Matej Šimalčík is the Executive Director of the Central European Institute of Asian Studies, a think tank that focuses on foreign and security policy issues related to East Asia. His research focuses on China's economic and political presence and influence in Central Europe, elite relations, corrosive capital, and the role of European legal instruments in mitigating the risks posed by China. In 2022, he founded the China-Europe Academic Engagement Tracker project, which aims to bring transparency to research collaborations with Chinese entities. He studied law (Masaryk University, 2015) and international relations (University of Groningen, 2016). He is also a senior associate at the Slovak law firm Nechala and partners. Previously, he gained experience as in-house counsel for Transparency International and several Slovak and Czech law firms. In 2021, he was listed on the Forbes 30 under 30 list in the Governance and Social Innovation category. He is also a member of the Expert Group at the European Centre of Excellence on Combating Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE), the European Think Tank Network on China and a reporter.
