Meet the team
The digital transformation of a country requires teamwork at the highest level.
At eGA you have access to expert professionals from government, academia and the private sector. Work with eGA on your digital transformation challenges and you will discover a support team with extensive international experience of the issues you face today: planning, implementing and managing various digital transformation initiatives.
Your team will include former senior Estonian government decision-makers: people with significant expertise in digital transformation, gained since the creation of e-Estonia. You will be working with hands-on digital transformation practitioners with a remarkable track record.
View our digital transformation success stories
In addition to our in-house team, eGA engages experts from a range of fields including the modernisation and automation of public sector fiscal administration; land administration, public tenders, mobile ID implementation, cyber security, e-government services and solutions implementation, and so on.
If you are ready to move forward on the path to more effective and transparent governance, then we are ready to share our expertise and best practice in digital transformation with you.
Let’s talk. Contact an eGA expert for an initial discussion about your challenges.
Management Board
Arvo Ott joined the e-Governance Academy in November 2005. His main responsibilities include the e-governance studies and consultations (aspects of central e-government coordination), training programmes and general management.
Prior to joining the academy, Arvo served as the Head of Department of State Information Systems (head of e-government office) at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications for more than 12 years. He was responsible for the Estonian information society and e-government strategy planning and implementation.
For the last several years Arvo has taken part in many international projects and programmes on e-governance – information society policy and e-participation advice, e-government interoperability aspects and more.
Arvo has been awarded the Estonian Order of Merit of the White Star IV Class (2014).
Arvo speaks Estonian, English, Finnish and Russian.
Hannes Astok is a enthusiastic speaker for the information society, especially promoting the role of local governments and challenges of mobile governance and new technologies in government.
Hannes is Deputy Director for Strategy and Development at the e-Governance Academy. As a senior expert, he provides training and consultancy for governments in Central Asia, Caucasus, South-East Europe, Middle East, Africa and other transition regions. During the last years, he has been working closely with governments of Ukraine, Namibia, Moldova, Palestine, Georgia, and Mauritius, among others.
Hannes served as Member of the Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu) in 2007-2011, where he mainly dealt with the development of information society and issues related to regulation of intellectual property and electronic communication. Prior to that, in 1997-2005 Hannes worked for the City of Tartu as Deputy Mayor. Today Tartu is one of the world’s leading cities in e-governance, providing its citizens and businesses with a wide variety of Internet and mobile services.
In 2012-13, Hannes was Adviser to the President of Estonia on Information Society development.
He started his political career in Tartu, working for the decade for the City of Tartu as Deputy Mayor. Today Tartu is one of the world’s leading cities in e-governance, providing for citizens and businesses wide variety of Internet and mobile phone based services.
Hannes holds a journalism and public relations degree from Tartu University.
Hannes speaks Estonian, English, Russian and Finnish.
Programme Directors
Linnar is one of the founders of Estonian e-Governance Academy and Programme Director of Smart Government.
Linnar has advised Estonian and many other governments on ICT and innovation policy and is recognised as an IT visionary. He has been instrumental in the rapid development of Estonian computer and network infrastructure, as well as the Estonian internet voting and electronic signature projects.
Linnar lectures innovation management at Tartu University.
He’s a former executive at several mobile communications, broadband and software companies such as Skype and Fortumo, advisor at the Nordic Investment Bank, and Board Member of the European Institute for Innovation and Technology.
Linnar is co-founder and member of the board of the mobile services and software development company Mobi Solutions and the start-up Pocopay.
Linnar speaks Estonian, English, Finnish and Russian.
Hannes Astok is a enthusiastic speaker for the information society, especially promoting the role of local governments and challenges of mobile governance and new technologies in government.
Hannes is Deputy Director for Strategy and Development at the e-Governance Academy. As a senior expert, he provides training and consultancy for governments in Central Asia, Caucasus, South-East Europe, Middle East, Africa and other transition regions. During the last years, he has been working closely with governments of Ukraine, Namibia, Moldova, Palestine, Georgia, and Mauritius, among others.
