Eurasia Group is a leading global political risk research and consulting firm. Its geo-technology practice, founded in 2016, helps the firm’s clients navigate the complicated intersection of technology and geopolitics globally – from the political risks associated with emerging technologies like 5G/6G, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence, to global regulatory and technology policy developments, including investment restrictions, export controls, and industrial policy.

In this talk, Nick and Scott will discuss the drivers behind decoupling in geotechnology and unpack the ramifications for global data governance. They will also delve into the challenges facing the European Union, as the bloc seeks to navigate an increasingly fragmented geopolitical environment.

Nick Reiners
Based in Brussels, Belgium, Nick specializes in the fast-moving technology policy environment of the EU and its member states, focusing on issues such as platform regulation, data flows, artificial intelligence, competition, and trade. Before joining Eurasia Group, Nick spent six years working for the UK government, including in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, where he was responsible for the UK’s policy on the free flow of data and had a secondment to the European Commission. From 2018-2021, Nick worked as a diplomat at the UK Representation (later Mission) to the EU, representing the UK government in meetings of the Council of the EU, including in negotiations on the EU’s landmark reforms to copyright rules in 2019. He later took part in negotiations on a post-Brexit free trade agreement between the UK and the EU.

Scott Young
Scott is a senior analyst with Eurasia Group’s geo-technology practice, where he covers the intersection of technology and geopolitics. An experienced digital strategist and research consultant, he has advised a wide variety of groups in his home country of Canada and around the world on how to maximize their research and impact. Scott is the former director of ideas and insights at the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, Canada’s leading non-profit committed to citizenship, diversity, and inclusion. Currently, he serves on the board of Leadnow and is an associate with the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. He also serves as a juror for the Balsillie Prize for Public Policy with the Writers’ Trust of Canada. A member of the Banff Forum and a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader since 2018, he now supports the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt as a network driver for the Nordics. Scott has degrees from Simon Fraser University, the University of Warwick – where he was a Chevening scholar – and the University of Oxford. At Oxford, he was a member of St. Hilda’s College and undertook the MSc in Global Governance and Diplomacy (matriculation: 2011). He now lives in Sweden.