Fernando de Pablo

Digital Office Director, City of Madrid

[modal_popup_box btnalign=”center” titletext=”Fernando de Pablo” btntext=”Read Bio” bodybg=”#14145a”]Born in Segovia, he is a Telecommunications Engineer, member of the Senior Corps of Systems and Information Technologies of the State Administration, Master in Systems Management and Information and Communications Technologies, Executive Master of Business Management by the School of Industrial Organization and Leadership Program for Public Management. Diploma of Advanced Studies in PhD in Applied Economics.
He has worked for more than a decade in the private sector in the areas of telecommunications (TELETTRA) and centres for urban traffic control and environmental pollution (SICE).
Since 1993 he has been a member of the Public Administration, where he worked in the Department of Tax Computing (1993-2005), in the Central Delegation of Large Taxpayers (2006-2009) and in the Department of Planning and Institutional Relations, in the State Agency of Tax Administration. General Director on Impulse of the Electronic Administration (2009-2011), responsible for the implementation of Law 11/2007 on electronic access of citizens to public services and he has been part of the Office for the Implementation of the Reform of the Public Administration (CORA), created to fight against the economic crisis, as responsible for promoting technological measures (2013-2016).
Between 2018 and 2020 he was Secretary General of Digital Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, responsible for the Digital Transformation initiatives of the General State Administration and the common infrastructures that have supported the administration during the time of confinement caused by COVID-19.
He is currently General Director of the Madrid Digital Office in charge of promoting the digital transformation process in the city, digital administration and data strategy.[/modal_popup_box]

Carlos Santiso

Head the Digital, Innovative and Open Government division at the OECD, France

[modal_popup_box btnalign=”center” titletext=”Carlos Santiso” btntext=”Read Bio” bodybg=”#14145a”]Carlos Santiso has devoted his career to improving lives through better governance and digital innovation, with extensive experience in public governance and development finance. He has worked in over 40+ countries in the Americas, Africa, and Europe. Carlos currently heads the Division on Digital, Innovative and Open Government at the OECD. He also is member of the advisory committee on public governance of the United Nations and the World Economic Forum on digital transformation and anticorruption. He previously managed the governance practices of the Development Bank of Latin America, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the African Development Bank, recasting and resetting their strategic directions and operational focus. He also worked in government in Britain’s international development ministry and the office of the French Prime Minister. He holds a PhD in political economy from Johns Hopkins University and master’s degrees in public policy from Columbia University and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques of Paris.[/modal_popup_box]

Mark Boris Andrijanič

Former minister of digital transformation of Slovenia. Member of the governing board, European Institute of Technology (EIT), UK

[modal_popup_box btnalign=”center” titletext=”Mark Boris Andrijanič” btntext=”Read Bio” bodybg=”#14145a”]Former minister of digital transformation of Slovenia. Member of the governing board, European Institute of Technology (EIT), UK[/modal_popup_box]

Diego Molano

Former Minister of Information Technologies and Communications, Colombia

[modal_popup_box btnalign=”center” titletext=”Diego Molano” btntext=”Read Bio” bodybg=”#14145a”]Diego Molano Vega is the former Minister of Information Technologies and Communications of Colombia (2010-2015). Molano created the “Plan Vive Digital“, a national technology plan that transformed the Country and led Colombia to obtain in 2012 the GSMA Government Leadership Award. Recognized for his expertise in public management and digital transformation, Molano has been actively involved in harnessing technology to drive socio-economic progress. As Minister of ICT, he has played a pivotal role in advancing Colombia’s digital agenda, promoting access to technology, and fostering innovation across the country. Under his leadership, the Ministry has undertaken initiatives to expand internet connectivity, improve digital infrastructure, leapfrog digital government and services, and enhance cybersecurity measures.
He has been a Senior Advisor to McKinsey and Company, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Wilson Center in Washington DC. He was the Chair and is the Ambassador for its Business Action to Support the Information Society (BASIS) initiative at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris. Molano is also Board Member of Multinational Companies and has been the President of Area Andina, a 60 thousand student university for low-income segments in Colombia, focusing in creating the talent for the digital economy. He also advices startups in Latina America and Europe.
Molano worked in Telefonica (Spain), BellSouth (now AT&T) in the US, and Ascom in Switzerland. He is an electronic engineer and economist from the Javeriana University in Colombia and has an MBA from IMD in Switzerland.[/modal_popup_box]

Natalia Laguyas

Senior Specialist, Institutional Engagement Unit at the Inter-American Development Bank, USA

