Team

Astor Nummelin Carlberg is OFE’s Executive Director, responsible for the overall vision, activities of the organisation and policy development. He has extensive experience of European policy making processes, communications and network-building. Astor leads conversations on Europe’s digital challenges and the role of open technologies in achieving its full potential. He sits on the board of APELL, the European Open Source Business Association. Prior to OFE, Astor worked in the European Parliament and he was educated at Middlebury College, the Free University of Berlin and Solvay Business School.

Sivan Pätsch is OFE’s Finance and Operations Director. He held the role of Policy Adviser and Research Director at OFE. Before he joined OFE, he gained experience in EU policy making at the Council of the European Union. He also worked as an Information Security Officer and Data Protection Officer for arvato Bertelsmann and before as a Quality Coordinator, among other responsibilities. He has a master’s degree in European Affairs from Lund University, Sweden with a thesis on the global expansion of the European data protection standard, a topic he is also personally interested in. In addition, he holds a bachelor’s degree in European Public Administration from the University of Twente, Enschede and from the University of Münster. Sivan is a native German speaker, is fluent in English and is learning Dutch and Swedish.

Sachiko Muto is the Chair of OpenForum Europe and a senior researcher at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden. She originally joined OFE in 2007 and served for several years as Director with responsibility for government relations and then as CEO. Sachiko has degrees in Political Science from the University of Toronto and the London School of Economics; she received her doctorate in standardisation policy from TU Delft.

Paula Grzegorzewska is a Strategic Partnerships Director at OFE. Her expertise revolves around open source software and hardware, artificial intelligence, chips and the digital transformation of European public services. Paula leads OFE’s engagement with European and global partners stemming from government, academia, not-for-profits and international institutions. She is a co-author of the 2021 European Commission’s study on the economic impact of open source sofware and hardware that revealed its significant potential and influence. Previously, she worked on closing the gender gap in ICT with an NGO in Luxembourg, and has a Master’s degree in New Media and Communications from Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She speaks Polish, English and French.

Senior Policy Advisor at OFE, Ciarán O’Riordan has been working in Brussels since 2004 with a focus on EU policy and free and open source software. His work in the sector includes copyright and patent policy in the EU, patent policy in the US, and community engagement for the drafting of version 3 of the GNU General Public License. He also brings policy experience from the automotive sector, GDPR, and corporate finance. He studied law at UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles.  A user of GNU/Linux since 1998, Ciarán worked as a software developer in Dublin before his move to Brussels.

Jaakko Karhu is the Communications and Policy Advisor at OFE. He has a strong background in communications, technology, and EU policy. Before joining the OFE team, he was at the service of the European big data and AI research and innovation community at the Big Data Value Association. Having worked as a professional web developer for over 5 years, Jaakko has hands-on experience with open source software and its impact on innovation. His communications career started as a radio and TV journalist in a Finnish national broadcasting company. Jaakko has a Master’s Degree in Communication Studies (New Media and Society in Europe) from Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He speaks Finnish and English.

Axel Thévenet is a Policy Advisor at OFE. He studied European law in France and Germany, followed by a double master’s degree in European Studies at Sciences Po Strasbourg with a specialisation in public affairs. He developed his expertise on subjects such as data protection, copyright law and digitalisation while working in the European Parliament. His role at OFE has been mostly focused around public sector open source, OSPOs and interoperability. Axel is a native French speaker and fluent in English and German.

Ola Adach is a Policy Advisor at OFE. Prior to joining OFE, she worked in consulting firms in Brussels, where she advised clients on EU tech and digital policies. Her prior experience also includes fundraising, climate activism and legal research. She has a Master’s degree in European Union Law from University of Amsterdam. Her thesis analysed the sociolegal impact of the Platform Workers’ Directive on third country workers in the EU. She is interested in all things tech, especially their interactions with competition law and human rights. She speaks Polish and English, and is (passively) working on improving her German.

May Janin is Policy Advisor at OFE. May has extensive experience in policy analysis and development, having advised tech companies and policymakers globally on counterterrorism and violent extremism policies and enforcement, with a focus on emerging technologies and human rights. May’s expertise is at the crossroads of digital policy, international security, human rights, and transparency. May holds an MA in Conflict, Security, and Development from King’s College London, and an MA in Political Science from the University of Geneva. She speaks French and English.

Alvaro Vilas Gomez is a Policy Advisor at OFE. Alvaro has significant experience in EU digital policy and advocacy, having worked for policymakers and business associations on Telecoms regulation, interoperability, data-sharing and digital trade. Thereby, he developed his expertise in digital policy analysis, and the EU policy-making process. He studied a double degree in Law and Political Science in Spain, and holds an MA in European political and governance studies from the College of Europe, Belgium; and an Executive Master in Digital and IT essentials from the Université libre de Bruxelles. He speaks fluently Spanish and English, and an intermediate level of French.