Hannes served as Member of the Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu) in 2007-2011, where he mainly dealt with the development of information society and issues related to regulation of intellectual property and electronic communication. Prior to that, in 1997-2005 Hannes worked for the City of Tartu as Deputy Mayor. Today Tartu is one of the world’s leading cities in e-governance, providing its citizens and businesses with a wide variety of Internet and mobile services.
In 2012-13, Hannes was Adviser to the President of Estonia on Information Society development.
He started his political career in Tartu, working for the decade for the City of Tartu as Deputy Mayor. Today Tartu is one of the world’s leading cities in e-governance, providing for citizens and businesses wide variety of Internet and mobile phone based services.
Hannes holds a journalism and public relations degree from Tartu University.
Hannes speaks Estonian, English, Russian and Finnish.
Kristina Reinsalu is Programme Director of e-Democracy at the e-Governance Academy. She has been involved in several local and international research and implementation projects related to open governance and the use of ICT in implementing its principles, focusing on e-participation and its implementation at the local level. She was also researcher and lecturer on social communication at the Institute of Media and Communication at the University of Tartu.
Kristina’s latest projects include promoting open governance in countries such as Estonia, Georgia and Moldova, consulting the City of Tartu on participatory budgeting, and working on the “Electoral Compass” produced for Estonia’s parliamentary elections. In addition, she has contributed to several publications, e.g. the “Situation Review on e-Democracy and Cyber Security in Eastern Partnership Countries.
Kristina holds an MA in Public Relations and a PhD in Media and Communications. Her articles have been published in various international scientific journals and newspapers.
Kristina speaks Estonian, English, Spanish, German and Russian.
Katrin Nyman-Metcalf is the Programme Director of Research and Legal Aspects at the Estonian e-Governance Academy and Adjunct Professor of Communications Law at the Department of Law, School of Business and Governance, Tallinn University of Technology.
She is also involved in international consultancy, primarily in the area of information and communication technology law, including e-governance. Her projects include regular legal analysis of media and communications legislation for e.g. the OSCE and the European Commission; work on setting up regulatory systems and professional training, especially for post-conflict societies; and support for e-governance.
Katrin’s PhD in Public International Law (the law of outer space) (1999) and her Master’s degree (1986) are both from the University of Uppsala in Sweden. Her research interests include how law and technology meet, with a special emphasis on IT and communications, as well as outer space; international (global and regional) decision-making and the changing structure of governance; the implementation of human rights; and the rule of law. She has published widely on these and related topics.
Katrin speaks Estonian, English, French, German, Spanish, Swedish and some Bosnian.
Annela Kiirats has been the Programme Director of e-Governance Trainings at the e-Governance Academy since 2004, sharing her knowledge on the workings of e-governance and e-democracy with senior specialists and managers from the public sector and politicians from various different countries, as well as with NGOs.
In addition to developing and conducting tailor-made training programmes and organising seminars both in Estonia and in beneficiary countries, she leads international cooperation projects and lectures on e-government and its components, as well as on e-services in the government.
In 2002-2003, Annela worked for the Estonian Newspaper Association.
Annela obtained her Master’s degree from the Department of Informatics at Tallinn University of Technology in 2005.
She speaks Estonian, English and some Russian.
Project Development
Tiina is responsible for managing eGA´s client contacts, as well as developing relations for cooperation projects. Previously, she worked in different roles in both the private and the public sector – for sales and marketing activities, carrying out different cooperation projects and being responsible for event management.
Tiina has a BA degree in public administration from Tallinn University and an MBA in European economics and politics from University College Dublin. She speaks Estonian, English and Russian.
Monika Lekić has been with the e-Governance Academy since 2004. Her main responsibilities regard the development of projects. She is the co-author of several handbooks in the field of e-government which provide guidelines and advice to government institutions, at both the central and local levels, on how to accomplish reform agendas through the use of ICT.