[modal_popup_box btnalign=”center” titletext=”Natalia Laguyas” btntext=”Read Bio” bodybg=”#14145a”]Natalia works on bringing startup innovation to the public sector. She is currently in charge of the GovTech agenda and co-leads Source of Innovation, an alliance that promotes innovation in the water and sanitation sector. She has considerable experience working with governments, NGOs, and the private sector to plan and carry out initiatives across Latin America and the Caribbean.
In her prior positions, Natalia concentrated on cluster and value chain development, as well as small business development through public-private partnerships.
She has been establishing cross-sector alliances and creating new strategies to effectively accomplish development goals for more than 15 years.
Natalia completed postgraduate studies in economics and urbanism in Argentina and Spain after earning a degree in economics from the University of Buenos Aires.[/modal_popup_box]

Miguel Porrúa

Digital Government Principal Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank, USA

[modal_popup_box btnalign=”center” titletext=”Miguel Porrúa” btntext=”Read Bio” bodybg=”#14145a”]Miguel A. Porrúa is the Coordinator of the Data and Digital Government Cluster at the IFD/ICS Unit of the Inter-American Development Bank. Prior to this position, Miguel was a senior e-Government Specialist at the Organization of American States (OAS) where he managed the Organization´s e-Government portfolio. Previously Miguel was the Director of Government Relations for Latin America at the electronic government company govWorks, based in New York, where he oversaw various electronic government projects in the region. Prior to his arrival in the US, Miguel lived in Montevideo (Uruguay) where he managed projects related to the modernization of the public sector for the Spanish government (Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development, AECID) and the United Nations (UNDP).[/modal_popup_box]

Yolanda Martinez

Overall Lead for GovStack Initiative, ITU Development Bureau (UN), Switzerland

[modal_popup_box btnalign=”center” titletext=”Yolanda Martinez” btntext=”Read Bio” bodybg=”#14145a” caption_url=””]Yolanda Martínez serves as the Overall Lead for the GovStack Initiative at the International Telecommunications Union, collaborating with governments in accelerating the digital transformation of their services using standard-based, reusable digital public infrastructure/building blocks. Within the public domain, Yolanda spearheaded Mexico’s National Digital Strategy, oversaw the Digital Government Unit at the Federal Level, and directed the Zapopan Digital City Program at the municipal level. In the private sector, while at Deloitte Consulting, she championed numerous digital transformation projects. On the international front, Yolanda headed the Office of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Chile. She partnered with United Nations agencies and the OECD to peer review the digital government strategies across various Latin American countries. @political has recognized Yolanda as one of the top twenty most influential people in digital government. She earned her Ph.D. in information and knowledge society from the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and her Master’s from Carnegie Mellon University.[/modal_popup_box]

Alexander Holt

International Ecosystems, Entrepreneurship Division, Scottish Government / Founder & Co-Chair GovTech Global Alliance, UK

[modal_popup_box btnalign=”center” titletext=”Alexander Holt” btntext=”Read Bio” bodybg=”#14145a”]Alexander has worked for the Scottish Government since 2014. Between 2015-2019 he established the Scottish Government’s CivTech Programme, Europe’s first GovTech programme. In that time he won/shortlisted for numerous awards including winning the Leadership Award at the Scottish Public Service Awards. Since 2020 he established and co-chairs the GovTech Global Alliance (formerly the CivTech Alliance) – a global network of similar government teams and that year was named as one of the Top 20 global leaders in GovTech. In 2021, he was listed in World Economic Forum’s Agile 50 list – 50 global leaders navigating disruption. That same year, he designed and co-delivered the Alliance’s COP26 Global Scale Up Programme which won Apolitical’s Global Public Service Team of the Year – Climate Award, and was shortlisted for two Scottish Public sector sustainability awards. In 2023 he participated in the World Economic Forum’s inaugural GovTech Network workshop in Geneva. He is a massive believer in harnessing the power of the entrepreneurial mindset to transform public service delivery and the value gained from cross-border collaboration.[/modal_popup_box]

Idoia Ortiz

Govtech expert and CEO of Gobe Studio, Spain

[modal_popup_box btnalign=”center” titletext=”Idoia Ortiz” btntext=”Read Bio” bodybg=”#14145a”]Idoia is a recognized expert on govtech, advises local and national governments on public innovation ecosystems and public policies. Currently, she is CEO of Gobe, the first govtech studio in Spain. Previously, she was Director and founder of the Publictech Lab at IE University and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Inter American Development Bank.
Idoia holds an MBA from MIT, a MA in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and in 2019 was recognized by Apolitical as one of the world´s 100 most influential people in digital government. Before returning to Spain, Idoia was for seven years the principal advisor to the Secretary of the IDB Group (Inter-American Development Bank, IDB Invest and IDB Lab) in Washington DC. She also worked in countries such as Uruguay, Guatemala and Bolivia on government and citizen participation projects.[/modal_popup_box]

