Originally circulated by email on 23 January 2026. Historical archive.
Dear Members and colleagues,
Three weeks into 2026, it has already become clear that the year is unfolding under conditions that depart sharply from the assumptions that structured the global economic order over the past three decades.
Early developments have brought questions of finance, security, technology, and political authority into unusually close alignment. The use of U.S. force in Venezuela and the removal of Nicolás Maduro have demonstrated how rapidly sovereignty, sanctions, and energy access can now be resolved through coercion rather than negotiation. At the same time, the standoff between Washington and Copenhagen over Greenland has underscored that strategic territory, critical minerals, and alliance relationships are again subject to direct geoeconomic pressure. These episodes unfold alongside an increasingly public confrontation between the U.S. presidency and the Federal Reserve, exposing the degree to which monetary authority itself has become entangled in political struggle.
Taken together, these are not isolated events. They point to a world in which economic relations are shaped less by institutional mediation and more by discretionary power, strategic intervention, and contested control over capital, territory, and technology. It is in this environment that Helsinki Geoeconomics enters its 2026 cycle.
What follows sets out the Helsinki Society’s governance positioning, key institutional developments, and the activation steps now underway.
1. Governance: Annual General Meeting
Formal notice has been issued for the Annual General Meeting of the Helsinki Geoeconomics Society, to be held online on Thursday, 29 January 2026 at 4PM Helsinki time.
The AGM anchors the Society’s governance for the 2026 cycle. It will review institutional developments, confirm governance updates, and frame the forward programme under the New Helsinki Process. Supporting materials, including programme confirmation and governance documentation, will be circulated to Members ahead of the meeting.
Members are kindly asked to register by Wednesday, 28 January 2026 in accordance with the instructions set out in the published notice: https://www.geoeconomics.fi/content/files/2026/10/AGM-Notice-2026.pdf.
2. People News: Strengthening the Institutional Core
As the Society moves from signalling into sustained operation, several senior appointments have taken effect at the start of the year. These roles are central to governance, editorial independence, and operational coherence.
Belal Mohammed Khan has been appointed Vice President and Treasurer of the Helsinki Geoeconomics Society , assuming fiduciary oversight and advisory responsibility for financial strategy and internal controls.
Talha Haroon has taken up the role of Managing Editor of Helsinki Geoeconomics Monitor (HeGeMon). He is responsible for editorial leadership across the Monitor and all other publication streams of the Society as they scale through 2026.
Manasi Pendharkar has been appointed Assistant Chief Rapporteur of the New Helsinki Process Task Force , supporting the coordination and synthesis of expert input into the Task Force’s substantive work on the Helsinki Manual on Corporate Geoeconomics.
Dale Satre has assumed the role of Assistant Secretary-General and Chief of Staff , with responsibility for Secretariat operations, fundraising, membership relations, communications, convenings, and coordination across workstreams.
Together, these appointments strengthen the Society’s institutional spine at a moment when clarity of authority and execution discipline matter most.
3. Membership: New Founding Member Admission
The Society is pleased to welcome Novartis International AG as a Founding Member of the Helsinki Geoeconomics Society and as a Member of the Task Force Steering Committee.
This admission reflects the Society’s growing engagement with global firms operating at the intersection of capital, regulation, technology, and geopolitical risk. We are proud to count Novartis among the institutions helping to shape the Society’s work at this formative stage.
4. Fellows: Preregistration Window and Complimentary Attendance Rights
Following governance confirmation at the AGM, the Society will open the Fellows’ preregistration window for the 2026 cycle on 1 February , running through 31 March 2026.
Fellows who preregister within this window and are current on their membership dues by 1 July 2026 secure their entitlement to one complimentary convening participation per calendar year, covering up to four full conference days.
This complimentary attendance right is not restricted to Helsinki Geoeconomics Week. It may be exercised at any Helsinki Geoeconomics Society convening during the year (including, for example, Helsinki Geoeconomics Week, the Singapore Geoeconomics Forum, or other qualifying convenings), subject to capacity constraints and advance registration.
The preregistration window allows the Secretariat to plan convenings responsibly while guaranteeing Fellows predictable access to participation benefits. Fellows who do not preregister remain welcome to attend events but may be subject to standard session cost‑sharing fees.
Detailed logistical guidance will be circulated following the AGM.
