I manage the Global Development Assistance (#GDA) programme at the European Space Agency. GDA is implemented in partnership with International Financial Institutions (IFIs) following the Space for IDA cooperation principles. Through GDA, more than €100 million in programmatically aligned space and development finance resources have been mobilised, boosting satellite Earth Observation (EO) to #AccelerateImpact in development operations. Alongside core partners World Bank (WB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB), further IFIs such as IFAD, IDB, EBRD, and IMF are now joining the GDA vision to jointly innovate and advance.
I joined ESA in 2016 and initially served as ESA Representative and Senior Advisor to the WB until 2020. Related intergovernmental tasks have included ESA delegation to UN, GEO, CEOS. Furthermore, I have served on advisory boards/groups of GEF, GPSDD, Development Data Partnership, and Humanitarian Innovation Hub. As of 2023, I am member of the European High Level Group on Financing Sustainability Transition.
Prior to joining ESA, I led the spatial analytics efforts under the World Bank’s CDRP Disaster Resilience initiative. I have lived and worked on 3 continents and have gained cross-disciplinary experience (aside ESA and WB) through positions across academia, public and private as well as intergovernmental institutions incl. GFDRR, NOAA, EADS-Astrium, Columbia University, and the Austrian Institute of Technology.
I have guest lectured on dynamic spatial modeling and EO at various universities in Europe, North America, and Asia, incl. appointments as visiting professor at University of Vienna and YACademy-Bologna. I have published widely on applied geospatial analytics with focus on risk, environmental and societal issues.
I hold Master’s and PhD degrees in geography, integrated GI science and remote sensing (U Vienna, TU Vienna), and certificates in executive leadership & management development and impact communication (Harvard U, Cambridge U).
** Views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the European Space Agency or any other institution I represent. **