Leadership & Governance
The Forum's governance structure is designed to ensure balanced representation, rigorous oversight, and sustained alignment with our mandate of advancing cooperative governance for the global digital economy.
Our governance model reflects the multistakeholder nature of our work. Decision-making authority is shared across two complementary councils, each contributing distinct expertise and institutional perspectives. This dual structure ensures that the Forum's research, convenings, and policy recommendations are grounded in both academic rigour and practical experience.
Council Structure
The Forum's leadership is organised into two complementary councils that together guide strategic direction, research priorities, and programmatic work.
Professional Council
Industry executives, government officials, and senior practitioners who provide strategic guidance and ensure GDEF's work remains relevant to the challenges facing the digital economy. The Professional Council helps set priorities, facilitate partnerships, and connect GDEF's research to real-world policy and business outcomes.
Academic Council
Professors, PhD researchers, and senior scholars who drive GDEF's research agenda and ensure the intellectual rigor of our publications and policy recommendations. The Academic Council provides evidence-based analysis, peer review, and thought leadership across key digital economy topics.
Featured Council Members
Meet some of the distinguished leaders who guide GDEF's work.
Nafis Alam
Professor and Head of School of Business
Monash University Malaysia
Aleksandr Alekseenko
Associate Professor
Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service
Jason Allen
Associate Professor of Law
Singapore Management University
Douglas Arner
Kerry Holdings Professor in Law
University of Hong Kong
Atul Babu
Chief Executive Officer and Board Member
Infosys Compaz
Edward Buckingham
Professor
Monash Business School
Agostino Capponi
Professor
Columbia University
Hung-Yi Chen
Founder & CEO
Meta Intelligence