Eric Leyde - Institute for Security Governance

Faculty

Advising & Consulting Division

Mr. Eric Leyde has been with the Advising & Consulting (A&C) Division of the Institute for Security Governance (ISG) since August, 2014, and serves as the Southeast Europe Regional Project Lead. In this capacity, he develops, facilitates, oversees, instructs, and assesses holistic Institutional Capacity Building (ICB) programs for countries in Southeast Europe that focus on supporting partner-nation efforts to strengthen core Ministry of Defense and related defense and security institution functions. These programs include strategy, policy, and planning; human resource management; resource management and budgeting; and logistics and infrastructure.

Mr. Leyde was a career Army Foreign Area Officer (FAO) with experience in Southeastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Central Asia. He is a subject matter expert in defense policy formulation and execution for both regional and functional portfolios.

Before joining the ISG, Mr. Leyde worked in 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 FAO, he was a Regional Policy Advisor for Balkans Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and advised senior Pentagon decisionmakers on defense-related international strategies related to the Balkans and the NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR). Prior to that, he worked directly for the SecDef Special Representative as member of team that negotiated 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 holds a Master of Arts in Russia, East European, and Eurasian Studies from Stanford University, and two Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Washington. He lives with his wife and son in Mount Vernon, Virginia.