Francesca Spidalieri

Senior Fellow for Cyber Leadership
Pell Center, Salve Regina University
Cybersecurity Consultant, Hathaway Global Strategies

Francesca Spidalieri has over a decade of experience in cybersecurity, cyber capacity building, and cyber risk management, and has held various roles in academia, the private sector, and international organizations.

She is currently a Cybersecurity Consultant for Hathaway Global Strategies and an Adjunct Professor for Cyber Policy at Salve Regina University. She is also the Co-Principal Investigator for the Cyber Readiness Index 2.0 project at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, and the Senior Fellow for Cyber Leadership at the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy. In addition, Francesca serves as a cybersecurity subject-matter expert for the World Bank, the International Telecommunications Union, the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise, the EU CyberNet, and other research institutes in the U.S. and Europe including the Kosciusko Institute.

Her academic research and publications have focused on cyber leadership development, digital transformation, cyber risk management, and national cyber preparedness and resilience. Francesca holds an M.A. in International Affairs and Security Studies from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Milan, and has completed additional cybersecurity coursework at the U.S. Naval War College’s Center for Cyber Conflict Studies.

She lectures regularly at cyber-related events in the U.S. and Europe and contributes to journal articles and other publications on cyber policy matters affecting countries and organizations worldwide.