Eric Leyde - Institute for Security Governance

Faculty

Mr. Eric Leyde is the Southeast Europe Regional Program Lead (RPL) of the Advising & Consulting (A&C) Division at the Institute for Security Governance (ISG). He has over 35 years of experience in security/defense affairs, with 20 years of experience as a Defense and Foreign Affairs Specialist. In his RPL capacity, he develops, facilitates, oversees, and assesses holistic institutional capacity building (ICB) programs for countries in Southeast Europe that focus on supporting partner efforts to strengthen core security ministry functions. These include strategy, policy, and planning; human resource management (HRM); resource management and budgeting (RM); and logistics and infrastructure.

Before joining ISG, Mr. Leyde worked in support of support of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), where he advised the J-5 in the development of strategic plans and policy in regards to European Command and Africa Command. As an active duty Army Foreign Area Officer (FAO), he was a Regional Policy Advisor for Balkans Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and advised senior Pentagon decision makers on defense-related international strategies focused on the Balkans and the NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR). Mr. Leyde previously worked directly for the Secretary of Defense's Special Representative as member of the negotiating team for the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with the Russian Federation, where he leveraged his previous experience as a nuclear arms inspection team commander.

Mr. Leyde received an MA in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies from Stanford University and two BAs from the University of Washington. He has been awarded the Albania Distinguished Service Medal and the Kosovo Distinguished Service Medal, in addition to many Joint and Army awards. His wife, Natalia, and he have one son, Daniel, and reside in Mount Vernon, Virginia.