Ambassador Karsten WARNECKE is the Executive Director of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF). He joined ASEF as Deputy Executive Director in August 2012. Before joining ASEF, he was Counselor at the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, where he served as Deputy Head of Division for Regional Organizations and Cooperation in Asia-Pacific.

A seasoned career diplomat with over 25 years of experience, including almost 20 years with Asia, he is adept at working in cross-cultural settings and in bringing people together from diverse backgrounds. Previous postings have seen him serve in the German Consulates-General in New York, USA, and Chennai, India, as well as the German Embassy in Singapore.

He holds an M.A. in International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C., after studying Political Science at the Free University in Berlin. He is married with 2 daughters and 3 sons.