Mark is a Canadian citizen with over twenty years of experience in diplomacy and defense, consulting on international security cooperation and business development since 2018.

With a background in Russian studies and law, he joined the Foreign Service 1999 and spent the next decade in reporting and program management roles focused on security issues at HQ in Ottawa, the UN in New York and on postings to Russia, Central Asia and the Caucasus. From 2006 to 2008 he was Counsellor at the Canadian embassy in Moscow, managing cooperative threat reduction and science and technology programs across the former USSR.

In January 2009, he joined the NATO International Staff, first as Deputy Director of the NATO Information Office in Moscow and then as Staff Officer for security relations and defense cooperation with Russia, Ukraine and Georgia. From 2015 to 2017, he was Deputy Director of the NATO Liaison Office in Kyiv, coordinating Allied advice and technical assistance in support of security and defense reforms in Ukraine.