Bio

With over 20 years of experience as a global executive across Asia, the Americas and Europe, Renato de Castro is one of the foremost Smart City Experts and Metaverse shapers. A world-renowned speaker, he has delivered keynotes internationally on Smart Cities, AI, the Internet of Things, and Innovation. He is co-author of the revolutionary Neural Smart City Model, which conceptualises the complex connections across Smart Cities to help Governments and Developers build more cohesive, connected communities, increasingly important as these move into the Metaverse. He has a forthcoming book building on the theories first developed in The StartUp City: A New Era of Smarter Cities (2019). De Castro has lectured across three continents on urban development, innovation and globalisation strategies. During COVID-19, De Castro served as a Task Force Coordinator for the Italian government. He is currently Ambassador for Rio Operations Centre and Smart City Advisor at Unidroit Rail Working Group. De Castro is also Executive Director at RMA Advisory, advising the most senior stakeholders in the Middle East.