Overview
Federico Menna is Chief Executive Officer of 28digital and is based in Brussels. He joined 28DIGITAL in April 2015 as an innovation analyst and moved through a series of roles there, heading innovation and education operations from 2017 to 2020 and staff and operations from 2020 to 2022, before becoming Chief Operations and Finance Officer in September 2022. He held the position of interim Chief Executive Officer from November 2022 and was confirmed in the role in March 2023.
Before joining 28DIGITAL, he spent more than seven years at Vodafone, starting in November 2007 as an RF planning and dimensioning engineer, then working as a RAN engineer from 2010 and as a senior mobile access engineer from 2012 until March 2015.
He has been a member of the Forbes Technology Council since January 2023 and joined the board of Adra, the AI-Data-Robotics-Association, in May 2026.
Menna studied at the Università di Trento, taking a B.Sc. in telecommunications engineering in 2005, an M.Sc. in the same field in 2007, and the state exam for professional qualification in information engineering in 2008.
Career history
In the news
- Europe’s innovators: this is our moment. Let’s make sure it lands. 👇 Thank you, Christian Ehler and René Repasi and the ITRE committee. The European Parliament’s position on the next Horizon Europe sends a clear signal: Europe is doubling down on innovation. 🔹 A €200bn programme, above the Commission’s €175bn 🔹 The EIC more than tripled, to €32.5bn 🔹 €2.5bn dedicated to the Knowledge and Innovation Communities: concrete, ring-fenced and built to last Why it matters: Europe invests around 2.2% of its GDP in R&D. That’s more
- How can Europe stay in control of its digital future, without losing the agility to adapt? 🇪🇺 On 25 November, 28DIGITAL launches the latest Makers & Shapers Report, “A Digital Resilient Europe: Agile to Adapt, Firm to Control”, at the European Tech Embassy in Brussels. 🇧🇪 The launch will show which choices Europe must make now to secure its digital future. We’ll look at where Europe stands on digital resilience, and what it takes to move from dependency to real strategic autonomy. Hosted by our CEO, Federico Menna, who will
- Our Employee Days in Athens were such a success! 🇬🇷 Gathering 100+ employees from across Europe (and even USA) to Greece was a monumental occasion! 🙌 We kicked things off with a rooftop reception overlooking the iconic Acropolis in the heart of Athens. It was the perfect way to settle in and reconnect with colleagues we hadn’t seen in a while. 🏛️ The next morning, we introduced some new joiners to the 28DIGITAL community, followed by each team presenting their highlights of 2026 so far! ⭐ Between team-building activities and time
- Europe does lead in digital. We just need to stop being shy about our champions.” 🇪🇺🚀 From online exchanges to concrete action, the first in-person DICE workshop in The Hague is a major milestone for the project. This week, we brought together representatives from 17 National Competition Authorities for our first in-person EU workshop. It’s an important step towards strengthening cross-border cooperation in competition law enforcement and supporting a more integrated Single Market. Over two intensive days, the workshop went
- We are on the ground where innovation happens. Our new partnership with Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SPARK), announced at Ai Everything Abu Dhabi, shows how. As Federico Menna, CEO of 28DIGITAL, puts it: “Technology now moves faster than any one region can scale it alone. Europe and the UAE hold complementary answers: Europe’s strength in research, talent and regulatory frameworks, and the UAE’s speed, scale and capacity to deploy. Our partnership with SPARK is a concrete step towards building innovation that
- Your next co-founder might be sitting right next to you. That was one of the messages from Federico Menna, CEO of 28DIGITAL, to our new Master School students in Tallinn. 🇪🇪 The 28DIGITAL Master School Kick-Off 2026 marks the beginning of a two-year journey that goes well beyond lectures and exams. New connections. New perspectives. Access to an international ecosystem bringing together research, startups, industry and investors. And a world of technological change to explore, understand and help shape. Make the connections.
- Governing AI before it governs us. Bits from the keynote of Federico Menna, CEO of 28DIGITAL: How do we keep trust and accountability moving at the same speed as the technology? AI is moving from advice to action. The question is: who answers when the agent acts? What Europe and the UAE can bring to this challenge — combining Europe’s strengths in trust, governance and research with the UAE’s speed, scale and deployment capabilities. Different strengths. A shared opportunity to build AI that can scale with trust. And the
- It's official! 🚨 28DIGITAL booth opening at Ai Everything Abu Dhabi! 🇦🇪 We are so thankful that Edwin Koekkoek from the European External Action Service joined, along with Aleksandar Moštrokol and Isidora Dabovic from the Embassy of Montenegro to the UAE and Deirdre Toomey and Lina Abdalla from the Irish Embassy to the UAE supporting our stars ⭐ Durotimi AI from Ireland by Doyin Bademosi, MBA ⭐ HashiMotto by Omar Radončić During the Opening the CEO of 28DIGITAL Federico Menna mentioned the importance of looking globally
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