Contributors

Prof. Bruno Lanvin

Co-editor and Co-author

Bruno Lanvin is a co-founder and director of Portulans Institute. He is also co-editor of the Global Innovation Index (GII) published in partnership with the World Intellectual Property Organization –  WIPO. Bruno is a Distinguished Fellow at INSEAD and the President of IMD’s Smart City Observatory.

Initially a mathematician and a specialist of international trade, his research and publications have focused on information technology, innovation and talent strategies. He has over forty years of experience in advising governments and large corporations, including twenty years at the United Nations and ten at the World Bank.

Since 2001, Dr Lanvin has been co-authoring The Global Information Technology Report (NRI), the Global Innovation Index Report (GII), and the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI), the Smart City Index Report, and of the award-winning book ‘Sixteen Shades of Smart’. His latest book ‘The Future is Young’ was published in July 2022.

A frequent speaker at high-level meetings, he has been a member of numerous boards for many years, including those of ICANN, IDA-Infocomm, GovTech, IP-Watch, AAID, Kazakhstan’s Presidential Board on ICT Strategy, and the Bin Rashid Foundation for Government Innovation.

Prof. Soumitra Dutta

Co-editor and Co-author

Soumitra Dutta is co-founder and President of Portulans Institute. He is also the founder and co-editor of the Global Innovation Index (GII) published in partnership with the World Intellectual Property Organization –  WIPO. Since 1 June, 2022 Soumitra is the dean of Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. 

Previously, he was a Professor of Management and the former founding dean of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. Prior to joining Cornell in 2012, he was on the faculty and leadership team of INSEAD. Prof. Dutta is an authority on technology and innovation policy, and has engaged in a number of multi-stakeholder initiatives to shape global, regional, and industry agendas. 

He is the co-editor and author of The Global Information Technology Report, published by the World Economic Forum. Mr. Dutta is on the global boards of Sodexo and Dassault Systèmes, and is a member of the Shareholder Council of Chicago-based ZS Associates. He serves on the advisory boards of several business schools, including HEC, Montreal; ESADE, Barcelona; and ESCP, Paris. He has co-founded two firms, including Fisheye Analytics, which WPP group acquired. He is currently Chair of the Board of Directors of the Global Business School Network.

Rafael Escalona Reynoso

Portulans Institute, CEO

Rafael Escalona Reynoso serves as the CEO of Portulans Institute. In this pivotal role, he takes charge of numerous high-profile projects, such as the production of the Network Readiness Index (NRI) and of various regional projects focused on technology, innovation, and human capital development. Additionally, he collaborates closely with the Global Innovation Index (GII) Research Team at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). His work and collaboration establishes him as a key liaison with the Advisory Boards, Knowledge, Corporate, and Academic Partners linked to these indices and the Institute. Beyond this, he pioneers initiatives centered on innovation and technology readiness, forging essential partnerships with governments across the globe.

As a representative figure for Portulans Institute, Rafael often stands as its spokesperson, articulating the institute’s objectives and projects to prominent international organizations and governments. His consultancy roles have seen him engage with organizations like WIPO, Amazon, PwC, Niti Aayog (Government of India), the Brazilian National Confederation of Industry (CNI), the General Congress of the United Mexican States, the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), and the Republic of Uzbekistan’s Ministry for Development of ICT (MICT).

Before joining Portulans, Rafael served as the Lead Researcher for the GII from 2013 to 2020. With his proficiency in data analysis, policy development, and public relations, he has proven adeptness in steering long-term strategies, exemplifying profound thought leadership in project management.

Earlier in his career, Rafael was a member of the Trade and Foreign Investment Advisory Board under the President of Mexico and served as a Science and Technology Policy Advisor to the Senate of Mexico. In these capacities, he delved deep into the economic implications of international regulations related to fostering innovation and the cultivation of emerging technologies. His comprehensive analyses have significantly influenced the creation and implementation of pivotal science and technology policies in Mexico.

At Cornell University, Rafael’s research encompassed comparative analyses between Mexico and Spain’s National Systems of Innovation. He also investigated the regulatory frameworks of various modern technologies and studied the evolving realm of intellectual property rights in our contemporary technological era.

Rafael possesses a PhD in Regional Planning from Cornell University with a focus on Science and Technology Studies and Risk Analysis. He also has a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Science, Technology, and Infrastructure Policy. His academic journey commenced with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City.

Mariam Chaduneli

Project Manager

Mariam is a Senior Policy Associate who has worked extensively on research and policy analysis in the area of technology policy, emerging threats and digital rights.

Mariam is in charge of monitoring relevant national and international policy developments and producing research relating to digital policy, innovation readiness, and digital transformation. She is also responsible for coordinating long-term research projects, communications, and administrative work across key focus areas for PI. She is the lead project manager for the Network Readiness Index (NRI) published in partnership with Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

Mariam has a master’s degree in Innovation, Technology, and the Law from the University of Edinburgh focusing on the interplay of law, technology, and human rights. Prior to obtaining the UK Government’s Chevening Scholarship for her master’s studies, she was a Chief Project Manager in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia where she gained hands-on experience initiating and managing international projects with public and private sector organizations operating on a national, regional and international level. She is also the co-founder of Lawformer, a legal technology platform that simplifies routine legal tasks for lawyers and law students.

