Head of Sector, European Commission, Belgium
Francesco Barbato is Head of the Sector ‘Cybersecurity Industry and Innovation’ at the ‘Cybersecurity Technology & Capacity Building’ Unit at the Communications Networks, Content & Technology Directorate General of the European Commission. Francesco manages Cybersecurity research and innovation programmes such as Horizon Europe and Digital Europe Programme, and works on the operational set-up of the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre and Network of National Coordination Centres. Francesco has been working at the European Commission since 2008, where he managed the European research and innovation programmes on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, and he contributed to develop numerous initiatives in support of the European Data Economy. Francesco has also managed research and innovation activities in support of the the European Space Programme, where he contributed to the adoption of digital technologies for Earth Observation, and promoted actions backing the European ‘New Space’ Economy.
