· Board of Advisors
Milena Stoycheva
Former Minister of Innovation and Growth of Bulgaria; Global Innovation & Entrepreneurship Leader
Milena Stoycheva is a global technology and innovation evangelist and a recognised leader in entrepreneurship and education.
Formerly Bulgaria’s Minister of Innovation and Growth, she has shaped policy and built ecosystems at the intersection of technology, youth empowerment, and business.
Milena is a venture network lead at Precede Ventures, powered by JA Europe, and a business consultant on innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, and sustainable growth.
As CEO of Junior Achievement Bulgaria for over 15 years, and a long-standing member of the JA Worldwide leadership, Milena has inspired thousands of students, entrepreneurs, and decision-makers.
Her professional path spans support for startup creation through mentoring, advising, and building investment opportunities for visionary new ventures and disruptive technologies.
Milena is a co-founder and CEO of The Edge: R&BD, a spin-off company of JA Bulgaria.
Throughout her career, she has worked systematically for digitalisation, modernisation, and the development of a strong educational and startup culture in Bulgaria.
She served as Minister of Innovation and Growth of Bulgaria in 2023/2024.
Egle Markeviciute
Former Deputy Minister at the Lithuanian Ministry of Economy and Innovation
Egle Markeviciute is a digital policy analyst with over 16 years of experience spanning political campaigning, advocacy, public affairs, and government.
From 2020 to 2023, she served as Deputy Minister at Lithuania’s Ministry of Economy & Innovation, where she led reforms in digital, innovation, and space policy.
She has also held board positions at Innovation Agency Lithuania, the Ministry of Health’s E-Health Board, and the Lithuanian Research Council.
She currently serves as EU Affairs Manager at Consumer Choice Center Europe, Head of Innovation and Digital Policy at the Consumer Choice Center, and Advisory Board Member at ESNA — European Startup Nations Alliance.
Egle holds BA and MA degrees from Vilnius University’s Institute of International Relations and Political Science and is co-author of a book.
Jan Kavalirek
Former Government Commissioner for Artificial Intelligence and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade
Jan Kavalírek is an internationally recognised expert in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, with a focus on their strategic positioning within the CEE landscape. He brings together experience from business, research, public administration and European policymaking. He is affiliated with the Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU), where he specialises in AI and has contributed to international research and innovation projects focused on the application of artificial intelligence.
In January 2025, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade and also became the Government Commissioner for AI. He led the implementation of the AI Act in the Czech Republic, prepared the draft Czech AI legislation, and was among the leading voices in the EU advocating for the simplification of digital regulation. He initiated the Czech bid in the EU competition for an AI Gigafactory supercomputer and contributed to advancing AI infrastructure, education, and funding for AI research in Czechia. In November 2025, he received the AI Personality of the Year award from both the expert jury and the general public.
After completing his tenure at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, he continues in a new role as CEE Ambassador for AI and New Technologies, representing associations from the AI industry and research community across Central and Eastern Europe, where the AI Chamber has a leading role. In this role, he focuses on EU-level negotiations aimed at reducing unnecessary legislative bureaucracy and promoting CEE region as a leading destination for the development of artificial intelligence.
Mark Boris Andrijanič
Senior Advisor I Former Minister for Digital Transformation of Slovenia
Mark Boris Andrijanič is a Visiting Policy Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute and a board member and advisor to leading European companies in AI, cybersecurity, and quantum computing. He serves on the Governing Board of the EU's innovation agency (EIT) and is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, where he focuses on transatlantic tech cooperation, digital government, and defence innovation.
In 2021–2022, he served as Slovenia's first-ever Minister for Digital Transformation, following his chairmanship of the Government's Strategic Council for Digitalisation. During Slovenia's EU Council Presidency, he led negotiations on the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the Digital Services Act (DSA), and other key European tech regulations. Under his leadership, Slovenia rose from 16th to 11th place on the European Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), surpassing Germany and France.
Before entering public office, he led Uber's public policy efforts in Central and Eastern Europe and was a Visiting Fellow at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies in Brussels.