Monika has extensive skills and knowledge in the field of training needs assessment and the development of e-government training curricula for senior government officials.
In addition, Monika has been on several shorter and longer-term assignments as an e-government and capacity-building expert on foreign cooperation projects funded by various donors (the EU, World Bank, USAID, UNDP, SIDA, etc.). She obtained her MBA from Tallinn University of Technology.
Monika speaks Estonian, English and Serbian as well as basic German and Russian.
Experts
Arvo Ott joined the e-Governance Academy in November 2005. His main responsibilities include the e-governance studies and consultations (aspects of central e-government coordination), training programmes and general management.
Prior to joining the academy, Arvo served as the Head of Department of State Information Systems (head of e-government office) at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications for more than 12 years. He was responsible for the Estonian information society and e-government strategy planning and implementation.
For the last several years Arvo has taken part in many international projects and programmes on e-governance – information society policy and e-participation advice, e-government interoperability aspects and more.
Arvo has been awarded the Estonian Order of Merit of the White Star IV Class (2014).
Arvo speaks Estonian, English, Finnish and Russian.
Hannes Astok is a enthusiastic speaker for the information society, especially promoting the role of local governments and challenges of mobile governance and new technologies in government.
Hannes is Deputy Director for Strategy and Development at the e-Governance Academy. As a senior expert, he provides training and consultancy for governments in Central Asia, Caucasus, South-East Europe, Middle East, Africa and other transition regions. During the last years, he has been working closely with governments of Ukraine, Namibia, Moldova, Palestine, Georgia, and Mauritius, among others.
Hannes served as Member of the Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu) in 2007-2011, where he mainly dealt with the development of information society and issues related to regulation of intellectual property and electronic communication. Prior to that, in 1997-2005 Hannes worked for the City of Tartu as Deputy Mayor. Today Tartu is one of the world’s leading cities in e-governance, providing its citizens and businesses with a wide variety of Internet and mobile services.
In 2012-13, Hannes was Adviser to the President of Estonia on Information Society development.
He started his political career in Tartu, working for the decade for the City of Tartu as Deputy Mayor. Today Tartu is one of the world’s leading cities in e-governance, providing for citizens and businesses wide variety of Internet and mobile phone based services.
Hannes holds a journalism and public relations degree from Tartu University.
Hannes speaks Estonian, English, Russian and Finnish.
Mari Pedak joined the e-Governance Academy in September 2012. As a senior expert she is charged with the tasks of planning and implementing e-government and e-identity programme activities, participating in related international projects and consulting in the fields of e-government and e-identity in many countries and on many international programmes.
Previously, she was a leading civil servant in the Estonian government for 22 years, also working as Director General of the Citizenship and Migration Board for many years. Under her leadership and participation, Estonia’s identity and authentication policies were developed and a digital identity card was introduced in 2002. In 2007, the consolidation of the ICT services of the Ministry of the Interior was carried out and the largest ICT authority in the Estonian public sector – the ICT and Development Centre of the Ministry of the Interior – was created under her leadership.
Mari speaks Estonian, English and Russian.
Katrin Nyman-Metcalf is the Programme Director of Research and Legal Aspects at the Estonian e-Governance Academy and Adjunct Professor of Communications Law at the Department of Law, School of Business and Governance, Tallinn University of Technology.
She is also involved in international consultancy, primarily in the area of information and communication technology law, including e-governance. Her projects include regular legal analysis of media and communications legislation for e.g. the OSCE and the European Commission; work on setting up regulatory systems and professional training, especially for post-conflict societies; and support for e-governance.
Katrin’s PhD in Public International Law (the law of outer space) (1999) and her Master’s degree (1986) are both from the University of Uppsala in Sweden. Her research interests include how law and technology meet, with a special emphasis on IT and communications, as well as outer space; international (global and regional) decision-making and the changing structure of governance; the implementation of human rights; and the rule of law. She has published widely on these and related topics.