Sylvie Antal

Digital Strategy Manager

Sylvie is a Policy Research and Communications Associate with prior experience in digital privacy issues relating to minors and vulnerable populations, as well as in consumer education and technology for international development. She is an advocate for ethical, inclusive, and innovative solutions and policies that make digital experiences safer and more effective for all populations.

At PI, she is responsible for monitoring relevant policy developments, assisting with research, developing communication strategy and content, and coordinating the Fellowship program.

Sylvie holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Science from the University of Michigan’s School of Information, where she was a member of Tech for Social Good, and a masters degree in Human-Computer Interaction. Prior to joining Portulans, she interned at the US Federal Communications Commission, and the Family Online Safety Institute in Washington DC.

Abdellah Bouhamidi

Data Scientist

Analytics consultant, founder of Science Data Value Ltd., a consulting practice focused on providing expertise in data management, aggregation and analytics, and on developing, delivering and integrating solutions to capture data and produce actionable insights in relation to growth and markets; organizational excellence and engagement; risk analysis and management; and sustainable impact. 

With a background in Operations Research, an MBA from Cornell University, and more than eight years of hands-on experience in digital transformation, analytics and big data, Abdellah has helped 25 organizations across 12 industries find and activate levers for growth and sustainable ROI.

Jessica Sumner

Research Assistant

Jess holds a Master’s degree from Sciences Po Paris School of International Affairs in International Development and is currently completing a Master’s of Research at UCL in Urban Spatial Science. 

Jess has previous experience on issues of innovation, urbanization, economic policy, and foreign relations in Europe and more specifically, the Caucasus region. Having previously worked at NATO’s Joint Analysis Lessons Learned Centre, the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia, and the International Rescue Committee, she has worked on a number of issues regarding the nexus between innovation and development. She speaks English, Russian, French, and Portuguese and enjoys using linguistics to gather more information. 

She is currently a think tank member at the International Development Research Network researching the effects of smart city transformations and multilateral innovation policy strategies.”

Michaela Saisana

Technical Advisor

Michaela Saisana is the head of the Monitoring, Indicators and Impact Evaluation Unit, and she also leads the European Commission’s Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN) at the Joint Research Centre in Italy. She has been working in the JRC since 1998, where she was awarded “best young scientist of the year” in 2004 and, along with her team, the “JRC policy impact award” for the Social Scoreboard of the European Pillar of Social Rights in 2018. As a scientist and engineer specializing in process optimization and spatial statistics, she collaborates, by auditing performance indices, with over 150 international organizations and world-class universities, including the United Nations, Transparency International, Oxfam, the World Economic Forum, INSEAD and WIPO. She is the author of about 30 articles in academic journals, 100 working papers, and a co-author of two books: 2008 OECD/JRC Handbook on Composite Indicators and 2008 Global Sensitivity Analysis-The Primer (Wiley).

Irene Mia

Technical Advisor

Dr Mia is an experienced professional (economist by training) with a successful 20 year track-record in economic and policy research and on engaging with policy-makers and senior corporate leaders. Dr Mia has expertise in managing large teams with proven strategic, financial, planning and team building skills. Dr Mia holds a PHD in International Economic and Trade Law from L. Bocconi University and MA in Latin American studies from the Institute for Latin American Studies, London University. Before her recent appointment as Senior Fellow for Latin America at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Dr Mia was the Global Editorial Director for Thought Leadership at Economist Group, Economist Intelligence Unit.

Elena Kvochko

Technical Advisor

Elena Kvochko is Chief Trust Officer working in the field of cybersecurity and started with SAP in 2020. She is a former COO of cybersecurity technologies at Bank of America, CISSP, CEH. She also served as a technology, cybersecurity, and business operations executive. Kvochko is a Certified Information Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). She was named one of the Top 100 CIOs and is a member of the Wall Street Journal CIO Council. Kvochko was named one of Fortune magazine’s Most Powerful Women International, one of the “Leading CIOs Who Happen to Be Female” by CIO Magazine, and Business Role Model of the Year by Women in IT. She is also a published author and an inventor with patents pending in security, privacy, and digital payments technology.

John Garrity

Technical Advisor

John Garrity is Chief of Party for USAID/Philippines’ Better Access and Connectivity (BEACON) activity, a USD 33m USAID program to improve digital connectivity infrastructure, the ICT enabling environment, and cybersecurity capacity in the Philippines. His background is as an economist, policy advisor and project manager with twenty years of experience working on economic development issues in the public sector at the state, federal and international levels, and in the private sector. His focus is on digital inclusion programs, universal access policy and last-mile connectivity deployments to foster effective universal Internet adoption for inclusive growth and poverty alleviation.

