Pierre de Vries is former co-director of the Spectrum Policy Initiative and current director emeritus and distinguished advisor at Silicon Flatirons. He has worked in seed venture capital, technology consulting, software development and spectrum policy, and is currently exploring how people use socially significant stories to make sense of technology. He is also currently scholar in residence at the ATLAS Institute of the University of Colorado Boulder, and visiting senior scientist at the Institute for Networked Systems of RWTH Aachen University. He was a technology advisor to Harris Wiltshire & Grannis LLP, Washington DC (2007–2010) and senior fellow at the Annenberg Center for Communication of the University of Southern California (2006–2007). Prior to this, he held various positions at Microsoft including chief of incubation and senior director of advanced technology and policy. De Vries holds a BSc (Honours) from Stellenbosch University and a DPhil in theoretical physics from the University of Oxford.