Katrin speaks Estonian, English, French, German, Spanish, Swedish and some Bosnian.
Kristina Reinsalu is Programme Director of e-Democracy at the e-Governance Academy. She has been involved in several local and international research and implementation projects related to open governance and the use of ICT in implementing its principles, focusing on e-participation and its implementation at the local level. She was also researcher and lecturer on social communication at the Institute of Media and Communication at the University of Tartu.
Kristina’s latest projects include promoting open governance in countries such as Estonia, Georgia and Moldova, consulting the City of Tartu on participatory budgeting, and working on the “Electoral Compass” produced for Estonia’s parliamentary elections. In addition, she has contributed to several publications, e.g. the “Situation Review on e-Democracy and Cyber Security in Eastern Partnership Countries.
Kristina holds an MA in Public Relations and a PhD in Media and Communications. Her articles have been published in various international scientific journals and newspapers.
Kristina speaks Estonian, English, Spanish, German and Russian.
Linnar is one of the founders of Estonian e-Governance Academy and Programme Director of Smart Government.
Linnar has advised Estonian and many other governments on ICT and innovation policy and is recognised as an IT visionary. He has been instrumental in the rapid development of Estonian computer and network infrastructure, as well as the Estonian internet voting and electronic signature projects.
Linnar lectures innovation management at Tartu University.
He’s a former executive at several mobile communications, broadband and software companies such as Skype and Fortumo, advisor at the Nordic Investment Bank, and Board Member of the European Institute for Innovation and Technology.
Linnar is co-founder and member of the board of the mobile services and software development company Mobi Solutions and the start-up Pocopay.
Linnar speaks Estonian, English, Finnish and Russian.
Liia works at the e-Governance Academy as a Senior Expert on e-democracy. In 2005-2015, she managed the e-democracy domain at eGA, which aims to improve and update the functional mechanisms of democracy in society and state governance with the help of ICT. Liia is actively involved in the Estonian civic society.
Liia has a PhD in Physics from Tartu University. She worked for 20 years as an astrophysicist at Tartu Observatory before transitioning from a scientific career to politics in 1990, when she was elected to both the Supreme Council and Congress of Estonia. She worked closely on issues related to the restoration of Estonian statehood as a member of working groups and was the chair of the editing committee of the Constitutional Assembly. She was elected as an Member of Parliament in the 7th, 8th and 9th parliament of Estonia. From 1992 to 1995, she was the minister responsible for the implementation of ownership reforms.
Liia speaks Estonian, English and Russian.
Uuno Vallner has been the initiator of several key e-government projects for Estonia, including the X-Road, the eesti.ee state portal, internet elections and the open data portal. Several information policy documents have been drafted under his aegis, including interoperability frameworks and the green book on open data. He has represented Estonia in the e-government working group of the European Commission, in the working groups of the ISA European interoperability programme and in European working groups on open data.
Uuno graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics of the University of Tartu and received a degree in technical sciences from the Soviet Academy of Science in Moscow. He has worked in the Institute of Information, the Government Office and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications.
In 2017, the President of Estonia awarded Uuno Vallner the Order of the White Star for outstanding achievements in advancing Information Technology and e-government in Estonia.
He speaks Estonian, Russian and English.
Tõnis Mäe works at the e-Governance Academy as a Senior Expert on digital transformation in central government. Tõnis has more than 15 years of experience as a project and business development manager in different IT companies. He has an excellent track record in managing complicated information exchange and interoperability projects and development of e-products in Estonia and in the Middle East region.
He was responsible for the Estonian National Health Information Exchange (HIE) implementation project (successfully implemented in 2008) and participated in the national e-health strategy development. Moreover, Tõnis managed the development of new e-health products based on the Estonian National HIE and the e-Ambulance solution.
Tõnis has significant experience in managing international IT projects. In 2014 – 2016 he led the Court Information System implementation in Iraq. The project was a turnkey solution, which comprised mapping business requirements and system analysis as well as infrastructure and software development.
