Our Advisory Board

Meet our advisory board

Our advisory board comprises renowned experts from the fields of security, international cooperation, academia and business.

Matthias Seeger

Chairman of the Advisory Board

Matthias Seeger has many years of leadership and management experience within the German security architecture. As the first President of the Federal Police Headquarters, he led the newly restructured Federal Police from 2008 to 2012 and played a key role in shaping its organisational development. Prior to this, he was in charge of the task force responsible for establishing the Federal Police Headquarters and held various senior positions within the Federal Border Guard and the Federal Police.

After studying law in Berlin and Tübingen, Matthias Seeger joined the Federal Border Guard in 1986 and, during the course of his career, took on leadership roles at the Federal Ministry of the Interior in the areas of human resources, border security and aviation security, amongst others. As Head of the Cologne Railway Police Office and later as President of the Western Border Guard Headquarters, he gained extensive operational and strategic leadership experience.

His professional career exemplifies the consistent development of modern security structures, as well as the close integration of operational police work, strategic management and ministerial cooperation. With his many years’ experience in leading large security organisations, Matthias Seeger brings valuable expertise to national and international security cooperation.

He was already working for the GS-Foundation before taking up his role on the Advisory Board. From 2022 to 2025, he held the post of Head of Project in Nigeria. He has been Chairman of the Advisory Board of the GS-Foundation since 1 July 2026.

Thomas Blenke

Member of the Advisory Board

Thomas Blenke has many years’ experience in home affairs and security policy, as well as at the interface between politics and public administration. From April 2001 to 30 April 2026, the fully qualified lawyer represented the Calw constituency as a directly elected member of the Baden-Württemberg State Parliament. In July 2023, he was appointed Political State Secretary at the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Interior, Digitalisation and Local Government. In this role, he was responsible, under the Minister, in particular for the areas of internal security, the police, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, and civil protection. He stepped down from this post in May 2026.

After studying law in Tübingen and passing his assessor’s examination in 1991, Thomas Blenke initially worked at the Tübingen Regional Council and at the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport. From 1995 to 2001, he served as a parliamentary adviser to the CDU parliamentary group in the Landtag, focusing primarily on constitutional, home affairs and legal policy, before being elected to the Landtag. During his parliamentary career, he took on numerous leadership roles, including as deputy chairman of the CDU parliamentary group, chairman of his group’s working group on home affairs, as well as a member of the Home Affairs Committee and the Standing Committee, and as deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee for the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. From 2016 to 2023, Thomas Blenke was also Chair of the Conference of Spokespeople on Home Affairs for the CDU and CSU at federal, state and European level.

His professional career reflects many years of experience in shaping modern security and home affairs policy, as well as close cooperation between parliament, ministerial administration and security authorities. With his extensive expertise in the fields of internal security, state resilience and strategic governance, Thomas Blenke provides valuable impetus for the further development of national and international security cooperation.

Since 1 August 2026, Thomas Blenke has been a member of the GS-Foundation’s Advisory Board.

Dagmar Busch

Member of the Advisory Board

Dagmar Busch has more than three decades’ experience in leading positions within Germany’s security architecture. From 2018 to 2022, she headed the Federal Police Department at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and subsequently, until 2025, served as Head of Department at the Federal Chancellery, where she was responsible for coordinating the federal intelligence services and for the technical and administrative supervision of the Federal Intelligence Service.

Her professional career has been shaped by the guiding principle of cross-departmental and cross-level ‘networked security’. Following her legal training in Bonn and Paris, she joined the Federal Ministry of the Interior in 1992 and worked, amongst other roles, at the Permanent Representation of Germany to the European Union in Brussels. From 1995 onwards, Dagmar Busch focused on key security policy challenges, including migration management, the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, and international police cooperation. A particular focus was on international police missions and the bilateral ‘GPPT’ project for police capacity-building in Afghanistan.

Alongside her leadership responsibilities, Dagmar Busch served as the Equal Opportunities Officer at the Federal Ministry of the Interior from 2001 to 2006. Throughout her career, she consistently worked to ensure a balanced representation of female staff and police officers. Since 2011, she has served as an honorary judge at the Federal Labour Court and is a member of the extended executive board of Lachen Helfen e.V., an initiative by German soldiers and police officers to support children in war and crisis zones.

Since 1 July 2026, Dagmar Busch has been a member of the GS-Foundation’s advisory board.

Josef Rentmeister

Member of the Advisory Board

Josef Rentmeister has many years’ experience in corporate management, strategic consultancy and the management of complex transformation and transaction processes. Following senior roles in international IT, networking and telecommunications companies, he founded Transforce Mergers & Acquisitions GmbH and Columbus Investment GmbH, where he remains managing director to this day. During his career, he has overseen corporate transactions with a total value of more than one billion euros.

After completing his degree in 1985 in physics, mathematics and business administration, Josef Rentmeister initially spent twelve years working for US IT companies in the fields of marketing, sales and management. From 1997 to 2000, he served on the executive board of an international networking company and, for the following three years, was a member of the executive board of a German telecommunications company with responsibility for a turnover of around one billion euros. In addition, he has served and continues to serve as a member of the supervisory board, advisory board and managing director of various medium-sized companies.

His professional career is characterised by entrepreneurial thinking, strategic development and the successful management of change processes. With his many years of management and consultancy experience, as well as his expertise in corporate development and governance, Josef Rentmeister contributes valuable insights to the sustainable development of organisations and international collaborations.

Josef Rentmeister has been a member of the GS-Foundation’s Advisory Board since 1 July 2026.

Gerhard Schindler

Member of the Advisory Board

Gerhard Schindler has decades of experience in senior roles within the German security and intelligence services. From 2012 to 2016, he served as President of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and was responsible for the strategic direction of Germany’s foreign intelligence service. Prior to that, from 2008 onwards, he headed the Public Security Department as a Ministerial Director at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and was responsible, amongst other things, for the supervisory oversight of the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

After completing his law degree, Gerhard Schindler joined the Federal Border Guard in 1985. As his career progressed, he held various leadership roles at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and at the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. His professional focus was particularly on counter-terrorism, combating organised crime, IT security and the further development of national security structures.

His professional career demonstrates extensive expertise at the interface between the police, intelligence services and strategic security policy. With his many years’ experience in leading national security agencies and his international network, Gerhard Schindler brings valuable insights to the further development of modern security cooperation.

Gerhard Schindler has been a member of the GS-Foundation’s Advisory Board since 1 July 2026.