Margrethe Vestager

Margrethe Vestager, the European Union's top AI regulator.

Born in Denmark, Vestager grew up in a family of Lutheran ministers and studied economics at the University of Copenhagen.

▶ At just 29, she became Denmark's Minister of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs.
▶ After two decades in the Danish Government, she was appointed as the European Commissioner for Competition in 2014.

Vestager rapidly gained international recognition for her tough stance on antitrust issues, investigating and fining major multinational companies like Google, Apple, Amazon, Starbucks, Ikea, Qualcomm and Gazprom.

She has also consistently held tech giants accountable, ensuring fair competition and protecting consumer rights in the digital age.

In 2019, Vestager became European Commission Executive Vice President and has been responsible for coordinating work on European data strategy and AI, adopting a risk based approach to governing AI.

My favorite quote from Vestager: "On Artificial Intelligence, trust is a must, not a nice to have."

I had dinner with Vestager when she was visiting Singapore recently. She's principled, and has a direct communication style, political poise, and willingness to take on powerful interests.

In a world where we need AI to be equitable, accessible and fair, Vestager's bold approach to governance can inspire a path towards responsible innovation.