LIND Language Industry Expert Group consists of language industry experts providing DG Translation of the European Commission with expertise in language industry matters in the field of translation, language data and language technologies.
Andrejs Vasiļjevs
Andrejs Vasiļjevs is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of a leading European language technology and localization company Tilde. He also serves as a board member of the Big Data Value Association (BDVA). Andrejs has received a PhD degree in computer sciences from the University of Latvia and is an Honorary Doctor of the Academy of Sciences of Latvia.
Balázs Kis
Balázs Kis is one of the co-CEOs of memoQ, and also member of the Board of Directors at GALA (Globalization and Localization Association). He is one of the founders of memoQ. Balázs has decades of experience in IT, translation, and natural language processing. He has a degree in IT engineering and a PhD in applied linguistics. At the start of his career, he was a Microsoft systems engineer and trainer and one of the prominent Hungarian IT authors with over 20 titles published. He was also the head of research and development at MorphoLogic, a Hungarian company specializing in language technology research. He taught translation technology at the ELTE University of Budapest. He has massive experience in collaborative translation and project management.
Beate Kuhl
Beate Kuhl is a language technology professional at the Federal Office of Languages – the language service of the German Federal Ministry of Defence and the German Bundeswehr. She has a master’s degree in Technical Communications from the University of Rostock and a degree in translation from the University of Applied Science in Cologne. In her current position as assistant chief of branch, she is responsible for everything related to the translation workflow, including translation management and knowledge management, as well as computer-assisted translation training and support.
Britta Aagaard
Britta Aagaard is a chief business officer at Semantix. With an academic background in philosophy and the science of language, coupled with an entrepreneurial mindset, Britta joined the language industry in 2004 and was the CEO of TextMinded® until the company became part of Semantix in 2017. Britta also serves on the Board of Directors of LT-Innovate to promote language intelligence. She has a clear vision and commitment to creating a scalable business platform through sustainable integrations of people, technology and solutions, and to achieving semantic interoperability for a prosperous and democratic digital future.
Claudio Chiavetta
Claudio Chiavetta has a long experience in the localisation industry as a freelance translator, consultant and account/sales manager. He has more than 15-year experience in managing large calls for tenders from the European and international public sector, mainly the European institutions and the United Nations System. Currently EU procurement specialist and Director of the European Public Sector Unit at TransPerfect. He holds a Master degree in Translation.
Diego Cresceri
Diego Cresceri is a seasoned entrepreneur and the CEO & Founder of Creative Words, a leading language company based in Italy. Diego graduated from the University of Genoa with a degree in Translation and Interpreting.
Prior to founding Creative Words, he worked as a translator, Project Manager, and COO in a local translation agency. With his extensive experience in the industry, Diego has a deep understanding of the challenges that businesses face when it comes to language and communication.
As the CEO of Creative Words, Diego is responsible for the company's strategy and growth. He is passionate about innovation, artificial intelligence, and machine translation, and frequently speaks at workshops, seminars, and industry events on these topics.
In addition to his professional endeavors, Diego is the former President of the Board of Directors of ELIA, the European Language Industry Association. He is committed to advancing the language industry and promoting cross-cultural understanding and collaboration.
Giulia Tarditi
Giulia Tarditi has fifteen years of experience in the localization industry. She has built and managed teams of linguists, project managers and language technology experts for a number of high-profile companies in the digital sector. Having made a name for herself for her innovative and out-of-the-box leadership, she is a frequent speaker and host at industry events, webinars and podcasts. Passionate about how different disciplines can positively influence each other, she is committed to expanding the boundaries of our field by advocating for a vision of localization management that includes principles of user experience, cross-cultural communication and experience design.
John O'Shea
John O'Shea is Chairperson of FIT Europe, the Regional Centre Europe of the Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs (FIT). A long-standing member of the Panhellenic Association of Translators, he is a legal translator and author of several papers on various aspects of legal translation. He regularly delivers CPD training on topics related to translation (including GDPR, and liability).
Lucio Bagnulo
Lucio Bagnulo is a passionate, experienced and multilingual professional with a broad and solid background in foreign languages and cultures gained through study and work experiences in different countries. He has worked in the language industry in various in-house and freelance roles and currently holds the position of Head of Translation at Amnesty International – a role that has inspired his desire to help improve the language industry for linguists not only in the EU but also worldwide.
Oleksandr Bondarenko
Dr. Oleksandr Bondarenko is a CEO of Translatel Ltd and an associate professor at Volodymyr Vynnychenko Central Ukrainian State University. Holding a PhD in contrastive-historical and typological linguistics, he has authored numerous publications in translation and localisation. With 24 years of combined experience in the language industry and university lecturing, Oleksandr is a driving force in translator education. As the initiator of numerous national and international industry-academy initiatives, he actively shapes the future of translator training. Oleksandr's commitment to effective solutions for methodological problems is evident in his professional and social activities, reflecting his dedication to positive change in the translation and localisation field.
Mirko Silvestrini
Mirko Silvestrini is the CEO of the Italian translation company Rapitrad and President of UNILINGUE, the Italian Association of Translation Companies. He graduated at Venice University in Foreign Languages and Literature. Currently he is the EUATC Ambassador at the EU. EUATC is the European Union of Associations of Translation Companies, in which Mr. Silvestrini has covered the role of President for 4 years and VicePresident for 4 years. Mr. Silvestrini is a member of the Board of tekom Europe advisory board for professional development and training.
Panayota (Yota) Georgakopoulou
With a PhD in translation and subtitling, a stint in academia, participation in multiple international research projects and over 20 years of experience in the industry in senior management roles at multinational language service providers, Yota is an audiovisual localisation expert, specialising in the application of language technologies in media localisation and the creative industries in general. She offers her services to high-profile organisations around the world as an independent consultant, advising on strategy, quality, tools, workflows, and language resource and data management.