Mr. Damon Wilson

Damon Wilson is executive vice president of the Atlantic Council, serving as both a thought leader and manager with responsibility for strategy and strategic initiatives, program development and integration, and institutional development and organizational effectiveness. His work is committed to advancing a Europe whole, free, and at peace to include Europe’s East, the Western Balkans, and the Black Sea region; to strengthening the NATO Alliance; and to fostering a transatlantic partnership capable of tackling global challenges and promoting its common values.

From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Wilson served as special assistant to the president and senior director for European Affairs at the National Security Council. Previously, Mr. Wilson served at the US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq as the executive secretary and chief of staff, where he helped manage one of the largest US embassies, implementing a reorganization plan which strengthened coordination, accountability, and effectiveness. He played a key role in overseeing the embassy’s effort to design and implement a civilian surge throughout Iraq.

He also worked at the National Security Council as the director for Central, Eastern, and Northern European affairs from 2004 to 2006. During this time, Mr. Wilson strengthened ties with the German Chancellery, coordinated interagency policy in support of reform in Ukraine, directed efforts to deepen engagement with America’s allies in Central and Eastern Europe, including beginning the expansion of more secure visa-free travel, and promoted close consultations with coalition partners in Iraq and Afghanistan.