After studying Mathematics and Computer Science in Salzbourg, Austria, I did my PhD on Cryptography at INRIA Rocquencourt/Paris. After another two years of Post-Doc at Aalto University Finland I went back to Paris in 2011 to start working on digital signatures at Universign. As part of my work at Universign I became member of the ESI (Electronic Signatures and Infrastructures) technical committee of ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). I’m participating actively in the ETSI-ESI work and am rapporteur for several signature related standards. From the very beginning, I was involved in the Cloud Signature Consortium (CSC) to contribute with Universign experience on remote signatures and my experience in standardization work. Starting from 2018, I’m the technical chair of the CSC and responsible for the technical specification describing the CSC protocol.
1. Why are you investing your time & expertise in (an) association(s) and its advancement?
I like the idea of bringing different groups together and finding solutions which fit best to most of them. Standardization work is a lot about finding common grounds.
2. In your experience, what are the 3 success factors for advancing associations?
Having a common goal, having people who are willing to spend time in the association, having a good communication within the group
3. Has the AM world changed when it comes to diversity and inclusion?
I don’t have that much experience with other associations. In my area of work there were always less women than men, but I never had the impression that there was a problem with diversity and inclusion.
4. What advice would you give the next generation of association leaders who want to make an impact?
You should be convinced by the topic you are working on. When there are conflicts, try to find what is really important for each party. And last but not least, don’t hesitate to push people to doing things, otherwise it is difficult to get things done.