Luukas Kristjan Ilves

Luukas Kristjan Ilves

Government Chief Information Officer, Estonia

Before joining the Ministry of Economics and Communications of Estonia, Luukas was a Head of Strategy at Guardtime, where he lead Guardtime’s work with governments, international organisations and NGOs.  He focused on solving tricky challenges and areas of strategic importance, such as digital sovereignty and cloud adoption, trustworthy AI, and the response to COVID-19.

He has chaired the Council of Europe’s expert committee on the human rights and ethical dimensions of Artificial Intelligence and is a member of the advisory councils of Stanford University’s Libraries and the Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based thinktank. He is founder of the Tech Green Pledge, a network of tech companies committed to combatting climate change.

Luukas has served in various positions for the Government of Estonia and the European Commission, including leading digital policy during Estonia’s 2017 Presidency of the EU Council, as a member of staff for European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes and as Head of International Affairs for RIA, Estonia’s e-government and cybersecurity agency.

Luukas is a graduate of Stanford University, a reserve officer and a member of the Estonian Defence League’s Cyber Defence Unit. He has been decorated by the President of Estonia with the Order of the White Star, one of the youngest recipients in the history of the award.