Previously, he was an independent consultant to public sector and private sector organizations on digital infrastructure development, including the Asian Development Bank, UNDP Philippines, the UN Broadband Commission, the UN ITU, UNICEF, UNESCAP, among others. He was Senior Connectivity Advisor in the US Global Development Lab at USAID and before that spent ten years at Cisco, in emerging market strategy and global technology policy/government affairs based in Washington, D.C. He began his career at the World Bank and also worked at the US Federal Trade Commission. He serves as a technical advisor to the Network Readiness Index, on the advisory council of the Connect Humanity Fund, has co-authored several reports on technology and development and presented around the world on efforts to close the digital divide.

Chris Ferguson

Technical Advisor

Since 2021, Chris Ferguson has been the Managing Director of Scott Logic, a consultancy that tackles some of the hardest problems in the world’s largest organisations across a range of industries including Energy, the Public Sector and Finance.

Prior to this, Chris was a Senior Civil Servant in the original senior management team that built the UK’s Government Digital Service in the UK’s Cabinet Office. From 2015, Chris was the GDS Director responsible for the UK Government domain GOV.UK and all cross-government platform development. In 2017, after the UK was named the #1 digital government by the UN’s Digital Government Index, Chris established the National, International & Research Group within GDS to focus GDS engagement and collaboration on the UK’s wider public sector, devolved administrations, and partner organizations worldwide like the UN and OECD. While in government, Chris was also the chair of the cross-government Digital Leaders Network, Head of the Digital Profession within HM Government and led the Digital, Data and Technology elements of the Cabinet Office’s response to the global pandemic.

Prior to 2011, Chris’s career mainly focused on national security and diplomacy roles in the UK and overseas working with the UK’s Home Office, Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence.

Osman Sultan

Advisor

Osman Sultan brings 35 years of leadership, rich with achievements in the telecom sector. His vast knowledge and expertise in the field as early as the pre-Internet period placed him as one of the pioneers in Europe, the US, Japan, and the entire MENA region. His distinguished achievements ranked him as one of the most powerful executives in the worldwide telecom industry twice on the “GTBPower100 List” in both 2010 and 2011. 

Sultan has developed several strategies that helped produce the profound transformations that the telecom and information sectors have been creating in our lives. Sultan has been a board member for various institutions in the telecom industry, technology space, and academic world. incl. the advisory board of the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Communications (MBRSC), the Global Blockchain Advisory Council of the WEF, the Board of Endeavor UAE, and many others.  His latest book ‘The Future is Young’ was published in July 2022.

Diego Molano

Advisor

Diego Molano is an international consultant on digital transformation of companies and governments. He was the minister of information and communication technologies (ICT) of Colombia from 2010 to 2015. He transformed his country with his policy plan “Vive Digital,” which aims to reduce poverty and create jobs using technology. Mr. Molano has a long career in the technology industry and has had responsibilities in more than 20 countries. He has been a board member of international organizations and corporations in the telecommunications, TV, radio, and postal services sectors. He is currently senior advisor to the Inter-American Development Bank, senior advisor to McKinsey & Co. in Washington DC. Mr. Molano is an electronics engineer and economist from Xavier University in Colombia and holds an MBA from IMD in Switzerland.

Dr. Tawfik Jelassi

Advisor

Dr. Tawfik Jelassi was appointed UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information on 1st July 2021. In this position, he is responsible for the Organization’s programmes on building inclusive knowledge societies, leading digital transformation, strategizing the role of ICT in education, and fostering freedom of expression.

Dr. Jelassi holds a Ph.D. doctorate in information systems from New York University (USA) and postgraduate diplomas from the University of Paris Dauphine (France). Dr. Jelassi has extensive experience in higher education, scientific research, and information & communication technologies. He held academic, corporate and government leadership positions in Europe, the USA, and Tunisia.

Among others, he was Programme Director and Professor of Strategy and Technology Management at IMD Business School in Lausanne (Switzerland, 2015 – June 2021). Prior to that, he served as Minister of Higher education, Scientific Research and Information & Communication Technologies in the democratic transition government of Tunisia (2014 – 2015). Prior appointments included being Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ooredoo Telecom in Tunisia, Dean at Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (Paris), and Professor & Chairman of the Technology Management Department at INSEAD (Fontainebleau).

Dr. Hessa Al-Jaber

Advisor

Dr. Hessa Al-Jaber is the chairperson of Trio Investment, a technology investment company that invests in innovative technology that addresses some of the most pressing health problems in the MENA region. As an expert in technology, media, and telecom practice, her focus is the impact of a digital economy in productivity and competitiveness. Dr. Hessa was the former and the first-ever Minister of Information and Communication Technology in Qatar. Prior to becoming a minister, Dr. Hessa held the position of Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology since its inception in 2005. Dr. Al Jaber was a member of United Nations ITU Broadband Commission for Sustainable development and a member at the Network of Global Agenda Councils of the World Economic Forum (WEF). Dr. Al Jaber is currently the Chairperson of Qatar Satellite Company, and Malomatia, in addition to being a member of several boards including Volkswagen (AG) Supervisory Board in Germany, Qatar University’s Board of Regents, Qatar Museums Authority’s Board. Dr. Hessa holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Kuwait University, and a Master’s Degree and Ph.D in Computer Science from George Washington University, Washington, DC.