Helmut Leopold

Helmut Leopold has more than 30 years of experience in the IT and communication technology industry. Currently he is the Head of Center for Digital Safety & Security at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology. In this role he leads more than 200 research professionals in a digital research programme covering areas such as cyber security, artificial intelligence and data science, quantum technology, 6G, photonics and digital identity & biometrics and cooperative distributed systems.

Before joining AIT, Mr. Leopold worked at Alcatel and at Telekom Austria, the largest network operator in Austria. As acting CTO at Telekom Austria from 1998 to 2008, he was responsible for the digitalization transformation of Telekom Austria into a modern multimedia and broadband company and he was a key driver for the introduction of broadband Internet and interactive television in Austria and is today recognised as a digitalisation expert with international innovation awards and national recognition.

Helmut Leopold led international efforts such as the Broadband Services Forum (BSF), San Francisco, and is leading initiatives supporting international organisations such es the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism. Additionally, he is the key organizer of the International Digital Security Forum (IDSF). Mr. Leopold is leading several national initiatives and expert groups. He was founder and vice president of the Austrian telecommunication research center FTW and president of the Austrian IPv6 taskforce. Currently he is president of the Austrian Organization for Information and Communication Technology (GIT) and Board Member of the Austrian Electrotechnical Association (OVE) and is leading national task forces on cyber security for the Austrian Federal Chancellery, as well as for the Austrian Industry 4.0 platform. Furthermore, he is Deputy Chairman of the Austrian society for Electronics and Software Based Systems (ESBS), Vice-president of the Competence Center Secure Austria (KSO), member of the supervisory board of the Austrian telecommunication regulator (RTR), and he is coordinator of the Gaia-X Hub Austria, the EU data sovereignty initiative.

Helmut Leopold was born 1963 in Hohenems, Vorarlberg. He holds a degree from the technical college HTL for electronics and telecommunications in Rankweil, Vorarlberg, holds a masters’ degree in computer science from the Vienna University of Technology and made his PhD in computer science at the University of Lancaster, UK.