Francesca Spidalieri, Senior Cybersecurity Consultant for the World Bank

Francesca Spidalieri has over a decade of experience in cybersecurity, cyber capacity building, and cyber risk management, and has held various roles in academia, the private sector, and international organizations. She currently serves as a Senior Cybersecurity Consultant for the World Bank, the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE), the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and the Pacific Forum.

In addition, she is an Adj. Professor of Cybersecurity Policy at Salve Regina University, the Co-Principal Investigator for the Cyber Readiness Index 2.0 project at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, and a non-resident fellow at other research institutes in the U.S. and Europe, including the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy, the Ponemon Institute, the EU CyberNet, the Center for Cyber Security and International Relations Studies at the University of Florence (Italy), and the Kosciuszko Institute (Poland).

Her academic research and publications have focused on cyber resilient development, digital transformation, cyber risk management, and national cyber preparedness and capacity building. She lectures regularly at cyber-related events in the U.S. and Europe and contributes to journal articles and other publications on cybersecurity matters affecting countries and organizations worldwide.