Klaas Wierenga

Klaas Wierenga has extensive work experience in the field of technology and information management. Klaas began their career in 2005 as the Chair of the Task Force on Mobility and Network Middleware at TERENA, where they focused on developing eduroam. In 2010, they became the Co-chair of the Abfab working group at IETF, working on federated access to non-web applications.

In 2014, Wierenga joined Cisco as a Senior Identity Architect, contributing to the development of cloud services. Klaas also served on the Cloud Patent Committee during their time at Cisco.

From 2015 to 2016, Wierenga was an Advisory Board Member for various projects under the European Commission, including HUB4CLOUD and NGI-Pointer. Klaas then joined GÉANT in 2017, initially as the Chief Community Support Officer, and later as the Chief Information & Technology Officer, responsible for leading technical engagement and setting strategic directions for Trust & Identity, Security, and Cloud efforts.

Wierenga's professional involvement extends to organizations like EUNIS, where they served on the Program Committee, and the Internet Society, where they became an Advisory Board Member for the Internet Hall of Fame. Additionally, they are currently the Chair of the Technical Coordination Board and a member of the Strategic Oversight Board at EOSC Future.

Furthermore, Wierenga is a member of the Strategic Committee and Work Package Leader for the Digital Credentials for Europe (DC4EU) project, focused on piloting the EU Identity Wallet in education and social security domains. Klaas also serves as a Member of the Board of Advisors for eduVPN and geteduroam.

Throughout their career, Wierenga has played a crucial role in advancing technology and identity management in various organizations and projects.

Klaas Wierenga earned an MSc. in Computer Science from the University of Groningen, graduating in 1991. Prior to that, they completed their VWO at Chr. Scholengemeenschap Assen from 1979 to 1985. In addition to their degrees, Klaas has obtained various certifications, including "Understanding GDPR" from the University of Groningen in 2021 and "Finance for Non-Financial Managers" from LinkedIn in 2019.