Jeff Lightfoot

A Senior Advisor to the Scowcroft Group, Jeff Lightfoot has nearly 20 years of experience analyzing European defense, economic and geopolitical trends, with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe.

Mr. Lightfoot also serves as Senior Director for Strategy and Impact at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) where he leads the organization’s global body of work on economic resilience. He spent four years based in Bratislava, Slovakia, where he launched and grew CIPE’s European office, expanding CIPE’s activities across 18 countries while building partnerships with leading European business associations, governments, EU institutions, and U.S. Embassies.

Previously, Mr. Lightfoot was a Vice President at Jones Group International, a Washington-based international business advisory firm led by former U.S. National Security Advisor and NATO Supreme Allied Commander General James L. Jones. In that role, he supported defense, technology, and financial services firms with strategic assessments related to market entry, geopolitical risk, and commercial opportunities in Europe and the Middle East.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Lightfoot served as Deputy Director of the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, where he authored and directed major task forces on U.S. foreign policy toward Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and East Asia. He remains a non-resident Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative.

Mr. Lightfoot holds a master’s degree in European and Eurasian Studies from the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs and bachelor’s degrees in French, business, and international affairs from Indiana University Bloomington. He speaks French.