Audrey Plonk
Head of Digital Economy Policy Division – Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation, OECD

Head of the Digital Economy Policy (DEP) Division of the Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) at the OECD As Head of Division, Ms. Plonk is responsible for implementing the programme of work of two committees: the Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP) and the Committee for Consumer Policy (CCP) as well as the management of STI’s Digital Economy Division. 

In particular, she contributes to the development of evidence-based policies through multi-stakeholder processes to i) stimulate the growth of an accessible, innovative, open, inclusive and trustworthy digital economy for sustained prosperity and well-being, and ii) provide policymakers with the tools needed to develop a forward-looking, whole-of-government policy response that leverages the potential of digitalisation for growth and well-being. In this role, she supports the strategic work of STI the advancement of the Office of the Secretary General’s Strategic Objectives.

She will also lead and contribute to related horizontal work across the Organisation. Prior to re-joining STI, Ms Plonk was Senior Director, Global Security Policy at Intel Corporation where she was also a Senior Director for Public Policy based in Santa Clara, California. 

Over the course of her more than 10 years at Intel, Audrey led a global team of policy experts focused on connectivity, data, artificial intelligence and autonomous driving policy issues. She also specialized in China cyber policy and advised Intel business and product teams on China strategy. She chaired numerous industry committees including the Cybersecurity Committee at the Information Technology and Industry Council (ITI) and the Cybersecurity subcommittee of the Trans-Atlantic Business Council (TABC) and has provided testimony multiple times before the US Congress.

In 2009, Ms. Plonk joined the board of The Privacy Projects and later took over Chairmanship of the not-for-profit organization focused on funding research in overlooked areas of privacy practice, policy and law. She has been a guest lecturer at The University of California Berkeley’s School of Information and has taught cyber policy courses at the US Technology Training Institute. 

Ms. Plonk is currently a member of the National Academies of Sciences Forum on Cyber Resilience. In 2007, Ms. Plonk worked on digital security issues in STI including malicious software and the protection of critical information infrastructure. This was preceded by four years as a consultant at the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cyber Security Division where she led work on international cooperation in cyberspace and cybersecurity. Ms. Plonk, an American national, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Affairs from The George Washington University (Washington, DC, United States).