Andreas Beckmann (born in 1966) is an independent political analyst and consultant based in Berlin and Brussels. He teamed up with the two BKP founders in 2006, and has accompanied the establishment and growth of their firm, serving his best clients as Chief Researcher and Analyst, until today. His main areas of expertise include financial regulation issues (particularly the manifold aspects of the Eurozone sovereign & bank overindebtedness crisis), defense & security issues (domestic and international, incl. IT security), and the German residential real estate market. Andreas wields some combined 30 years of personal working experience in the military (2 years as officer cadet), academia (14 years in research/teaching in applied political science), German party politics (including 2 years in party and public offices), and political consulting (since 2006). He studied Political Science, Public/Administrative/EU/International Law, and English at Kiel University (CAU) and PennState (where he also worked as TA) before graduating with honors in Kiel. While continuing to work as a political scientist in Kiel, Andreas also served five months in the EU Commission, and worked in the campaign headquarters of a major German political party. He is a member in several national security associations and serves on the Advisory Board of Financial Future in Brussels.