Linux Foundation Europe Staff

Gabriele is an open source technologist at heart. He spent over 15 years building developer ecosystems to deliver value through open source across Europe and the US. He thrives on driving innovation both contributing to open source communities and joining commercial open source ventures, whether it’s for an early stage tech startup, a Fortune 500 firm or a non profit foundation. He has recently won the Tech Leadership Award at FinTech Futures USA Banking Tech Awards.

As Executive Director Gabriele grew the Fintech Open Source Foundation (FINOS) from the ground up, with the vision of creating a trusted arena for the global financial services industry to innovate faster, leveraging open source as a model of collaboration. He then led FINOS to join the Linux Foundation umbrella to accelerate growth, ensure long term sustainability of efforts and reduce fragmentation in the Foundation’s ecosystem. In 2022, he took on a dual role as General Manager of the newly launched Linux Foundation Europe, which was created to foster regional open collaborations in the European continent and expand the global platform of the Linux Foundation.

Gabriele holds a Master in Computer Engineering, is a Committer for the Apache Software Foundation and advises open source startups. He’s a passionate soccer fan, reggae music connoisseur and special needs dad and advocate wannabe.

Hilary Carter joined the Linux Foundation in 2021 to launch and lead LF Research, established to deliver empirical insights into open source trends, opportunities, and challenges. Prior to joining the Linux Foundation, Hilary led a global, syndicated research institute focused on blockchain technology based in Toronto, Canada. She has authored and led nearly 200 research projects focused on open source innovation and its adoption across industries. Hilary holds a Master of Science in Management from the London School of Economics, and holds dual Irish and Canadian citizenship.

Paula Grzegorzewska is joining the Linux Foundation Europe as a Strategic Partnerships Senior Manager. Her expertise revolves around digital policy and open source software, as well as digital transformation of European public services. Previously, she was a Strategic Partnerships Director at OpenForum Europe, a leading Brussels-based think tank focused on open technologies and policy, where she lead OFE’s engagement with European and global partners stemming from government, academia, not-for-profits and international institutions. She is a co-author of the 2021 European Commission’s study on the economic impact of open source software and hardware and other policy research reports. She also worked on closing the gender gap in ICT with an NGO in Luxembourg, and has a Master’s degree in New Media and Communications from Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She speaks Polish, English and French.

Mirko Boehm is a Free and Open Source Software contributor, community manager, licensing expert and researcher, with contributions to major Open Source projects like the KDE Desktop (since 1997, including several years on the KDE e.V. board), the Open Invention Network, the Open Source Initiative and others. He is a visiting lecturer and researcher on Free and Open Source Software at the Technical University of Berlin. Mirko Boehm has a wide range of experience as an entrepreneur, corporate manager, software developer and German Air Force officer.

He joined the Linux Foundation in June 2023 as Senior Director for Community Development for LF Europe, where he focuses on driving engagement and collaboration between all European Open Source stakeholders.

Mirko speaks English and German and lives in the Berlin area.

Esther García is Program Manager and Chief of Staff at the Linux Foundation Europe. Her background is engraved in the startup world, spending more than ten years owning operations and people departments in companies from diverse sectors such as tech, AI, SaaS or events. She enjoyed building both the processes and culture of these companies from the get go till scaling their growth. Her open-source journey started at source{d}, where she helped to develop well-known OSS in fields like #MLonCode or #MiningSoftwareRepositories. Esther also played a key role in strengthening the European tech community by organising several meetups and tech-talks from Madrid to Moscow. She joined the Linux Foundation with the enthusiasm and eagerness to serve the open source community.

On a personal note, Esther is an avid soccer fan. You can find her every weekend supporting her team, Atlético de Madrid, at the stadium. Ludovico Einaudi is her daily musical delight, and she loves walking in forests especially for mushroom hunting.

Federica brings her extensive experience in open source, technology, and diverse industries like videogames, legal and finance to LF Europe. A passionate advocate for inclusive communities, she has championed initiatives for Google Women Techmakers Brussels and GDG Brussels.

As a keynote speaker, Federica has delivered presentations across Europe and beyond. Her collaborations with institutions and stakeholders have seen her organize impactful tech and gaming events, give marketing workshops and participate in industry-relevant podcasts and webinars. Through these events, Federica has explored innovative approaches, including gamification, to make tech learning more engaging and accessible, lowering barriers for aspiring developers.

Her expertise lies in crafting engaging content, fostering collaboration among developers, and empowering their voices within the open source community.