He is a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum, a member of its Global Future Council on GovTech and Digital Public Infrastructure, and a participant in the Leaders for European Growth and Competitiveness initiative.
In 2022, he received Ukraine's Peace Prize from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for coordinating EU tech support to Ukraine, and in 2023, he was named Digital Leader of the Year by the CEE Digital Coalition. He holds a law degree from the University of Ljubljana and a Master's in Public Policy from the University of Oxford, where he also serves on the Alumni Board.
Ivo Emanuilov
AI Governance & IP Expert Head of Experimental Governance Lab, GATE Institute
Ivo Emanuilov, LLM (Leuven) is an intellectual property lawyer and interdisciplinary researcher working at the intersection of computer science and law.
He is the Head of the Experimental Governance Lab at the GATE Institute and Managing Partner of I/O Consulting, a boutique consultancy advising clients on technical, governance, and legal issues relating to the development and implementation of AI and data-driven solutions.
He is also an Adjunct Lecturer in Information Law at the Faculty of Law of Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski, and the creator of the first master’s-level course on responsible artificial intelligence at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of Sofia University.
Ivo is an affiliated researcher at imec – Centre for IT & IP Law, KU Leuven. He is also a member of the European Commission’s AI Office working groups on the development of the Code of Conduct for General-Purpose AI.
He has acted as an independent expert for the European Commission, the European Union Intellectual Property Office, and the Joint Research Centre of the European Union.
His research interests include the patentability of AI inventions, sociotechnical aspects of computation, formal methods in law, and mathematical legal theory.
Dariusz Jemielniak
Professor and the head of Management in Networked and Digital Environments (MINDS) at Kozminski University
Dariusz Jemielniak is a full professor of management at Kozminski University, where he leads the Management in Networked and Digital Environments (MINDS) department. He is also a faculty associate at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and currently serves as Vice-President of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
His work sits at the intersection of technology, society, and organizational studies, with a particular focus on how people collaborate, create knowledge, and build trust in digital environments. He is widely recognized for his research on online communities, including Wikipedia, where he not only conducted in-depth ethnographic studies but also actively contributed as a long-time community member and governance participant. His book “Common Knowledge? An Ethnography of Wikipedia” is considered one of the most influential analyses of peer production and collaborative knowledge systems.
Beyond academia, he plays an active role in shaping innovation and technology policy in Europe as a member of the Board of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). He also brings extensive entrepreneurial experience, having founded and co-founded multiple ventures across technology and education, including InstaLing and RunPixie, and successfully exited several startups.
In addition to his academic and business activities, he has held visiting positions at leading global institutions such as MIT, Cornell, and UC Berkeley, contributing to international discussions on digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and the future of work.
His unique combination of academic rigor, hands-on experience in global digital communities, and entrepreneurial background positions him at the forefront of conversations around AI, innovation, and the societal impact of emerging technologies.
Marcin Olender
Secretary of the Board of Advisors | Digital Policy and Online Content Regulation Expert
Marcin Olender is a digital policy expert with extensive legal, public sector, and private sector experience at the intersection of technology, regulation, and governance.
He currently serves as Public Policy Director at AI Chamber CEE, where he works on digital regulation, AI policy, online content governance, and the role of innovation ecosystems in shaping responsible technology development across Central and Eastern Europe.
Earlier in his career, Marcin worked in the public sector, including at the Polish Ministry of Administration and Digitization, where he dealt with key areas of digital policy such as data protection, cybersecurity, and on-demand audiovisual media services.
He also spent a decade in Google’s CEE Public Policy team, where he worked on major EU digital policy files, including copyright and the Digital Services Act, during one of the most important periods in the development of European digital regulation.
Marcin has also served as an expert and board member in Polish digital economy organisations, supporting dialogue between the technology sector, policymakers, and the broader innovation ecosystem.
As Secretary of the AI Chamber CEE Board of Advisors, he supports the Board’s work on strategic policy and regulatory matters.