Olivier Van Pelt is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, where he works jointly with the Global Energy Center and Atlantic Council Romania team on investment in critical infrastructure. He leads the Transatlantic Critical Infrastructure Catalyst Program, a private sector-focused initiative designed to accelerate critical infrastructure projects in Southeastern Europe that advance strategic security and resilience objectives for the transatlantic community. His work centers on identifying specific infrastructure projects, building a platform to coordinate and deploy international private capital, convening key stakeholders, and deepening public-private partnerships.
Prior to joining the Atlantic Council, Van Pelt served as a military intelligence officer in the US Army from 2016 to 2024. His roles included intelligence collection manager at the Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF); senior intelligence advisor to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in N’Djamena, Chad; chief of signals intelligence (SIGINT) control and analysis for US Army Africa; and assistant brigade intelligence planner. He began his career as an infantry and mortar platoon leader. He deployed to Kuwait, South Korea, Poland, and Chad.
Van Pelt holds an MSc in specialized economic analysis from the Barcelona School of Economics, an MSc in international relations from the University of Edinburgh, and a BA in political science from Furman University. He is a native English speaker and conversational in French.