Beatrice Covassi
Digital Agenda and ICT Counselor, EU Delegation to the United States

Beatrice Covassi was appointed Digital Agenda and ICT Counselor at the European Union Delegation in Washington D.C. in October 2010. As the first EU official appointed to this new function, she established a network of EU ICT counselors and promoted cooperation with the EU Member Sates on a transatlantic digital agenda. She also currently chairs the EU Cybersecurity group of counselors. An EU career civil servant, Ms. Covassi previously worked in the Directorate General for Information Society and Media of the European Commission, today DG Connect, where she held the positions of Deputy Head of Unit for the Digital Agenda, head of the Digital Broadcasting sector and policy officer reporting to the Director for Electronic Communications. Her areas of expertise include issues related to the transatlantic digital economy, internet governance and cybersecurity. In 2008, Ms. Covassi was awarded an EU fellowship and spent a term as visiting Professor at George Mason University (Arlington, U.S.) where she taught a course on EU New Media Policy. A regular public speaker on the global digital economy scene—including for the DC European Institute, SAIS/John Hopkins and the Global Forum—Ms. Covassi recently published a paper on "A Smart Future? The EU Digital Agenda between Broadband, the Grid and Energy Efficiency" (Springer, 2013).

Prior to joining the European Commission in 2000, Ms. Covassi worked as policy analyst for a major U.S. law firm, focussing on the telecom practice, and as researcher in European law for the University of Hull (UK). Ms. Covassi graduated with a thesis in comparative administrative law from the University of Florence (Italy), and holds postgraduate degrees from the College of Europe in Bruges (Belgium) and the Academy of European Public Law (Greece). An advocate of women's leadership, she is active in several networks, including Women in Leadership (WIL Europe), Women in Innovation (Global WIN) and Women in ICT for Development (WICTAD). In addition to her native Italian, Ms. Covassi is fluent also in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. In her private life, Ms Covassi is an accomplished visual artist based in Alexandria (VA) where she lives with her husband and two young "digital natives."