Team
Andreas Constantinides
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Andreas, a Cypriot national, is a recognised thought leader in the EU public affairs space with extensive experience advising clients on a broad range of ICT issues including telecoms, privacy, cybersecurity and intellectual property. Prior to founding AK Public Affairs, Andreas worked for two different public affairs consultancies in Brussels, including as head of the European Technology Practice. Previously Andreas worked at the Permanent Representation of Cyprus to the EU, where he was the single market, consumer protection and industrial policy attaché. During the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2012, he chaired the Council Telecoms Working Party and helped in the set–up of the ad-hoc Cyber Working Party. Andreas has a doctorate in electrical engineering from Columbia University in New York.
Kevin Vindevogel
Co-Founder & Partner
Kevin, a Belgian national, has vast experience in advising global technology clients on EU and member states’ public policy on cloud computing, privacy, security and emerging technologies. Over the years he also launched and managed several trade associations, including on consumer electronics and blockchain technology. Prior to founding AK Public Affairs, Kevin worked for two other public affairs consultancies in Brussels. Kevin has a deep understanding of both European and Belgian politics. He started his career in working in the offices of Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht and Dutch Member of European Parliament Marietje Schaake. Kevin has degrees in international affairs, public management, and China business development from the Free University of Brussels (VUB).
Leonardo Lucarno
Associate Director
Leonardo, an Italian national, is a public affairs and communications professional specialised in technology, transport and industrial policy. He supports leading cloud software companies, research institutes, and mobility providers with their EU public affairs engagement. Leonardo has also been involved in several EU-wide advocacy campaigns across multiple industries. Before joining AK Public Affairs, he worked in Brussels and in Rome for another public affairs consultancy. He has previous experience at the European Union Delegation to the United Nations in New York where he focused on peacekeeping and disarmament issues. Leonardo holds a double master’s degree in European and International Studies from the University of Trento and the Prague Metropolitan University.
Emilie Steinert
Senior Consultant
Emilie, a French national, focuses on telecoms, cybersecurity, competition, and mobility policy. Before joining AK Public Affairs, she worked as an EU public affairs consultant at another consultancy in Brussels for two years, where she advised technology and transport organisations. During this time, Emilie worked extensively on competition policy and the Digital Markets Act. Prior to settling in Brussels, Emilie worked for the French Ministry of Defence, with a focus on the naval defence industry. She also worked as an Attaché within the French Permanent Delegation to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Emilie holds a master’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in military history and geopolitics from Sciences Po Aix-en-Provence, France.
Marta Gonçalves
Consultant
Marta, a Portuguese national, focuses mostly on policy issues related to cloud, AI, data privacy and internet governance. Before joining AK Public Affairs, she worked as a public affairs consultant in Lisbon for two years supporting leading tech companies on the national implementation of EU technology policy, including data privacy and content policy. She has also been dealing with health, energy and agri-food topics. Previously she also worked as an intern at the Consulate General of Portugal in Newark, United States and was working at a fashion start-up. Marta holds an LLM in Law of the Sea and a bachelor’s degree in law, both from Nova University in Lisbon, Portugal.
Shivona Fernandes-Köhler
Junior consultant
Shivona, a German national, has been supporting the team on topics related to telecoms, cybersecurity, AI, internet governance and sustainability. Before joining AK Public Affairs, she worked at the OECD Development Centre, as an Intern within the Networks of Foundations Working for Development. She also worked at a strategy consultancy in Berlin, primarily focusing on national tech policy including topics such as the Digital Markets Act, content regulation, sustainability, and cloud. Shivona holds a master’s degree in politics and policy analysis at Bocconi University in Milan where she published her thesis on GenAI’s potential to create public value in Germany.
Jacopo Venturi
Trainee
Jacopo, an Italian national, currently focuses on cybersecurity, AI, mobility and sustainability. Before Joining AK Public Affairs, he was working at the European Commission, as a trainee at DG International Partnerships (INTPA), where he dealt with a variety of topics in the digital domain, most notably digital skills and AI. Additionally, Jacopo has worked in Rome at a leading Italian foreign policy think-tank Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and in New York at Oxford Analytica. He holds a master’s degree in international relations from Central European University in Vienna.
Michal Boni
Senior Advisor
Michal was a Member of the European Parliament in 2014-2019, with the European People’s Party and was active in the LIBE and ITRE Committees. He was active on various aspects of digital policy, from privacy to content regulation, internet infrastructure, AI and algorithms. Prior to becoming an MEP, he served as the first Minister of Administration and Digitisation of Poland (2011-2013). He also served as the Secretary of State in the Prime Minister’s Office in Poland. Michal is a graduate of the University of Warsaw, where he was also involved in the “Solidarity” movement since 1980. Currently he is also serving as research associate at the Wilfried Martens Centre, the think-thank of the centre-right European People’s Party.
Francisco Medeiros
Senior Advisor
Francisco joined the European Commission, Information Society and Media Directorate-General (DG INFSO) in early 2000. He worked on the development of EU radio spectrum policy and on R&D in the field of Mobile and Satellite Communications. In January 2012, he was appointed Deputy Head of Unit, Networked Media Systems. When DG INFSO became DG CONNECT in July 2012, he was appointed Deputy Head of Unit, Software & Services, Cloud Computing. Here he was involved in the implementation of the Commission Communication “Unleashing the Potential of Cloud Computing in Europe” and oversaw research and innovation initiatives on software and cloud computing in the context of Horizon 2020. He is currently the Belgian representative to European standardisation organisation CEN-CENELEC.