Since 2011, Björn Wellenius has been involved in municipal government policy, chairing the Town of North Kingstown’s Economic Development Advisory Board (Rhode Island, USA).
For many years his main professional interest and internationally recognized expertise was in telecommunications policy, strategy, and regulation in emerging markets – first as a young professor at Universidad de Chile, then as World Bank staff from 1979 to 1999 when he retired as the lead advisor in this sector, and as consultant to law and consulting firms, regulatory authorities, and governments. Björn Wellenius has published five books and numerous papers in this field.
In addition to English, he is fluent in Spanish, his native language, and has a working knowledge of French. Björn received an electrical engineering degree from Universidad de Chile and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Essex (England). Björn is married with four sons and 11 grandchildren. When not devoting his time to his city, Björn enjoys dabbling in family photography, gardening, philately, and boating.