He holds a Master’s degree in physics from the University of Tartu and complemented his management skills at Henley Management College (UK).
Tõnis speaks Estonian, English, Finnish and Russian.
Jelizaveta Krenjova-Cepilova has been working at the e-Governance Academy since 2009. In the early years, she was involved in the preparation of project proposals, provided support for conducting international conferences, seminars and study tours for foreign delegations. In 2012-2016, she managed a large local government project in Ukraine, which focused on the strategic support to e-governance development and on the implementation of technical e-government e-solutions in four cities and one regional state administration in Western part of the country. Apart from the e-government projects, Jelizaveta is also involved in the work of e-democracy programme of e-Governance Academy, providing advice in the field of e-participation instruments.
Jelizaveta’s PhD degree is from the Ragnar Nurkse School of Innovation and Governance at Tallinn University of Technology. Her research interests comprise participatory instruments at the local level, with a special focus on participatory budgeting. She writes and publishes articles on the applicability of the different models of participatory budgeting, and on the implementation of this participatory tool in Estonia. Her PhD thesis “Participatory Budgeting: Theoretical Models and Applicability in Estonia and Beyond” is available here.
Jelizaveta is a native Russian speaker, she is fluent in English and Estonian, and knows basic German.
Agu joined eGA’s cybersecurity team in 2017 and contributes to the development of the National Cyber Security Index, ncsi.ega.ee and other cyber security projects.
He has more than 10 years of expertise in cybersecurity and development of national IT systems. He coordinated and managed the development of the national health information system at the Estonian eHealth Foundation. He also managed, coordinated and supervised the activities of the cybersecurity department at the IT and Development Centre of the Estonian Ministry of the Interior. He has also worked as Deputy Director General at the Citizenship and Migration Board of Estonia.
He has excellent knowledge and hands on expertise in the development of e-health systems, Estonian ID card (personal identification smart card) project; visa information system (VIS), Schengen information system (SIS), EURODAC and other related information systems. Moreover, he is an experienced lecturer in cybersecurity and IT infrastructure.
He holds a Master’s degree in physics from the University of Tartu and has worked as a scientist in the National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics.
Agu speaks Estonian, English and Russian.
Annela Kiirats has been the Programme Director of e-Governance Trainings at the e-Governance Academy since 2004, sharing her knowledge on the workings of e-governance and e-democracy with senior specialists and managers from the public sector and politicians from various different countries, as well as with NGOs.
In addition to developing and conducting tailor-made training programmes and organising seminars both in Estonia and in beneficiary countries, she leads international cooperation projects and lectures on e-government and its components, as well as on e-services in the government.
In 2002-2003, Annela worked for the Estonian Newspaper Association.
Annela obtained her Master’s degree from the Department of Informatics at Tallinn University of Technology in 2005.
She speaks Estonian, English and some Russian.
Marit Lani develops and manages international cooperation projects at the e-Governance Academy. She has been involved in creating national digital governance roadmaps and implementing interoperability frameworks. She also manages the National Cyber Security Index database and coordinates communication with stakeholders.
In addition, she is responsible for the coordination of the quality management system (ISO 9001:2015) and the implementation of the document management system at eGA.
In her previous jobs, she gained a comprehensive understanding of European cooperation programmes. Working at the Ministry of the Interior, she was involved in preparing various European territorial cooperation programmes at the national level and was in charge of the related communication activities. Afterwards, she moved to Germany to work for the INTERREG IVC programme as an information point coordinator, providing advice to applicants on project development, assessing applications and monitoring approved projects. She also coordinated the e-government services project cluster and implemented the programme’s communication strategy.
Marit holds a Master‘s degree in Public Management from the University of Tartu.
Marit speaks Estonian, English and Finnish as well as some German and French.
