CEO
Victoria Espinel is a global leader advancing the future of technology innovation.
As CEO of BSA | The Software Alliance, Victoria has grown the organization’s worldwide presence in over 30 countries, distinguishing BSA as the leader for enterprise software companies on issues including artificial intelligence, privacy, cybersecurity, and digital trade. She launched the Digital Transformation Network and the Global Data Alliance, flagship BSA initiatives to further BSA’s collaboration with 15+ industry sectors globally. Victoria founded Software.org, the enterprise software industry’s nonprofit partner that educates policymakers and the public about the impact of software and careers within the industry.
Victoria serves on President Biden’s National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (Chair of the International Working Group), served as a member of the President’s USTR Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN), and chaired the Future of Software and Society Group at the World Economic Forum. She is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Victoria has testified on multiple occasions before the US Congress, European Parliament, and Japanese Diet. Victoria speaks frequently to groups about AI, cybersecurity, and STEM education, including Latinas in Tech, Girls Rule the Law, the Congressional Staff Hispanic Association, Women’s Congressional Staff Associations, Girls Who Code, EqualAI, CSIS, and numerous academic institutions. She has been featured in a wide range of media outlets, including New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, Forbes, C-SPAN, BBC, Bloomberg Business, The New Yorker, and NPR.
Prior to BSA, Victoria was confirmed by the US Senate to serve as the first White House “IP Czar,” establishing a new office in the White House and advising President Obama on intellectual property. She also served in the Bush Administration as the first chief US trade negotiator for intellectual property and innovation, a role in which she created the office of Intellectual Property and Innovation at USTR and led negotiations with over 70 countries.
Victoria launched Girls Who Code’s Washington, DC summer program and serves on the Board of Directors for ChIPs, a nonprofit organization advancing women in technology law and policy.
She holds an LLM from the London School of Economics, a JD from Georgetown University Law School, and a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. She is a native of Washington, DC, and the proud proprietor of Jewel of the South, a restaurant in New Orleans.
Posts by Victoria Espinel
The average email user doesn’t think a whole lot about how it is they can access their communications on a range of devices from almost anywhere on earth. They point. They click. They read. To quote the late Steve Jobs, for users, “it just works.” The simplicity of email is built on three crucial ingredients: … Read More >>
In my job, I see what software lets people accomplish every day. With software, people are transforming the present, and pushing the boundaries of current limitations further and further out. People are using software to shape the future in many ways, from using software to save the lives of more premature babies and infants in … Read More >>
It’s not hard today to find news accounts of how America’s digital networks are under siege. Cyber criminals are at work, hoping to extract valuable data from consumers, businesses, and government organizations and to shut down or disrupt our critical infrastructure. One way to combat these attacks is allowing businesses and the government to share … Read More >>
FBI Director James Comey published a column on July 6, 2015, calling for a robust public debate about the benefits and costs of strong encryption that protects users’ privacy and overall network security. I join Director Comey in that call. The law enforcement community has raised legitimate concerns about their ability to access information stored … Read More >>
Why does software matter? As new technological advances propel us forward, it’s easy to take for granted the growing role software is playing for all of us. Today’s software functions so consistently and seamlessly, we sometimes don’t even realize the many ways it’s improving our daily lives. Yet it is at the very heart of … Read More >>