Rudi Borrmann

Director Open Government Partnership Local program, Brussels

[modal_popup_box btnalign=”center” titletext=”Rudi Borrmann” btntext=”Read Bio” bodybg=”#14145a”]Rudi is the director of the Open Government Partnership Local program. Previous to this role he was Undersecretary of Public Innovation and Open Government at the Cabinet Office of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. In this position, Rudi was in charge of the National Open Government Strategy, developing Argentina’s first open data infrastructure, advancing open government reforms with three open state action plans and running LABgobAR (the National Government Lab) to support capacity building and innovation projects using user-centered design with more than 30.000 government officials involved. In 2018 he chaired the Digital Economy task force during Argentina’s presidency of the G20. In 2012 he directed the Open Government Strategy for the City of Buenos Aires, advancing projects in open data, citizen participation, civic tech, open government and digital transformation.[/modal_popup_box]

David Osimo

Director of Research in The Lisbon Council

[modal_popup_box btnalign=”center” titletext=”David Osimo” btntext=”Read Bio” bodybg=”#14145a”]David Osimo is director of Research in The Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based think tank set up in 2003 to intellectually accompany the Lisbon Agenda, Europe’s original growth and jobs programme. He coordinates the research activity on issues such as data economy, digital government, start-ups, and scale-up policy as well as pioneering novel collaborative methods for policy research.
He previously served as director and co-founder of two start-ups, as a scientific officer in the European Commission Joint Research Centre and advised the United Nations and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. He holds degrees from the University of Milan and the University of Cardiff.[/modal_popup_box]

Kamila Gasinska

Strategic Partnerships Lead at GovTech Lab, Lithuania

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Manuel Muñiz

Provost of IE University, Spain

[modal_popup_box btnalign=”center” titletext=”Manuel Muñiz” btntext=”Read Bio” bodybg=”#14145a”]Manuel Muñiz is the Provost of IE University in Madrid and a Professor of Practice of International Relations, with a range of experience in academia. He is also the Dean of IE School of Politics, Economics & Global Affairs, responsible for research and teaching in public policy and global affairs. His academic work has focused on the fields of innovation and disruption, political economy, and regional and global governance.[/modal_popup_box]

Stoney Burke

Founder and CEO of The Aquia Group, USA

[modal_popup_box btnalign=”center” titletext=”Stoney Burke” btntext=”Read Bio” bodybg=”#14145a”]Stoney Burke is Founder and CEO of Aquia Group, a government affairs and strategic advisory firm. He has over 18 years of experience split between government service and the private sector. Stoney advises Fortune 500 companies, innovative startups, nonprofit organizations, and trade associations on developing legislative, regulatory, and strategic communications campaigns.[/modal_popup_box]

Francisco Hortigüela Martos

Founder of InBusiness 5.0, Spain

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Alicia García Herrero

Adjunct Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), China and Senior Fellow at Brussels-based Think Tank (Bruegel), Belgium

[modal_popup_box btnalign=”center” titletext=”Alicia García Herrero” btntext=”Read Bio” bodybg=”#14145a”]Alicia García Herrero is the Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at French investment bank Natixis, based in Hong Kong and is an independent Board Member of AGEAS insurance group. Alicia also serves as Senior Fellow at the European think-tank BRUEGEL and as a non-resident Senior Follow at the East Asian Institute (EAI) of the National University Singapore (NUS). Alicia is also Adjunct Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Finally, Alicia is and an advisor to the Spanish government on economic affairs, a Member of the Board of the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation (CAPRI), a member of the Advisory Board of the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS), an advisor to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s research arm (HKIMR) and a Member of the Council of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation (FUF).[/modal_popup_box]

Mara Balestrini

Digital Transformation Lead Specialist, IADB Lab, USA

[modal_popup_box btnalign=”center” titletext=”Mara Balestrini” btntext=”Read Bio” bodybg=”#14145a”]Mara Balestrini is an expert in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) with 15 years of experience in planning and executing digital transformation and innovation projects. She currently works at the Innovation Laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank, BID Lab, where she coordinates the implementation of the digital transformation program, provides advice on the use of disruptive technologies in operations, and is a member of the fAIr LAC initiative for the ethical development and use of artificial intelligence in the region. Before joining IDB Lab, Mara was an advisor to the Cabinet of the Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence of the Government of Spain and CEO of the innovation consultancy Ideas for Change.
Mara holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University College London (UCL) and a master’s degree in Cognitive Systems and Interactive Media from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF). She is a member of the board of the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) and a researcher at the Public Governance Center of ESADE (EsadeGov). Her work has been recognized at ACM CHI, ACM CSCW, Ars Electronica, among others, and has been featured in international media such as the BBC, The Guardian, The Financial Times, and El País.[/modal_popup_box]