Global panel of industry experts with decades of achievements join SmartCitiesWorld's Advisory Board

SmartCitiesWorld has appointed experts from the global smart cities community to its new Editorial Advisory Board to reflect the changing needs of cities and the physical and digital solutions available.

The 14 strong board will meet twice a year to discuss the key issues affecting smart city development and provide expertise as to the direction of SmartCitiesWorld’s editorial agenda. The Board will help to ensure that SmartCitiesWorld’s news and analysis of current and emerging topics continues to be market leading.

Paul Wilson has been appointed Chair of the Board. Wilson is a Founder and Senior Advisor to UK5G and was the Founder of the multi-award winning Bristol Is Open smart city project. He has 20 years’ experience in the B2B technology sector, including as CMO of $3bn SunGard Financial System and CMO of TM Forum. He was also CEO of West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, with responsibility for the economic strategy of this prosperous city-region.

The board comprises:

• Paul Wilson, Advisory Board Chair
• Lauren Sorkin, Executive Director, Resilient Cities Network
• Tye Hayes, Chief Technology Officer, City of Atlanta
• Okan Geray, Strategic Planning Advisor, Smart Dubai
• Martin Ssekaija, Head of Information Technology, Kampala Capital City Authority
• Anthea Foyer, Culture Planner, City of Mississauga
• Eunbyul Elena Cho, Program Manager, WeGo
• Chen-yu Lee, Director, Taipei Smart City Project Management Office
• Jeff Risom, Chief Innovation Officer, Gehl
• Mike Lake, CEO, Leading Cities
• Clare Wildfire, Global Practice Leader, Mott MacDonald
• Antoine Kassis, Co-Founder & CEO, Kurrant
• Alicia Asin, CEO & Co-Founder, Libelium
• Jacques Vermeulen, Director Future Cities, Nokia

Chris Cooke, CEO of SmartCitiesWorld, said: “A changing world requires a dynamic approach. Since inception in 2016, SmartCitiesWorld has delivered market leading news and analysis into the smart cities sector; exploring what cities are doing today but just as importantly analysing what the world of tomorrow will look like.

“Our new Advisory Board will ensure our content remains cutting edge and responds to unexpected events such as the coronavirus crisis. I am delighted we have such a diverse panel representing smart city projects from around the world and who collectively have decades of experience. The panel will challenge my team to stay at the forefront of the smart cities industry and make sure you have the best insight for the years ahead.”

Paul Wilson, Chair of the SmartCitiesWorld Advisory Board, said: “SmartCitiesWorld has been there since the start, it was one of the world’s first outlets of news about Smart Cities and has repeatedly set the benchmark for crucial news and analysis of the smart cities industry, so I was delighted and honoured to be asked to Chair its Editorial Advisory Board.

"I have appointed members reflecting the global diversity and multi-faceted nature of the industry, with Board members coming from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas, representing cities, collaboration bodies, and physical and digital vendors. I’m confident that the extensive knowledge shared by the Advisory Board will help the shape the focus of SmartCitiesWorld for the years ahead.”

The first meeting of the new Board will take place in mid-October.

Full biographies of board available here.