Tech Diplomacy Global Institute Executive Team
Dr. Sïmon Saneback
Chief Operating Officer, Tech Diplomacy Global Institute
Dr. Sïmon Saneback is a Swedish entrepreneur, investor and board director focused on innovation that serves people and societies. Born in Sweden and raised in the Middle East, he speaks five languages and brings a cross-cultural perspective that shapes his global outlook.
Over 25 years, from his early role with the UN Association of Sweden to co-founding accelerators that supported hundreds of underrepresented founders, he has championed solutions that balance profit with purpose. He has held C-level roles in Nasdaq-listed and private-equity-backed businesses in retail and in payments, and has served on the boards of private and public companies. With leadership experience spanning five continents, Dr. Saneback helps organizations navigate transformation, aligning strategy with execution.
As a founding partner at the venture capital firm Wellstreet, he serves as an ecosystem builder for responsible innovation, having invested in over 60 businesses and built bridges among founders, industry and the public sector. Across his career he has worked with more than 100 companies, from garage startups to global corporations.
He holds an Executive Doctorate of Business Administration from École des Ponts Business School, where his research examined why most businesses fail and what separates the ones that last. A public speaker and educator, Dr. Saneback has delivered over 200 keynotes, panels and moderated sessions worldwide, including at international institutions and multilateral forums, and has lectured for more than 15 years at business schools and universities in Europe and the United States. His insights on entrepreneurship, AI-driven transformation and human-centered innovation have appeared in international media.
He launched Google for Startups in the Nordics and ran an exclusive program with AWS, and he has mentored founders through Techstars. He co-created Makerzone with Sollentuna Municipality, bringing practical STEM learning to over 11,000 students, and launched a female entrepreneurship bootcamp with Tillväxtverket, Sweden’s Agency for Economic and Regional Growth. For this work and his commitment to inclusive innovation, he was named Pay It Forward Investor of the Year in 2018.
At the Tech Diplomacy Global Institute, Dr. Saneback connects technologists and diplomats, sparks outcome-focused collaboration, forges high-value partnerships, and turns promising concepts into real deployments.