Silja Baller
Silja Baller is Practice Lead for Competitiveness and Innovation with the Forum’s Global Competitiveness and Risks Team. She is co-author and co-editor of the Global Information Technology Report, co-author of the Global Competitiveness Report and leads the Europe Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth Lab. Her areas of expertise include the economics of international trade, digital economy questions, industrial organization, and competition policy. Prior to joining the Forum, she held economist positions at the World Bank, the World Health Organization, and in the London Economics practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers. She holds a BA in Economics from the University of Cambridge; a DEA in International Economics from the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva; and an MPhil and DPhil (PhD) in Economics from the University of Oxford.

Attilio Di Battista
Attilio Di Battista is a Quantitative Economist with the Forum’s Global Competitiveness and Risks Team. He works on the development and computation of a range of indexes and is a co-author of various studies, including The Global Information Technology Report, The Africa Competitiveness Report, and the flagship Global Competitiveness Report. His areas of expertise include international trade and competitiveness, institutions and development, investment flows, and financial stability. Prior to joining the Forum, he worked at the International Trade Centre (UNCTAD/WTO) on export strategy, policy, and trade competitiveness analysis. He has a Bachelor’s degree in International and Diplomatic Sciences from Università degli Studi di Trieste in Gorizia and a Master’s in International Economics from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, where he conducted research on the attractiveness of Italian provinces for foreign direct investments, focusing on the role of institutions and economic geography.

Soumitra Dutta
Soumitra Dutta is the Dean of the College of Business at Cornell University, New York. Prior to July 2012, he was the Roland Berger Chaired Professor of Business and Technology at INSEAD and the Founding Director of eLab, a center of excellence in the digital economy. Professor Dutta obtained his PhD in Computer Science and his MSc in Business Administration from the University of California at Berkeley. His current research is on technology strategy and innovation policies at both corporate and national levels. He has won several awards for research and pedagogy and is actively involved in strategy and policy consulting. His research has been showcased in the global media and he has received several awards, including the Light of India Award ’12 (from the Times of India media group) and the Global Innovation Award ’13 (from INNOVEX in Israel).

John Garrity
John Garrity is Cisco’s Global Technology Policy Advisor. He is responsible for policy engagement and data-driven analytical research on technology issues related to the potential of IT and network connectivity for economic growth, competitiveness, social inclusion, and environmental protection. His research covers the expansion of fixed and wireless broadband, national broadband agendas, municipal strategies for ICT use, Internet protocol network traffic demand, and Internet governance. Previously he was a manager in Cisco’s Strategy and Economics group, guiding strategic direction for the Emerging Markets organization, a business unit with geographic market coverage across 130 countries. Prior to Cisco, Mr Garrity worked at the World Bank in the Corporate Strategy Group, and he has held positions in the US Federal Trade Commission as well as in state government. He holds a Master in Applied Economics from Ohio State University.

Bruno Lanvin
Bruno Lanvin is the Executive Director of Global Indices at INSEAD (Networked Readiness Index, Global Innovation Index, and Global Talent Competitiveness Index). He is a director on the boards of ICANN and IDA Infocomm (Singapore). In 2009–10 he chaired the Global Agenda Council on the Future of Government (World Economic Forum). From 2000 to 2007, he worked for the World Bank in a variety of positions, including Senior Advisor for E-strategies, Regional Coordinator (Europe and Central Asia) for ICTs and e-government issues, Chairman of the Bank’s e-Thematic Group, and Manager of the Information for Development Program (infoDev). In 2000 Mr Lanvin was appointed Executive Secretary of the G-8 DOT Force. Before that he worked for some 20 years in senior positions in the United Nations. The author of numerous books and articles on international economics, information technology, and development, he holds a BA in Mathematics and Physics, an MBA from Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC) in Paris, and a PhD in Economics from the University of Paris I – La Sorbonne. He is also an INSEAD graduate (IDP-C).

Connie LaSalle
Connie LaSalle joined Cisco in 2014, where she works in Government Affairs and Global Technology Policy. She supports these teams by conducting data-driven analytical research on technology issues related to the expansion of fixed and wireless broadband; the use of ICTs in education; the emergence of the Internet of Things; cybersecurity and privacy; network connectivity for economic growth, competitiveness, and social inclusionl and Internet governance. Her role involves the articulation of policy positions on these and other areas of information and communication technologies. Ms LaSalle is a graduate of Texas A&M University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Policy from American University in Washington, DC.

Robert Pepper
Robert Pepper leads Cisco’s Global Technology Policy team working with governments and business leaders across the world in areas such as broadband, IP-enabled services, wireless and spectrum policy, security, privacy, Internet governance, and ICT development. He joined Cisco in July 2005 from the Federal Communications Commission, where he served as Chief of the Office of Plans and Policy and Chief of Policy Development beginning in 1989. There he led teams developing policies promoting the development of the Internet, implementing telecommunications legislation, planning for the transition to digital television, and designing and implementing the first US spectrum auctions. Dr Pepper serves on the board of the US Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI) and advisory boards for Columbia University and Michigan State University, and is a Communications Program Fellow at the Aspen Institute. He is a member of the US Department of Commerce’s Spectrum Management Advisory Committee, the UK’s Ofcom Spectrum Advisory Board, and the US Department of State’s Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy. He received his BA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.