Francesca Bria

Francesca Bria is a leading innovation economist focused on the intersection of technology, geopolitics, and society. Her work addresses one of the most pressing questions of our time: how can we give individuals ownership of their data and ensure that society retains democratic control over digital technologies?

She serves as an advisor to the European Commission, co-founded the United Nations Cities Coalition for Digital Rights, and was the founding director of DECODE, the European Union’s flagship project on data commons and digital rights. She is Chair of the New European Bauhaus Facility, established to accelerate the European Green Deal by bridging science, technology, architecture, and the arts. 

In a previous role as Chief Technology and Digital Innovation Officer for the City of Barcelona, she led the internationally acclaimed Barcelona Smart City Agenda and launched pioneering initiatives on digital democracy and data sovereignty. She has also advised a wide range of public and private institutions on digital innovation strategies and their socio-economic, environmental, and geopolitical impacts.

Bria has taught at leading universities in the United Kingdom and Italy. She is currently Honorary Professor at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) at University College London, and a Senior Fellow at Stiftung Mercator in Berlin, where she leads the EuroStack initiative on Europe’s digital sovereignty. She has been listed in the Top 50 Women in Tech by Forbes magazine and among the world's top 20 most influential people in digital government by Apolitical. Bria holds a PhD in innovation and entrepreneurship from Imperial College London and an MSc in digital economy from Birkbeck, University of London.