Hans Kribbe is a founding partner at Shearwater and author of the book “The Strongmen”. Previously, he was a political adviser at the European Commission, working with Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes and Internal Market and Taxation Commissioner Frits Bolkestein. During his time at the European Commission, Hans worked on a wide range of regulatory and industrial policies, including intellectual property rights, services markets, the digital economy and fiscal policy.

Hans then became a Partner in a Brussels-based public affairs consultancy where he advised numerous senior executives and politicians on their relations with the EU institutions and European media. He advised governments in Eastern Europe and the Middle East on foreign direct investment strategies and trade, counselled businesses on the regulatory clearance of acquisitions and worked with leading American tech firms in areas of antitrust, privacy and data.

Before moving to Brussels, Hans lived and worked in London, where he obtained a PhD from the London School of Economics.