Afonso Ferreira

In a career spanning more than 25 years, Afonso Ferreira has held European leadership roles
in institutional policy and research. As an expert in the areas of Cybersecurity, Artificial
Intelligence, Digital Transformation, and Policy Making, he recently spent six years seconded
to the European Commission working as a policy and programme officer. He holds a PhD in
Computer Science and is Directeur de Recherche with the French CNRS, where he is in
charge of European and International Affairs for ICT research. Notably, Afonso is currently
leading his lab’s participation in one of the four projects funded to pilot the upcoming
European Cybersecurity Industrial, Technology and Research Competence Centre and the
Network of National Coordination Centres.
Afonso has a deep understanding of the European landscape in digital transformation,
research, and innovation, thanks to 14 years working in Brussels and in European-related
functions. He is associated with several influential Brussels-based organisations, being
member of the Scientific and Technical Committee of ECSO – the European Cyber Security
Organisation – and of the Cybersecurity initiative at CEPS – the Centre for European Policy
Studies, for instance. His vision and his experience are greatly appreciated for their strategic
relevance and he is invited around the world to explain European policies to audiences in
Brussels, Madeira Island, Rome, São Paulo, Singapore, Tokyo, Tenerife, and Toulouse,
among others.
Thanks to his large knowledge of the Digital Revolution and its widespread impacts, Afonso
is advising private and public actors on business development at the nexus of technology,
sovereignty, futures, and policy, including Asian and South-American companies, the
European Parliament, and the European Commission. In addition to his Institutional
experience, he worked in research and innovation in the areas of Communication Networks,
High Performance Computing, and Algorithms, having published more than 100 papers in the
forefront of scientific research. He has been member of more than 70 Technical Committees
for international organisations and events and is an editorial board member for international
scientific journals. For detailed information, see www.linkedin.com/in/cyberfuture.
Topic: Illuminating the crossing where AI and Cybersecurity meet