the Brazilian Association for Defence Studies, and his topics of interest include crisis management, naval strategy and policy, strategic and defence studies, and international relations.