Support unit
Aile Kullerkupp has many years of experience in the financial management and accounting of non-profit organisations. She has worked as Finance Manager of the e-Governance Academy since 2007. Previously she spent eight years as the Finance Manager of the Estonian Institute for Sustainable Development (the Tallinn-based centre of the Stockholm Environment Institute) and as an accountant with the Estonian Association for Environmental Management. In the e-Governance Academy she is responsible for everyday accounting and deals with financial management, budgeting, project reporting and financial supervision. She also drafts offers, manages projects and talks to financiers, auditors and other project parties.
Aile has worked with various financiers, including the European Commission, the Office of Development Cooperation of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Information System Authority of Estonia, Enterprise Estonia, the Open Estonia Foundation and the UNDP.
Aile is a graduate of the Estonian Business School and Tallinn Secondary School of Commerce. She is fluent in Estonian, English and Finnish and speaks conversational Russian.
Maarja Ulman helps manage the e-Governance Academy’s finances. Her tasks include bookkeeping, financial accounting, and preparing project reports.
Maarja obtained her Bachelor’s degree in accounting and business management at the Tallinn College of Tallinn University of Technology. She has also studied biology at Tartu University and cultural management at Tallinn University, and is a certified professional secretary.
Maarja speaks Estonian and English.
Liis Saat is responsible for accounting at the e-Governance Academy. Her tasks include everyday accounting, preparation of financial reports, project budgeting and supervision. Liis has prior work experience in accounting in the real estate sector.
Liis has a BA in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Tartu and has improved her professional skills by attending several accounting and financial courses.
Liis is speaks Estonian and English.
Anu Vahtra-Hellat is the Communication Manager at the e-Governance Academy. She is responsible for media relations, external and internal communication and brand communication.
Anu has more than ten years of experience in communication and PR, mainly from the field of telecommunications and finance, and more than six years of experience and practice in internal communication.
Previously, she was a senior consultant at the Tallinn office of Hill and Knowlton, advising clients on corporate communication. For four years, Anu managed the communication activities of the insurance company ERGO Kindlustus, where she consulted the management, coordinated the company’s pan-Baltic internal communication projects and media activities and managed internal communication.
In 1999-2007 Anu worked at the Estonia’s leading telecommunications company Eesti Telefon (later Elion Ettevõtted). During her time there, she worked first as spokesperson, then as editor of the customer journal, and later, for four years, as the Internal Communication Manager.
She holds a Master’s degree in Communication Management from the University of Tartu.
Anu speaks Estonian, English, Finnish, Russian and basic German.
Helen Aasa is responsible for keeping our partners updated with the latest news by creating content and developing our communication channels. She has previous experience in reporting news for a radio station, direct sales and managing projects in a creative agency.
Helen has a BA degree in Journalism and Communication from the University of Tartu.
She speaks Estonian and English.
Triinu Raigna helps arrange e-Governance Academy training programs and organises e-Governance Conference. Moreover, she provides support for the implementation of e-Governance Academy’s international cooperation projects.
Previously she worked for over 10 years in the ICT sector as sales manager and project manager in the field of training and conferences, where she mediated different topics for ICT specialists and government officials.
Triinu has a diploma in psychology from the University of Tartu and has furthered her knowledge in the field of accounting and project management.
She speaks Estonian, English and Russian.
Evelin Sõluste is responsible for the day-to-day management of the e-Governance Academy office. She has a diploma in Personnel Management from the Estonian Entrepreneurship University of Applied Sciences. She has also studied andragogy at Tallinn University. Evelin has worked as a project and personnel manager for several international companies.
Evelin speaks Estonian, English and Russian.
Associated experts
Raul Rikk is the assocciated expert of e-Governance Academy on cyber security management. He is the founder of the National Cyber Security Index. He worked as the Director of National Cyber Security Programme at the e-Governance Academy and was engaged in strategic cyber security development in many countries and international programmes.
He was one of the founders of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, leading its establishment in 2004-2008. Raul has worked in the field of national defence and security since 1994. He has been part of the Estonian Cyber Security Strategy Working Group since 2007. He has also been working on national cyber security capacity-building in Georgia, Moldova, Albania and other countries for many years.
