25 June 2025, Brussels, Belgium – Gaia-X, the European Association for Data and Cloud, announces the successful conclusion of its 2025 second Ordinary General Assembly (OGA). The event brought together the association’s members to vote and decide on critical aspects of the association’s future direction and governance.
Gaia-X Board of Directors (BoD) – 2024–2025 Term Summary
- Governance and Meetings: The BoD held 11 official board meetings, with two additional informal sessions to review key documents. Physical meetings took place during the Gaia-X Summit in Helsinki (November 2024), and a Vice Chair strategy session was held in Marseille (September 2024).
- Leadership and Appointments: Christoph Strnadl was appointed as the new Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Secretary General.
- Decisions and Documentation: The BoD made 52 decisions, including the approval of five key document versions: Architecture Document 25.05; Compliance Document03 and 24.11; PRC Document 24.06; Identity, Credential and Access Management (ICAM) Document 24.07; Internal Rules 3.0; and the Operations Handbook 3.0.
- Engagement and Representation: The BoD actively supported the Gaia-X Summit 2024 and its press conference, participated in Market-X and Tech-X 2025, contributed to committees, working groups, and sprints, endorsed and supported LinkedIn campaigns, and established a dedicated Working Group to drive membership growth.
These actions demonstrate the BoD’s commitment to strategic development, operational oversight, and active engagement within the Gaia-X ecosystem.
Key highlights of the assembly included the election of a new Board of Directors (BoD) for the 2025–2027 term and the installation of the General Advisory Board (GAB) at Gaia-X, underscoring the event’s significance in shaping the future direction of Gaia-X.
Newly elected Board of Directors at Gaia-X
Overview in alphabetical order of the organisation:
- Airbus – Catherine Jestin, Executive Vice President Digital – France
- Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) – Helmut Leopold, Head of Centre for Digital Safety & Security – Austria
- Atos – Frederic Lelong, Executive Vice President, Global Delivery Centre – France
- Bitkom – Susanne Dehmel, Member of Bitkom’s Executive Board & Management Team, responsible for Legal, Security and AI & Data business units – Germany
- Credit Agricole (CA) – Jerome Leger, Enterprise Architecture and Design Authorities – France
- DAWEX – Laurent Lafaye, Co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – France
- deltaDAO – Kai Meinke, Co-Founder and Member of the Board of deltaDAO AG. Lead of the Gaia-X Open-Source Software Community, Gaia-X Evangelist, Gaia-X Functional and Technical Advisor – Germany
- DIGITALEUROPE – Alberto Di Felice, Policy and Legal Counsel – Belgium
- Dynamo – Mauro Brambilla, Chief Operating Officer (COO) – Italy
- Eclipse Foundation AISBL – Gaël Blondelle, Chief Membership Officer – Belgium
- Électricité de France (EDF) – Martine Gouriet, Director of Digital Transformation, Digital Usages and Innovation – France
- FIWARE – Chandra Challagonda, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Germany
- Fraunhofer ISST – Boris Otto, Professor for Industrial Information Management at TU Dortmund University and Director of Fraunhofer ISST – Germany
- Instituto Tecnológico de Informática (ITI) – Daniel Saez, Strategic Intelligence Director, President of Gaia-X Spain Hub – Spain
- Luxembourg National Data Service (LNDS) – Bert Verdonck, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Luxembourg
- Orange – Emmanuel Cacheux, Chief Trust Officer (CTO) – France
- OVHcloud – Dominique Michiels, Chief Service Delivery Officer – France
- Proximus – Antonietta Mastoianni, Chief Digital & IT Officer – Belgium
- SAP – Mark Kühner, VP SAP Industries and Experience – Germany
- Siemens – Thomas Hahn, Siemens Fellow – Germany
- Sopra Steria – Benoit Spolidor, Aeroline CTO – France
- TECNALIA – Joseba Laka, Digital Director – Spain
- TICE.PT – António Pedro Harrisson Salvado, Project Manager – Portugal
- TNO – Berry Vetjens, Director Digital Innovations – Netherlands
Independent BoD elected:
- Hubert Tardieu – France
- Mario Campolargo – Portugal
“We warmly congratulate the newly appointed members of our Board of Directors,” said Ulrich Ahle, CEO of Gaia-X. “Their diverse expertise and strategic insight will be key in advancing our vision of trusted decentralised digital ecosystems. We look forward to their contributions as we continue to provide the standards and an open-source implementation of a universal Trust Framework for digital ecosystems and data spaces. I also extend our heartfelt gratitude to the outgoing Board of Directors for their invaluable guidance and dedication over the past two years.”
Installation of the General Advisory Board (GAB)
Gaia-X is pleased to announce the official installation of its General Advisory Board, a new strategic advisory body established to strengthen Gaia-X’s international positioning and support globalisation beyond the European Union.
The GAB has been established to give a voice to members who are not eligible to join the Governmental Advisory Board (GovAB) or the Board of Directors (BoD), as outlined in the Articles of Association (AoA). Acting independently from the GovAB, the GAB provides a platform for broader representation and inclusive strategic input.
Key Objectives of the GAB include:
- Translating the Gaia-X Trust Framework into national legislation in non-EU jurisdictions
- Defining trust anchors to support global adoption, interoperability, and regulatory alignment
- Supporting the internationalisation of Gaia-X by identifying region-specific regulatory challenges, opportunities, and best practices
Although advisory in nature, the GAB plays a crucial role by offering non-binding recommendations to the Gaia-X Board of Directors (BoD) and other governance bodies. Additionally, it will support the establishment of Gaia-X Projects and Gaia-X Digital Clearing Houses (GXDCH) in their respective regions, as well as contribute to membership growth strategies.
The installation of the GAB marks an essential milestone in Gaia-X’s global outreach, reinforcing its commitment to open, inclusive, and trusted digital infrastructure worldwide.
Based on the AoA and the Internal Rules, the Board of Directors decided to initiate the GAB for the period 2025-2027, encompassing the following countries: Japan, Korea, Switzerland, Norway, and Canada.
Gaia-X warmly congratulate the newly elected Board of Directors (2025–2027) and sincerely thanks all candidates and members for their active participation and continued dedication. Your ongoing support and engagement are essential as we build a trusted, federated digital future with Gaia-X.