Cybelle Rai is the Administrative and Finance Assistant at OpenForumEurope. Her journey in customer service has been a valuable period of ethical and professional growth, showcasing a proven aptitude for managing diverse administrative tasks. She possesses strong organizational skills and is committed to delivering high-quality results. Cybelle is a dedicated and self-reliant individual with a collaborative spirit. Recently relocating to Brussels, she is embracing new challenges and actively seeking to advance her career in Belgium. She is proficient in Arabic, English, and French, and is currently learning Dutch.

Alona Savishchenko is an Event and Communications Intern at OFE. Prior to joining OFE, she was a Junior Fellow at the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research in New York, working on multilateralism and global challenges with a focus on current data governance practices. She has a MA in International Relations and Diplomacy from the College of Europe in Brugge. Her Bachelor and Master theses focus on the patterns of the EU sanctions against third-countries and her research interests, besides data and digital policies, include security studies and EU-Ukraine cooperation. She speaks English, French, Italian, Ukrainian, Russian and intermediately Portuguese.

Yannis Chourmouziadis is a Research Intern at OFE. He holds an Erasmus Mundus master’s degree in Public Sector Innovation and eGovernance, earned from KU Leuven, WWU Münster, and TALTECH. His thesis focused on the challenges of adopting eVoting for the Greek National Elections, and he graduated with honors, receiving Magna Cum Laude. Yannis also has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. A native Greek speaker, he is fluent in English, has a B2 level in French, and is currently learning German. Furthermore, Yannis offers valuable experience from a 10-month internship at the Bank of Greece, along with his role as a volunteer columnist for Aristotle University Observatory of European and International Affairs.

Graham Taylor co founded OpenForum Europe in 2002 and is now its Chairman, having retired as CEO. As Chairman of the Board of OFE Ltd he continues to have legal and fiscal responsibility for the organisation, continues to work on specific OFE projects, and acts in an ambassadorial role for OFE.  He has some 40 years of experience in the ICT industry, and prior to OFE was a Director at ICL (now Fujitsu). He is married, with two grown up daughters, lives mainly in the UK, just outside London, but with a ‘maison secondaire’ in South West France, from which he regularly commutes to Brussels. In the dim and distant past he gained a Bsc Honours degree from the University of Sussex in Mathematics and Computer Engineering. Not a linguist, other than English he gets by in French.

With over a decade of experience in running international advocacy and outreach programs Marcus is well placed to support OFE with its mission to be a relevant voice for digital openness in the public debate. Marcus started his career in Brussels working for a number of think tanks and consultancies but has since then ventured into various business areas in the digital space. Marcus is based in Switzerland and is particularly interested in issues around open source and cyber security, open digital supply chains and public policy choices around international digital governance. 

Tony joined us in March 2015 as a Legal Consultant. He studied law for 4 years at Cambridge University, qualified as a solicitor in 1979, and has practised law in the IT industry ever since. Before creating Fordlaw Ltd. and providing consultancy services, Tony held a dedicated global legal role with TCS, aligned specifically with a new software group. Before TCS, Tony acquired his professional experience as an IBM UK lawyer for nearly 35 years. As well as his ‘pro-bono’ support for OFE and FAST (another UK not-for profit, of which he is also a non-Executive Director), Tony also consults for a global IT manufacturer.

Tony is married (to another solicitor), with three adult daughters. His recreational interests include scuba diving (warm water!), underwater photography, downhill skiing, genealogy, theatre, opera and wine appreciation. Tony was born in France, holds a French passort (and also speaks French), and aims to improve his rather rusty German.

Dr Richard Archer is the owner and managing director of Bramble Hub that provides SMEs with routes to public sector contracts through framework agreements. Originally a mathematician and a programmer, he has been an IT and business consultant, and run consultancy and recruitment businesses. He has a particular interest in public procurement policy and practices, and making sure it advances Open Standards and is a level playing field for small companies and for Open Source solutions. He advises OFE with his knowledge of running companies over many years.

An expert in communication methods and business development.

He is best known for building bridges between commercial and non-commercial stakeholders in the technology sector. His professional accomplishments include establishing a legal department for the main NGO promoting Free Software in Europe, building a professional network of over 270 legal counsel and technical  experts across 4 continents, and aligning corporate and community interests to launch the first law review dedicated to Free/Open Source Software. Shane has extensive knowledge of Internet technologies, management best practice, community building and Free/Open Source Software. His experience includes engagement with the server, desktop, embedded and mobile telecommunication industries. He does business in Europe, Asia and the Americas, and maintains a broad network of contacts.