Raul holds a Master’s degree in Military Science from the Finnish National Defence University and a Master’s degree in Management of Information Technology from Tallinn University. He is also a graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College.
He is a member of the Cyber Defence Commission of the Estonian Academy of Science and a member of the Estonian Cyber Defence League.
Raul speaks Estonian, English, Finnish and basic French.
Tom Annikve contributes as a legal and public procurement advisor for eGA. He served as a Deputy General Director of the Estonian Public Procurement Office. He is a Member of Board of Estonian Public Procurement Centre and of Estonian Purchasing and Supply Chain Management Association, also Manager of the law firm Eurohelp Ltd. He has worked as a legal, procurement and business expert in several EU and other international projects in Albania, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, etc.
Tom has a MA in Engineering (electronics) from the Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) ; BA in Law and MBA (finance and personal management) from the University of Tartu.
Tom speaks Estonian, English, Russian and Finnish.
Aare Lapõnin is a project manager at the e-Governance Academy. He is a recognised expert in the modernisation and automation of public sector fiscal administration organisations. He is also an experienced software development and software product development manager.
From 2005 to 2014, Aare was the leading solution architect on Public Financial Management (PFM) projects in Nortal. There, he was responsible for the development and implementation of PFM software and IT solutions for budgeting, treasury, public sector accounting and revenue administration. Together with his teams he implemented nationwide software solutions for the governments of various countries in Europe, Africa and Asia.
In 2004, Aare managed the IT Development Division of the Hansabank Group (now part of Swedbank) in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. From 1994 to 2003, Aare served as Deputy Director General of the Estonian National Tax Board, where he was responsible for IT and modernisation.
Aare has demonstrated outstanding communication skills in the implementation of projects through his ability to make links between business and technology and find quick solutions. With all of this, he has been able convey the relevance of his proposed solutions to the senior management of public administration institutions.
Aare has been awarded with the Estonian Order of Merit of the White Star IV Class (2006) and the Estonian Decoration of the Tax and Customs Board I Class (2008).
Aare speaks Estonian, English and Russian.
Markko Künnapu works at the e-Governance Academy as an expert on national cyber security. He is currently a member of the Bureau of the Convention Committee on Cybercrime (T-CY), which supervises the implementation and general management of matters related to the Convention on Cybercrime. From 2010 to 2014 he served as Chair of the Committee.
Markko works as an EU affairs adviser at the Ministry of Justice. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Tartu in 2001. He then worked in the Tallinn Police Prefecture as a criminal investigator and in the Legal Department of the Ministry of Interior as an adviser. Since 2005, he has worked at the Ministry of Justice. Until 2014, he worked as an adviser in the Criminal Policy Department. He has been involved in drafting several legislative proposals, including legislation on cyber security, cybercrime, identity theft, and aspects of criminal procedure.
Markko participated in the drafting of the Estonian Governmental Cyber Security Strategy and is also a member of the Cyber Security Commission of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. He has been a speaker at international workshops and conferences on cybercrime and cyber security.
Markko speaks fluent Estonian, English and basic Russian, German and French.
Sandra Roosna is a project manager and expert at the e-Governance Academy. Recently she led the project on the implementation of eID in Cyprus. Previously she helped to develop cooperation between leading entities in Norway and Estonia within the areas of e-governance, cyber security, innovation, and business development.
Before joining eGA, she worked for the leading electronic identity provider SK ID Solutions, which develops digital signature software, Mobile-ID service and issues qualified certificates. The department under her management, in tight collaboration with Cybernetica developed the Smart-ID concept, now widely used across Baltic countries, and piloted Mobile-ID in Ukraine.
Sandra has been leading different high-level international projects for over 10 years. In 2012 she compiled the cost-benefit analysis of digital signing and launched the digital signature cost-profit calculator and she belongs to the authors of e-Governance in Practice, first published in 2016.
