From Oxford to the global digital arena: how the EPLP shaped my leadership journey

When I arrived at the Blavatnik School of Government to attend the Executive Public Leaders Programme (EPLP), I was seeking more than new skills. After years working in public institutions and regulatory governance, I was increasingly confronted by a question that many public leaders face today: how can governments remain effective in a world where technological change is moving faster than the institutions designed to govern it? 

The answer I found at Oxford was not a single framework or methodology. Rather, it was a new way of thinking about leadership itself. 

Learning to lead across borders

The EPLP brought together leaders from different regions, cultures and professional backgrounds who shared a common challenge: navigating uncertainty while preserving public trust. The diversity of experiences within the cohort was one of the programme’s greatest strengths. Through discussions in classrooms, colleges and informal gatherings, I came to appreciate how many of the challenges facing governments today transcend national borders. While our institutional contexts differed, the underlying questions were remarkably similar: how to lead through complexity, build resilient institutions and deliver meaningful outcomes for citizens in rapidly changing environments. 

What I carried home from Oxford was a deeper understanding that leadership in the twenty-first century requires more than technical expertise. It requires the ability to connect policy with purpose, innovation with inclusion and institutional effectiveness with public legitimacy. 

Putting Oxford's lessons into practice

Over the past year, I have had the opportunity to apply these lessons in ways I could not have fully anticipated during my time at Oxford. 

As Vice-President and Board Member of Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), I have participated in decisions involving some of the most consequential issues shaping contemporary societies: digital inclusion, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, satellite communications, spectrum policy and critical digital infrastructure. 

Increasingly, these subjects can no longer be treated as purely technical matters. They are directly linked to economic development, democratic resilience, national sovereignty and social cohesion. The challenge for regulators is therefore not only to promote innovation, but also to ensure that technological transformation benefits society. 

One of the lessons reinforced during the EPLP was the importance of keeping people at the centre of public decision-making. This perspective has profoundly influenced my approach to telecommunications regulation. 

In Brazil, connectivity remains unevenly distributed. For millions of people living in remote regions, particularly in the Amazon, digital access is not simply a matter of convenience. It is often the gateway to education, healthcare, public services and economic opportunity. This reality strengthened my conviction that connectivity should be understood not merely as infrastructure deployment, but as meaningful connectivity: ensuring that people have the networks, affordability, skills and opportunities necessary to participate fully in the digital economy. 

This understanding has informed initiatives aimed at expanding connectivity in historically underserved areas, including indigenous territories, quilombola communities and remote regions where the presence of the State has traditionally been limited. In these contexts, digital inclusion becomes far more than a technological objective; it becomes a pathway to citizenship, social inclusion and regional development. 

Collaboration in a global digital age

The EPLP also reinforced the value of institutional adaptability. Governments must continuously evolve if they are to respond effectively to technological transformation. 

This mindset proved particularly valuable as Anatel advanced initiatives involving regulatory sandboxes, artificial intelligence governance, satellite-based communications and future spectrum policies. These discussions are not simply about technology. They concern how societies can harness innovation while protecting rights, fostering competition and maintaining public trust. 

At the same time, many of these debates have acquired a growing geopolitical dimension. Over the past twelve months, I have had the opportunity to contribute to discussions within forums such as the G20, BRICS, the OECD and the United Nations, where digital transformation, technological sovereignty and the governance of emerging technologies increasingly occupy a central place on the global agenda. 

These experiences have reinforced another lesson from Oxford: the most significant public challenges of our time require collaboration across sectors, disciplines and national borders. No institution and no country can address them alone. 

They have also strengthened my conviction that regulators from the Global South are no longer merely implementing international standards. Increasingly, they are helping to shape them. Countries such as Brazil are actively contributing to global discussions on how digital transformation, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies can promote innovation while advancing inclusion, development and democratic values. 

Looking back, one of the most enduring impacts of the EPLP was its encouragement to connect practice with reflection. The programme challenged participants not only to solve immediate problems but also to step back and consider the broader implications of public decisions for institutions, societies and future generations. 

Over the past year, I have come to appreciate just how valuable that perspective has been. As debates on artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and technological sovereignty have intensified, I have increasingly found myself contributing not only to national policymaking but also to international discussions on the future of digital governance. 

A leadership journey comes full circle

In many respects, this intellectual journey has now come full circle. 

I am honoured to have been admitted as a Visiting Practitioner at the Blavatnik School of Government for the Michaelmas Term 2026. Under the supervision of Professor Roxana Radu, whose scholarship has significantly advanced global debates on digital governance, I will conduct a comparative study of AI governance in the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada, with the aim of identifying regulatory and institutional models that can inform the development of a trustworthy, human-centred and innovation-friendly AI governance framework for Brazil. 

For me, this opportunity represents much more than an academic appointment. It symbolises the continuation of a dialogue that began during the Executive Public Leaders Programme—a dialogue about how governments can harness emerging technologies while safeguarding democracy, fundamental rights and the public interest. It is also an opportunity to bring practical regulatory experience from Brazil into conversation with comparative research and global scholarship, enriching both perspectives. 

The path from participant in the Executive Public Leaders Programme to Visiting Practitioner at the Blavatnik School reflects more than personal development. It illustrates the enduring value of investing in public leaders capable of connecting rigorous scholarship with real-world policymaking. The lessons I encountered at Oxford continue to shape my work—whether expanding meaningful connectivity in remote communities of the Amazon, contributing to international debates on AI governance or helping design regulatory frameworks that ensure technological innovation ultimately serves society. 

In a world being reshaped by technological transformation, one lesson from the EPLP remains particularly relevant: effective leadership is not measured by the ability to respond to disruption, but by the capacity to ensure that transformation advances the public good.