Heli Tiirmaa-Klaar

Heli Tiirmaa-Klaar is the current Director at Global Cyber Alliance. Prior to this, they served as the Cyber Security Policy Advisor at NATO from January 2011 to December 2011, where they helped draft and negotiate the NATO Cyber Defence Policy 2011. Heli also worked to improve cooperation between NATO and the EU, as well as foster relations between NATO and the academic cyber community. From 2004 to 2007, they were the Head of International Studies Department at Tallinn University, where they established the department and built the International Relations and Security Policy Studies curricula at both the BA and MA level. Heli has also worked as a diplomat for the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where they served as Ambassador at Large for Cyber Diplomacy and Director for the Cyber Diplomacy Department from September 2018 to January 2022. In this role, they were a member of the UN Group of Governmental Experts in advancing responsible state behavior in cyberspace and head of the Estonian Delegation to the UN Open Ended Working Group on developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security. Heli also co-chaired the UN Secretary General High Level Panel on Trust and Security working group and led the Tallinn Cyber Diplomacy Summer School.

Heli Tiirmaa-Klaar has a Master of Arts (M.A.) in International Relations and National Security Studies from The George Washington University. Heli also has an MA in Political Science from Central European University and has done graduate studies in Political Science and Government at Arhus University. Heli has a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Sociology from the University of Tartu.