Date of birth

17 December 1973

Place of birth

Kaunas, Lithuania

Education

2017–2019  

Master’s in Diplomacy, University of Leicester, UK

Work experience

2020

Sales Manager, UAB Hugaas Baltic, Lithuania

Consultant, Cypherpunk Holdings, Canada

2016–2017

Public Advisor on investment to Rimantas Šimašius, Mayor of Vilnius City Municipality

1996–2014

Entrepreneur, with track record of investment in real estate and internet projects in the following sectors in Lithuania and beyond: recreation, leisure and entertainment, sports and wellness, trade and media

1993–1995

Expert in attracting new clients and managing their investment portfolios, CitiBank, Hong Kong

1989–1992

Assistant Director-General, Austrian Mortgage Brokers, Melbourne, Australia

Political career

Since 2020

Member of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania,

Deputy Chair, Committee on Foreign Affairs;

Chair, Group for Interparliamentary Relations with the People’s Republic of China

Since 2020

Member of the Labour Party

2014–2019

Member, European Parliament;

Deputy Chair, Member, Delegation to the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee, EU-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee and the EU-Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee

Member, Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO); Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM); Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly

Substitute, Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL),Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO), Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), and  Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM); Delegation for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area (EEA) Joint Parliamentary Committee

Member, EU40, Group for Young Politicians in the EP

2014–2016

Member, Liberals Movement of the Republic of Lithuania; interim Chairperson, Liberals Movement of the Republic of Lithuania (12–18 May 2016)

Miscellaneous

2018–2019

Listed among Top 100 Fintech for Sustainable Development Goals influencers;

Listed in LATTICE80 Fintech Europe 200

2018

Founder, Blockchain Centras Vilnius

2017–2019

President, Vilnius Rytas Basketball Club

2017

Listed among the world’s top 200 philanthropists and social entrepreneurs on the Richtopia portal

2016

Ambassador in Lithuania, eSkills for Jobs 2016, a European Commission’s programme

Since 2016

Associate Professor, Vilnius University

2016

The first Lithuanian to be listed by POLITICO, a European political publication, among the 28 most influential figures in EU policymaking shaping the European policy

2016

Listed by POLITICO among top 40 most influential MEPs

Since 2015

Ambassador in Lithuania of the technology education project Coder Dojo

Since 2015

Organiser of the largest technology and entrepreneurship event in the Baltic States, #SWITCH!

2015

Listed among 28 most influential  EU politicians and public figures (POLITICO magazine)

2015

Honorary Member of Kriterijus, a Student Research Association at Faculty of Law, Kazimieras Simonavičius University

2015

Shareholder, Kaunas Information Technology School

2015

Second most desirable employer in Lithuania, based on survey by CV Market Job Portal

2014

Active philanthropist for more than a decade; founder, Guoga Support Foundation, which in 2017 became supporter of Vilnius University  Foundation designed at ensuring global competitiveness of Vilnius University as a national science and culture hub

2014–2020

Vice President, Lithuanian Rowing Federation

2014

Honorary Doctor, Lithuanian Sports University, for active engagement and support to reinforcing the University as an internationally renowned hub for sports research and studies

2012

Lithuanian Olympic Attaché, London Summer Olympics

2010–2012

Head, Lithuanian National Basketball Team

2010–2015

Member, Executive Committee, Lithuanian Basketball Federation

2011–2015

Vice President, Lithuanian Basketball Federation

2011

Recognised as the most prominent figure in European poker in 2010, Paris, France

2011

Awarded the title of the World Lithuanian 2011 for entrepreneurial and philanthropic work; winner of the Beacon of Business title

2010

Co-founder, Lithuanian Sports Poker Federation, transformed to the official Lithuanian Sport Federation in 2010

2007–2009

Sponsor, Charity and Support Foundation, Bėdų turgus (Flea Market of Troubles), awarded for outstanding generosity with tokens of gratitude: an apple and a heavenly apple tree (2009)

Since 2013

Professional poker player

Expert Themes

Digital skills, basic business skills, opportunities and potential of fintech and blockchain technologies, start-ups

Foreign languages

English and Russian

Family

Married