José Merino is head of the Telecommunications and Digital Transformation Agency of Mexico. From December 2023 to May 2024, he was technical coordinator of the Transformation Dialogues, which gathered public input for developing government plans for then-presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum. Previously, Merino led Mexico City’s Digital Agency for Public Innovation under then-mayor Sheinbaum. In this role, he converted 80% of Mexico City’s procedures into digital formats, established the first public software factory and expanded free wi-fi across the city. Merino is founder of Data4, a data analytics company, and Data Cívica, an NGO that leverages data to address human rights issues. He has taught political science at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico and data journalism at the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics’ graduate journalism program.