Francesca Bria is the Chair of CDP Venture Capital SGR.
Additionally, as an information technologist and advisor on digital strategy, technology and information policy, she is also founder of the Decode Project, an EU-wide effort to reclaim data sovereignty of citizens.
With a background in social science and innovation economics, Bria is an Associate Professor, Researcher and Senior Advisor on Technology and Innovation Policy at Univeristy College London.
She has also been principal investigator of the DSI project on digital social innovation in Europe, and Chief Technology and Digital Innovation Officer for the City of Barcelona.
Francesca Bria is a member of the Internet of Things Council and an advisor for the European Commission on Future Internet and Smart Cities policy. She is also a member of the EC Expert Group on Open Innovation and of the European Research Cluster on the Internet of Things, and she has been advisor of the City of Rome and the Region of Lazio on innovation policy, open technology, and open cities.
In 2018, Bria was named one of Europe’s Top 50 Women In Tech, a ranking developed by Forbes.
She holds a Bsc. In Social Sciences and Economics from La Spienza in Rome, an Msc. In E-Business and Innovation from the University of London, Birbeck, and a Ph.D. in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Design from the Imperial College London.