Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler

Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler is the Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) in New York and the Managing Director of CEP Germany gGmbH in Berlin. He leads the overall work and strategic development of this transatlantic think tank and advocacy organization. In addition, he chairs the advisory board of BerFin Advisory, is a member of the Berlin Anti-Financial Crime Forum and chairs an UNODC-GPML project bringing together financial investigators from government authorities focusing on combatting the financing of violent extremism.

He also serves as the co-chair of the Advisory Board of the Global Diplomatic Forum (GDF) in London, is a member of the international advisory board of the Global Counter Terrorism Council (GCTC) in India, a member of the Board of Directors of Compliance and Capacity Skills International (CCSI) in New York, and a teaching fellow at the academy for Security in the Economy (ASW Akademie AG) in Essen.

In 2013 he joined the ISIL (Da’esh), al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Monitoring Team of the United Nations Security Council and served as the Team’s Coordinator from 2015 to 2018. As Coordinator he regularly briefed the members of the Security Council on the global terrorism threat and was responsible for the development of global counter terrorism sanctions.

Prior to his appointment, he worked as an associated partner for West Sands, an associated consultant for Stirling Assynt and as Program Director for the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) in the United Kingdom. Between 2005 and 2011 he held the position of First Secretary Political Affairs and Liaison to the Security Forces at the German Embassy in Tehran. From 2001 until 2005 he was part of the federal government of Germany's team investigating al-Qaida in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia. Having studied in Tübingen, at Georgetown in Washington D.C., and Tel Aviv, he holds a Master and PhD degree in International Terrorism from St. Andrews University, Scotland.