Valesca Molinari, Baker McKenzie’s co-head of innovation in Germany and Austria, will this week begin her fellowship at the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), in San Francisco, California.
Opened in March 2017 in San Francisco, C4IR brings together leading technology companies, start-ups, policy-makers, international organisations, regulators, business organisations and academia to collaborate in the development of the policy frameworks and partnerships needed to stimulate the enormous potential of science and technology but also manage its impact on society. According to Baker McKenzie, it was the first global law firm to partner with the C4IR. You can watch a video about C4IR here: https://youtu.be/kpW9JcWxKq0
A qualified corporate lawyer, Molinari helps clients to develop products within ReInvent Law, the first legal innovation hub in Continental Europe of which Bakers is a founding sponsor. She was recognised in The Women of Legal Tech Award 2018, a collaboration between Hogan Lovells, Bryter and the Legal Tech Blog, which recognises contributions from women who are dedicated to shaping the young legal tech industry, particularly in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Molinari, who will relocate to Baker’s San Francisco office for the duration of the fellowship, said: “It is an honor to serve as a fellow and I look forward to being at the centre and representing our firm in San Francisco. Working in an interdisciplinary team to co-design and pilot innovative new approaches to policy and governance in the sector of autonomous and urban mobility as well as bringing back the knowledge and experience from the fellowship will be a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Molinari follows in the footsteps of three previous innovation ambassadors from Dallas, San Francisco and Milan.
This appointment is particularly worth celebrating because a) Molinari is a young woman in tech and b) she is from the Continent, which often struggles to make its presence felt globally.