Sandra has an Executive MBA in strategic management.
She speaks Estonian, Russian and English.
Villem Alango has partnered with the e-Governance Academy since 2008, also as a member of staff in 2013-2016. He is a senior expert on the spatial governance and on the use of modern methodologies to expedite practical results while transitioning towards e-governance.
Since 1992, Villem has worked to develop Estonia’s e-government infrastructure, organisational practices and legislation. He has profound practical experience of project management, supervision, strategy planning and consultation. In recent years he has participated on several continents in visioning, planning and implementing successful projects on enhancing performance and transparency at the local government level through cloud solutions.
Villem speaks Estonian, English, Finnish and Russian.
Margus has spent more than 12 years working in different positions related to the development of e-government services at the Information System Authority, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications and the IT and Development Centre of the Ministry of the Interior. He is currently Member of the Management Board at the Estonian Information Technology Foundation for Education.
Over the course of his career, he has managed the development of central components (the X-Road platform and the services portal) of the national information system, coordinated the development of the national information system, supervised the strategic planning of the information society and e-Government as well as the planning of ICT service strategies in the area of government of the Ministry of the Interior.
He is a graduate of the Tallinn University of Technology in the field of systems engineering.
Margus speaks Estonian, Russian and English.
Supervisory Board
Dr. Christine Leitner is Senior Advisor and co-founder of the recently established Centre for Economics and Public Administration (CEPA) in London.
Since 2013 she has been a Senior Policy Advisor at the Austrian Ministry of Science Research and Economy in Vienna in the field of export and investment policy.
From 2006 to 2013 she headed the Center for European Public Administration (CEPA) at Danube University, Austria, where she focused on innovation in the public sector and international good practice exchange.
From 2002 to 2010 she was the Director of the European e-Government Awards, a ‘lighthouse’ project initiated and funded by the European Commission.
From 1997 to 2006 she was Senior Lecturer at the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) in Maastricht. Previously, she headed the European integration unit at the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Siim Raie is the Director General at National Heritage Board of Estonia. Previously he worked as Director of the Office of the President of the Republic of Estonia and before that led the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Ivar Tallo is one of the founders and a Member of the Supervisory Board of the e-Governance Academy. In the latter role he has promoted the use of information and communication technologies to public sector leaders in Central and Eastern European countries, the Balkans, the CIS, Arab countries and Africa. He has given e-government lectures to the presidents of Kazakhstan and Armenia, the cabinets and ministers of Uzbekistan, Moldova, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Northern Cyprus, Palestine, Namibia and Rwanda, and speakers and MPs from Macedonia, Afghanistan and Kazakhstan.
Ivar Tallo has been a Member of Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament) and Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He has also worked as a lecturer on public policy and public administration at Tartu University.
Mr Tallo is the co-author of the Basic Principles of Information Policy of Estonia, Code of Conduct for Civil Servants and Public Information Act.
Ivar Tallo has served as a regional ICTD advisor for the Bratislava Center of the UNDP and been seconded by Estonian government to the United Nations Institute for Training and Research where he was the manager for the e-governance programme.
He initiated a transfer of highly successful Estonian educational ICT programme Tiger Leap to Georgia after the Rose revolution with the financial help of the US Embassy in Tallinn and Estonian MFA.
Currently, Mr. Tallo is working as an individual consultant.
Ivar speaks Estonian, English, German and Russian.
Mait Heidelberg is Advisor to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of Estonia.
Andre Krull is the Member of the Supervisory Board. He works as a Senior Partner and a member of the Executive Management Board at Nortal and has been with the company since its early days in the beginning of 2000s. As a business unit manager and COO formerly, he has played an integral role in shaping Nortal into a multinational strategic change and technology company operating in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the U.S. Andre has been personally involved in the build-up of many transformational Estonian e-government projects, the healthcare systems in Estonia and Lithuania, and delivery of public finance management projects internationally.