Tech Diplomacy Forum Supervisory Board
Dr. Nele Leosk
Team Lead, Knowledge Hub Digital, European Commission | Former Ambassador for Digital Affairs, Estonia
Dr. Nele Leosk is a globally recognized pioneer in digital governance and technology diplomacy who has dedicated over 25 years to developing open, inclusive, and safe digital societies worldwide. Currently serving as Team Lead for Knowledge Hub Digital at the European Commission since February 2025, she supports the EU in planning and implementing global digital cooperation and partnerships, focusing on digital government, connectivity, artificial intelligence, and digital economy initiatives.
From 2020 to 2024, Dr. Leosk served as Estonia’s Ambassador for Digital Affairs, where she established and managed the country’s groundbreaking digital diplomacy framework. In this pioneering role, she positioned Estonia at the forefront of global technology governance, overseeing digital diplomacy implementation across digital economy, innovation, democracy, development cooperation, and security domains.
Dr. Leosk’s academic excellence is exemplified by her PhD in Political and Social Sciences from the prestigious European University Institute (2012-2019), where her dissertation analyzed the development patterns and levels of digital governance across OECD and EU member states. Her research combined comparative statistical analysis with in-depth case studies, establishing her as a leading scholar in institutional approaches to digital transformation.
As a Fulbright-Schuman Scholar (2014-2015), she conducted advanced research at the National Center for Digital Government at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and The Governance Lab at New York University, studying digital governance development in the United States and European Union, with particular focus on open data, big data applications, and smart cities initiatives.
Her international impact is demonstrated through her co-leadership of the GovStack Initiative, a groundbreaking multi-stakeholder global platform founded by Estonia, Germany, the International Telecommunication Union, and Digital Impact Alliance. This initiative advances digital transformation globally by developing reusable digital building blocks and supporting implementation in countries including Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Togo, and Ukraine.
A passionate advocate for gender equality in technology, Dr. Leosk co-founded the Women in GovTech Challenge, which has cultivated 139+ female digital leaders from 49 countries through comprehensive training and mentorship programs. She currently serves as a Women in GovTech Ambassador and Women in Tech Ambassador, promoting women’s leadership in digital governance worldwide.
Her extensive international consulting experience spans over 40 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Through her work with the e-Governance Academy (2004-2014), she led transformative digital government initiatives, including the pioneering “Deer Leap” national digitalization program in Georgia and digital governance frameworks in Tunisia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Moldova.
Dr. Leosk serves as a Member of the Global Future Council on GovTech and Digital Public Infrastructure at the World Economic Forum, where she shapes global policy discussions on frontier digital technologies. She chairs the Digital Cooperation and Diplomacy Network and has served on expert groups for the United Nations and OECD.
Her thought leadership is reflected in numerous publications and policy papers, including co-authoring “Technology Policy: Responsible Design for a Flourishing World” for the World Economic Forum and contributing to key European Union policy frameworks such as the European Interoperability Act and eIDAS regulations.
As a respected academic, Dr. Leosk lectures on technology policy and tech diplomacy at Tallinn University, sharing her expertise on legal aspects of digital governance, including administrative digitalization, data governance, cybersecurity, privacy, and emerging technology regulation.
Dr. Leosk’s unique combination of academic rigor, practical implementation experience, and diplomatic expertise positions her as one of the world’s foremost authorities on technology diplomacy and digital governance, making her an invaluable contributor to global discussions on the intersection of technology, policy, and international cooperation.