ABOUT

Kristine Rudzite-Stejskala is Team Leader for Defence Innovation at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS), where she leads work on strengthening the innovation capacity and competitiveness of the European defence technological and industrial base. She brings over twenty years of experience in defence policy, acquisition, and institutional leadership. Prior to joining the Commission in 2022, she served as Latvia's Counsellor for NATO Resource Policy, Planning, Resilience and Innovation at the Permanent Delegation to NATO, and held senior roles at the Latvian Ministry of Defence, including Deputy National Armament Director and Member of the NSPA Board of Directors (2015–2021). Kristine holds an MSc in Politics in the World Economy from the London School of Economics and has published on defence and security issues.