Over the past twenty years, Nele has been devoted to the development of open, inclusive,
prosperous and safe digital societies.

In her current role as the ambassador for digital affairs, she is responsible for the development, management and implementation of Estonia’s digital diplomacy, interconnecting innovation, economy, democracy and security. Leading at the intersection of public policy and technology, she leverages a portfolio of global multistakeholder relationships, including critical areas such as data, artificial intelligence, and digital public infrastructure. She is the co-initiator and co-lead of GovStack Initiative and Women in GovTech Challenge.
Previously, she drove digital transformations in more than forty countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle-East. Apart from government work, she has experienced the life of private sector, academia as well as international organizations: including the United Nations, the OECD, and the European Commission. She chairs the Digital Cooperation and Diplomacy network, Global Standards Symposium, and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council. Being inspired by female leaders and being an inspirator herself, she is active is several networks on Women in Tech.

Nele holds a PhD in Political and Social Sciences from the European University Institute (EUI), Italy. She is a former Fulbright-Schuman grantee at the National Centre for Digital Government at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and at the Governance Lab at New York University, USA. She lectures on technology policy and technology foreign policy.