Young Atlantiks: Meet the Class of 2025
Every year, ten young professionals from Canada and Germany meet at the German-Canadian Conference as part of the Young Atlantiks Program. The program offers a small group of young Canadians and Germans the opportunity to discuss current and future challenges on both sides of the Atlantic to create lasting transatlantic connections. After receiving numerous applications, we are happy to introduce you to our Young Atlantiks cohort of 2025!
We are honored to introduce:
Kendra Eyben (Canada/Germany) is a Canadian lawyer specializing in international law, democratic resilience, and public safety. As Counsel in the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Section at the Department of Justice Canada, she leads cross-functional investigations pursuing immigration remedies against alleged perpetrators of international crimes and advises on international criminal law issues. Her career spans strategic and operational roles across the Canadian government, including national security litigation and review, legal advising on public safety matters, and the conduct of administrative investigations and decision-making.
Felipe C. Ferreira (Canada) is a Canadian project and program manager based in Germany, currently serving as a Senior Project Manager – Finance & Sales at ABO Energy, where he supports the advancement of renewable energy projects in Canada. With over 10 years of international experience, he has led cross-border initiatives in more than 10 countries, with a focus on commercial strategy, stakeholder engagement, and complex project execution. He holds a Master of Global Business from the University of Victoria, along with PMP and CSPO certifications.
Markus Iven (Germany) is a Policy Officer with the German Military Delegation to NATO in Brussels, where he represents Germany in Military Committee working groups. A former military war correspondent, he deployed to Mali and Niger. Markus holds an M.A. in Military Strategic Studies from the Netherlands Defence Academy, for which he received the Dwight D. Eisenhower Thesis Prize of the Netherlands Atlantic Association. In September 2025, he will return full-time to The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies as a defence policy analyst.
Felix Kaechele (Canada/Germany) is a seasoned technologist with a foundation in software engineering. He currently serves as the Technical Lead at Cisco’s Innovation Labs in Toronto, where he supports government and enterprise partners in leveraging cutting-edge technologies — including AI, quantum computing, and cybersecurity. His work and career spans multiple sectors, with a particular focus on digital health and life sciences. Originally from Leverkusen, Germany, Felix has also lived in San Francisco and New Jersey before settling in Canada in 2019.
Isabelle Kamlah (Germany) is a qualified lawyer and currently serves as Policy Officer for International Energy Relations at the Directorate-General for Energy of the European Commission. In this role, she fosters transatlantic cooperation in the energy sector, with a particular focus on Canada and the United States. She is currently seconded from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Previously, she represented Germany as Energy Attaché to the European Council and worked as a Policy Advisor for G7 and G20 affairs at the German Chancellery during Germany’s G7 Presidency.
Malte Küper (Germany) is an economist specializing in energy and climate policy at the German Economic Institute (IW) in Cologne. His work focuses on decarbonization strategies, hydrogen deployment, and German and European industrial policy. He advises ministries, associations, and companies, with a focus on techno-economic analysis of energy- intensive industries, gas markets, and innovation dynamics. He studied energy engineering in Cologne and Victoria, Canada.
Eva Neumann (Germany) is an international space lawyer. She graduated from Bucerius Law School (Hamburg) and the University of Oxford, where she majored in European and international law. Currently, Eva works as a legal advisor at the German Space Agency with a focus on regulatory developments and international cooperation at European Union (EU) and European Space Agency (ESA) level.
Benjamin Sauvé (Canada) started his studies with a Bachelor in German Studies at the University of Montreal in 2011. In 2012, he studied abroad in Heidelberg, Germany. In 2015, he started his Masters at the University of Montreal, under the direction of Prof. Jürgen Heizmann. In 2017, he started his PhD at McGill, under the direction of Prof. Tove Holmes. He also works as a Course Lecturer for German courses at McGill and as a receptionist at the Goethe Institut Montreal. He is also a board member of the German Association of Montreal.
Maximilian Walz (Germany) is a VP for Technology Transformation & Incubation at T-Systems International, Member of Deutsche Telekom (DT). In his role in the CTO Office, he shapes the portfolio with technologies, value propositions and partnerships. He studied at the University of Vienna and the University of Alberta before joining DT.
Shirley Zhang, (Canada) is a Senior Advisor with the Government of Canada, advancing national priorities at the nexus of science, technology, defence policy, procurement, international trade, and industrial strategy. Her portfolio supports Canada’s engagement with intergovernmental and international partners across security, innovation ecosystems, and economic development. She also serves as a reservist in the Canadian Armed Forces, active since 2014. A graduate of McGill University (BA&Sc’16, MPP’20), Shirley sits on the Board of Directors at Andrew Fleck Children’s Services and has previously been involved with the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community.
The Young Atlantics program is organised in cooperation with Atlantik-Brücke Canada.