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 the 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 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 CEO. Prior to OFE, Sachiko worked for several years in public affairs. With degrees in Political Science from the University of Toronto and the LSE, she has been a guest researcher at UC Berkeley and is currently continuing her research at TU Delft on the social and political implications of technological change.

Paula Grzegorzewska is a Strategic Partnerships Director at OFE. She is engaged in topics such as open source, ethical and trustworthy AI and most recently, Open Source Hardware and blockchain. Before, she supported women in closing the gender gap in ICT and entrepreneurship with an NGO in Luxembourg. She has a keen interest in ways that technology can be open, sustainable and beneficial for the society. She has a master’s degree in Communication Studies: New Media and Society in Europe at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel where she learnt more about policymaking and digital media. She co-authored the study on the impact of open source for the European Commission. She speaks Polish, English and French.

Giulia Guadagnoli is the Senior Policy Advisor at OFE. She has a strong background in project management and policy analysis. Before joining OFE, she worked for several organisations in the field of public affairs, such as Europol and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of Italy, amongst others. She graduated from Bocconi University with a Master of Science in Economics and Management of Government and International Organisations. During her work and academic experiences, she developed a genuine interest in tech-related issues, with specific reference to the relation between innovation and geopolitics. She is a native Italian speaker, is fluent in English and is learning French and Spanish.

Ciarán is a Senior Policy Advisor at OFE.  Ciarán has been working in Brussels since 2004 with a focus on EU policy and open source but he also brings experience from automotive policy, GDPR, and corporate finance.  His open source work has included EU policy on copyright and patents as well as community engagement for the drafting of version 3 of the GNU General Public License.  He studied law at Université Saint-Louis Bruxelles.  A user of GNU/Linux and open source since 1998, Ciarán worked as a software developer in Dublin before moving to Brussels.  He speaks English, Irish, Dutch and French.

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 Research analyst at OFE. He first studied European law in France and Germany and then graduated from Science Po Strasbourg and the Viadrina University with a double master degree in European Studies with a specialization in public affairs. He has developed his expertise on subjects such as data protection, copyrights law and interoperability while working in the European Parliament. Axel is a native French speaker and fluent in English and German.

Helena Winiger is a Project Officer at OpenForum Europe, where she aims to strengthen the European semiconductor ecosystem. She holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy from Freie Universität Berlin, where she specialised in the interdisciplinary interface of philosophy of science, artificial intelligence, ethics and cognitive science. She gained practical experience as a student assistant at the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung Berlin, where she was involved in projects on AI policy and the geopolitics of technology. Previously, she participated in a BMBF research project on online research skills in higher education at Leuphana University Lüneburg. Helena did her Bachelor’s degree in philology and philosophy at the University of Augsburg. She is a native German speaker, fluent in English and has learned Latin, Italian and a bit of Spanish.

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.

Basil started with IT in 1968, leading the development of basic applications and to his appointment as Data Processing Manager for the Costain Group. In 2002 Graham Taylor and Basil co-founded OpenForum Europe, initially to promote Linux and Open Source Software in the European Commission and across Europe, particularly UK. Emphasis quickly changed to an overall focus on Open Standards. Basil retired as Executive Director of OFE in October 2013 and now acts in an advisory role as a Non-Executive Director with a special interest in the UK. Basil is married, with 6 children (eldest sadly deceased), 15 grandchildren and 3 grandchildren – so far!