Gabriel Rodríguez Leva

Gabriel Rodríguez Leva is a European lawyer with a career spanning law, public affairs, and international policy. He is currently pursuing an MPA at Columbia SIPA, concentrating in Technology Policy and Innovation and International Finance. At Columbia, he serves as a research assistant to SIPA Professor Tamar Mitts on a cross-institutional project with Princeton University and Cardiff University, examining the role of Russian AI and technological warfare in influencing the 2024 US presidential elections.

In summer 2025, Gabriel bridged the worlds of think tank research and corporate public affairs. At the Center for European Policy Analysis, he contributed to a landmark study mapping encryption legislation across signatories of the Budapest Convention, assessing how national regulations shape cybersecurity, privacy, and democratic resilience. At Zara USA, he helped launch the company’s public affairs department in the US market, building its stakeholder engagement strategy, monitoring legislation in trade and sustainability, and strengthening the company’s institutional footprint in one of the world’s most competitive retail environments.

Previously, Gabriel practiced at Uría Menéndez, one of Europe’s top law firms, where he advised global companies on complex transactions. He conducted high-level regulatory risk assessments, structured complex cross-border transactions and designed compliance strategies enabling innovative market entries.

Gabriel is the youngest member ever elected to the governing board of the Madrid Bar Association, representing over 77,000 members, and served as president of the Spanish Law Students Council, leading negotiations on legal reforms with Spain’s Ministry of Justice. He is also an international affairs columnist for El Español and La Voz de Galicia, where he writes on geopolitics, technology, and global governance.

Fluent in Spanish and English, with working proficiency in French and Portuguese, he combines a passion for technology policy and international affairs with the discipline of an athlete, having competed nationally in track and field.