Frank Karlitschek is a long time open source contributor and privacy activist. He contributed to KDE and other free software projects since the end of the 90s and was a board member of the KDE e.V. Over the years, Frank has demonstrated his dedication to make the internet more secure and federated by the development of open collaboration services and the user data manifesto. Through his leadership at ownCloud Inc, and subsequently as the CEO of NextCloud GmbH, Frank demonstrates the dedication to open source innovation as a collaborative effort, with a vision of a wider public adoption of open source solutions.
One of the four special recognitions, the Special Recognition for contributions to Business & Impact is dedicated to those who have paved the path of open source innovation, commercialisation and impact, showcasing that open source is a key component of European digital competitiveness.