Leo is a former mayor, and a seasoned public sector executive. He’s got significant first-hand experience in smart city and regional ecosystem development and management from infrastructure projects to collaborative platforms & mutual funds and social innovations. He is a “Validated EU-Smart City Expert” in the domains of digital transformation & methods, participatory governance and author of numerous relevant publications.

Leo coordinates a consulting & advisory network, consisting of former public management experts and leaders, working in the intersection of public and private sectors. Many of their new projects for municipalities are to help them define potential use of AI in different functional areas, and to find the right mainstream and customized solutions service providers supporting both sides in the specific implementation.

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Leo is a seasoned public sector executive and serial entrepreneur & startup mentor1 . He, as a former mayor and GovTech & social innovation leader, got significant first-hand experience in smart city and ecosystem management. He is a “Validated EU-Smart City Expert”2 in the domains of Design and delivery of transnational exchange and learning activities, Participatory governance, Digital transformation and Methods and tools for integrated and participatory approaches. Leo started his first venture back in his graduation year having produced luxury goods for hotels and became market leader before successfully exiting.

 

Then he established financial services ventures and lead urban development projects – one of them was awarded “The best Mixed-used Development Project in Europe”. Before turning to the rather holistic public sector, he worked in PE/VC and M&A – multi-million dollar cross-border buy & sell transactions with a London based M&A boutique. Later, as directly elected mayor he made his mark in some meaningful innovative solutions in urban digitalization and community management.

 

After his term, he managed to create a digital community and urban management platform, called FairCity3 , to enable open- and participative governance while providing real-time impact modelling. As a member of the New Localism Think Tank, consisting of former city & utilities management professionals, he also co-partnered the “Alsómocsolád and Associate Villages - Smart Village, Smart Region” project which was presented in Brussels as the sample program for the EU Smart Villages Initiatives.

 

He was assigned to map out a progressive and alternative financial platform scheme; “Impact Partnership Scheme” - Community and Co-Funding Ecosystem for Budapest Capital, as a potential next layer of the “Budapest Global” program.

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Recently, he originated and managed multi-layer thematic open innovation platforms4 , operating across sectors, companies and institutions, on a regular basis. He orchestrates long-term, systemic membership-based platforms, with a focus on community- and urban ecosystem development, in which scaling up local value-chains and the engagement of local players are at stake.

 

Operations involve newly established co-funding and revenue generating schemes, local infrastructure & innovation funds, CSR platforms, civic crowdfunding. He coordinates an all-round grant management unit, “TenderMaster”5 to help urban and regional initiatives get funded and in soft landing processes. Also, he is a registered startup mentor at Tőkeportál (startup crowdfunding portal)6 .

 

Leo was invited as a panel speaker at the Boston, MA (USA) “Smart City Conference”7 , he was a research fellow at the Ludovika University of Public Services in the „Good Governance and Public Management & Services Development, and the co-author of the publication of the results8 , author of the Integrated Community & Public Services Platforms9 , author of the “Comparative Studies of Alternative Financing Methods and Best Practices in Social and Technology Innovations”10 , translator of the “Permeation of Civic Crowdfunding in Public Management”11 , and author of “Smart Cities – Smart Leaders” op-ed12 .

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1 https://www.linkedin.com/in/leoweinek/

2 https://urbact.eu/expert-pool/weinek-leo

3 https://faircity.hu/

4 https://xgain.hu/

5 https://tendermaster.hu/

6 https://tokeportal.com/mentor/weinek-leo/

7 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/aceee-conference-boston-smart-cities-us-leo-weinek/?trk=public_profile_article_view

8 https://tudasportal.uni-nke.hu/xmlui/handle/20.500.12944/15931

9 https://hirlevel.egov.hu/2020/11/23/uj-konyv-a-jo-onkormanyzas-technologiai-hattererol/

10 https://kozszov.org.hu/dokumentumok/UMK_2019/3/05_tanulmanyok_Innovaciok_finanszirozasa.pdf

11 https://tokeportal.hu/a-kozossegi-finanszirozas-terhoditasa-a-kozszferaban/

12 https://nepszava.hu/3057749_a-varos-okos-es-a-varosvezeto

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