Alessandra Sala

Alessandra Sala is a globally recognized research and scientific leader in Artificial Intelligence, with 20 years of experience spanning academic and commercial environments and deep expertise in generative AI, machine learning, and computational modelling. She serves as a board member at the AI Office of Ireland.

A leading voice in responsible and inclusive AI, Sala chairs the AI and Multimedia Authenticity Collaboration, convening IEC, ISO, and ITU to advance a coordinated global response to protect information integrity and combat deepfake technologies. As Co-Chair of UNESCO's Women for Ethical AI Platform, she partners with an international community of leaders to advance ethical AI and strengthen diversity, inclusion, and equality for women and underrepresented groups.

She also serves as Global President of Women in AI, a nonprofit dedicated to building gender-inclusive AI for the benefit of society, where she leads a community spanning 150 countries and empowers women and minorities to become AI and data leaders. She further contributes her governance expertise as Chair of the Governance Committee at the Science Foundation Ireland Centre for Research Training in Machine Learning (ML-Labs).

Sala's leadership and impact have been recognized through numerous international honors, including the TIME 100 AI (2026), STEM Professional of the Year at the IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards (2026), the Women in STEM in the Women of Europe Award (2025), the Grace Hopper Award (2024), and the XV International "Le Tecnovisionarie" Prize in AI Industrial Research (2021).

She previously served as Senior Director of AI and Data Science at Shutterstock, and prior to that as Head of Analytics Research at Nokia Bell Labs and a member of the Nokia AI Ethics Advisory Board, where she led research and development teams across multiple international locations.