Welcome to our new Strategic Partnerships Senior Manager

We’re excited to welcome Paula Grzegorzewska as the new Strategic Partnerships Senior Manager at Linux Foundation Europe. Before we embark on this new chapter together, we sat down with Paula to hear more about her journey, her passions, and her vision for the role.

Here’s what we asked her:

• Paula, what inspired you to join Linux Foundation Europe as a Strategic Partnerships Senior Manager?
  
  

I’ve been passionate about technology for as long as I can remember. My interest started back when I was a teenager in Poland, reading Wired magazine to improve my English. That curiosity about tech and its evolving impact on society led me to pursue a Master’s in New Media and Communications where the focus was on critically assessing the current tech and media landscape. Then, I spent six years working at OpenForum Europe, a Brussels-based think tank working at the intersection of policy, research and open technologies. 

I’ve known the Linux Foundation for quite some time, and after years in policy and research, I wanted to be more directly engaged with real-world technology initiatives.

• Can you describe some of the key responsibilities and areas of focus you’ll be leading in your new role?

The open tech landscape is currently moving very fast, and Brussels is where ideas, people and support mechanisms meet. In my role as a Senior Manager Strategic Partnerships, I will try to fully leverage the opportunities this creates, and focus on strengthening LF’s presence in Europe. This includes working with policymakers, tech leaders, NGOs, and industry stakeholders to ensure that open technologies are seen as a crucial part of Europe's digital future. 

Europe is unique in how its public sector plays such a significant role in driving innovation. I’ve worked with public officials across Europe, from projects such as the European Commission’s Open Source Observatory, to  the EU Open Source Policy Summit, which I organised for many years, and I look forward to applying that experience in this role.

On a more conceptual level, digital sovereignty is one of the major themes I will be focusing on. The EU is actively working on shaping policies that will influence open source and open tech, so it’s vital to have the right organisations at the table. The Linux Foundation connects and supports a wide range of open technology projects, and I believe my experience navigating these different perspectives will be especially valuable in this work.

• You’ve worked across government, academia, and international organizations. How will those experiences shape your work here at LF Europe?

I’ve always seen cross-sector and cross-industry collaboration as crucial to advancing open tech in policy and research. It’s important to understand that the challenges faced by different actors vary deeply —a small town in Czechia has different needs and capacities than a large corporation or a European institution—but they actually might have very similar values and goals regarding digital transformation. They all simply want to have access to cross-cutting technology that is easy to implement and use, provides them with agency and responds to their specific use cases. It’s essential to translate all those concerns and needs into a language that resonates in Brussels and find a common way of exchange. The Linux Foundation connects and supports diverse projects and I believe this experience will come very handy.

• Any fun facts or hobbies you’d like to share with the community?

I am a part of a queer choir Sing Out Brussels! as a soprano 1, which you might not always hear in my speaking voice. Our repertoire is pop music, but in jazz arrangements that make it more challenging and fun. It brings me peace, self-development, fun, and an amazing community!

• Finally, do you have any message or thoughts you'd like to share with the LF Europe community as you embark on this journey?

Policy developments in Brussels might seem distant or abstract, but they have a direct impact on the day-to-day operations of businesses, open source projects, and citizens—not just in Europe, but globally. So I think it’s important to engage with them early, and from a position of understanding. 

And, of course, I am super happy to be here. I’ve known most of my new colleagues for years and have long been part of the open source ecosystem, so this already feels like home. My mailbox is open for any inquiries and ideas!