Esmeralda Kazia

• Chief Technology Officer
• Albanian Power Corporation (KESH)

Esmeralda Kazia is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at the Albanian Power Corporation (KESH), Albania’s fully state-owned power generation company operating in one of the country’s most strategic sectors. KESH operates the Drin River Cascade, the largest hydropower cascade in the Balkans by installed capacity. Her current work spans operational technology (OT), industrial control systems (ICS), automation, cybersecurity, digital transformation and the operational resilience of critical energy infrastructure.
In the aftermath of the major 2022 cyberattacks against Albania, she joined the National Cyber Security Authority and went on to become the first Director of Monitoring and Incident Response, leading the National SOC/CSIRT. In that role, she played a pivotal role in building and operationalizing Albania’s national cyber monitoring and incident response capabilities, strengthening preparedness and the protection of critical and important infrastructures. This experience gives her a distinctive perspective across both national-level cyber coordination and the operational resilience of essential services.
Her international engagement has included serving as Albania’s designated Point of Contact to the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE), contributing to the White House-led Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI), and cooperation with NATO, EU and OSCE partners on cyber resilience and security. She is also a lecturer and PhD candidate in Artificial Intelligence, with a focus on the intersection of technology, resilience and strategic leadership.