5. Knowledge Input: Call for Expert Evidence (CFE)
The Call for Expert Evidence (CFE) is the Society’s formal intake mechanism for non-member professionals and external experts whose work bears directly on the practice of corporate geoeconomics.
The CFE invites concise, technically grounded submissions that document how economic power is exercised, regulated, or contested in practice across trade, investment screening, sanctions and compliance, finance, industrial policy, technology control, and related domains. Submissions may take the form of case studies, regulatory analysis, market intelligence, or structured reflections drawn from professional experience.
CFE submissions feed directly into the New Helsinki Process, informing Task Force deliberations and the drafting of the Helsinki Manual on Corporate Geoeconomics. They are used to test assumptions, surface emerging risks and strategies, and anchor the Manual’s standards in real-world practice.
Where appropriate, contributors may be invited to testify before the Task Force in a closed expert session. Experts invited in this capacity may also be admitted to Society convenings, subject to applicable registration requirements and cost-sharing arrangements.
The submission window for the current CFE remains open through 6 March 2026.
The full text of the call is available here: https://www.geoeconomics.fi/content/files/2026/10/Call-for-Expert-Evidence.pdf
6. Susan Strange Cohort: Developing the Next Generation
The Susan Strange Cohort is the 2026-2027 edition of the Helsinki Geoeconomics Society’s selective programme for advanced students and early‑career professionals seeking rigorous formation in geoeconomics, economic statecraft, and business geopolitics.
The Cohort is designed to identify and train individuals with strong analytical capacity and professional ambition, exposing them to the Society’s core frameworks, convenings, and research processes. Participants engage with senior practitioners, contribute to structured workstreams, and gain early familiarity with the methods and debates shaping corporate geoeconomics.
The Society warmly invites members and ecosystem partners to recommend the Susan Strange Cohort to promising students and early‑career professionals in IR, political economy, law, economics, finance, risk, strategy, and related fields.
As previously communicated in Communiqué No. 3 (2025), the application window for the 2026 Susan Strange Cohort closes on 31 January 2026. Candidates are encouraged to complete and submit materials ahead of the deadline.
The full text of the call is available here: https://www.geoeconomics.fi/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Launching-the-Susan-Strange-Cohort.pdf
7. Cohort Alumni Opportunities: Heads of Function
The Society is inviting applications for several Head of Function roles for the 2026 cycle. These are high-ownership, part-time leadership appointments designed to be held alongside demanding academic or professional commitments.
Each position carries real responsibility, independent judgment, and professional expectations, with performance-linked compensation where applicable. Heads of Function work in a high-trust environment with light senior supervision and play a direct role in translating the Society’s strategic decisions into operational reality.
Alumni of previous Helsinki Geoeconomics student and early-career fellowship cohorts are especially encouraged to apply, though applications are open more broadly.
Open roles:
Head of Funding
Focus : End-to-end management of sponsorship outreach and institutional membership conversion.
Profile : Disciplined, resilient, and comfortable with senior institutional counterparts.
Compensation : Commission-based, linked to converted funding and memberships.
Head of Communications (Print & AV)
Focus : Institutional tone, publication cadence, and editorial judgment across print and audio-visual outputs.
Requirements : Proficiency in Adobe InDesign and audio-visual production (podcast and/or video).
Compensation : Delivery-linked, tied to agreed outputs and publication cycles.
Head of Operations & Events
Focus : Operational execution across the programme, including responsibility for the August Helsinki flagship conference.
Profile : Strong coordination skills, discretion, and reliability under pressure.
Compensation : Milestone-linked, tied to delivery stability and execution quality.
Head of Web & Digital
Focus : Maintaining a dependable, accurate, and current digital presence for a high-visibility international institution.
Requirements : High proficiency in WordPress and disciplined update practices.
Compensation : Reliability-linked, tied to digital readiness and timeliness.
The Society values judgment, clarity, and reliability over formal credentials. These roles are particularly well suited to advanced students and early-career professionals who can sustain a serious part-time commitment and are comfortable operating with senior practitioners.
Interested candidates are invited to submit a brief statement of interest, and a concise summary of relevant experience (with portfolio links where applicable), by contacting Dale Satre (dsatre@geoeconomics.fi).
Appointments are made on a rolling basis until all positions are filled.
Further communications will follow in a structured sequence after the AGM.
Sincerely,
Jens Hillebrand Pohl