Ganna Pogrebna is a Research Professor of Behavioural Business Analytics and Data Science at the University of Sydney Business School. She is also the Lead for the Behavioural Data Science strand at the Alan Turing Institute (UK), where she works on hybrid modelling approaches combining behavioural science and data science—such as anthropomorphic learning.
Until recently, Ganna served as the Executive Director of the AI and Cyber Futures Institute, where she led large-scale interdisciplinary programs in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and digital transformation. Under her leadership, the AI and Cyber Futures Institute was awarded Research Institution of the Year in Cybersecurity (Australia, 2025), as well as the Innovator of the Year and Emerging Leadership Award at the Women in AI Asia-Pacific Awards (2025).
Ganna has published extensively in leading journals and serves as Methods Editor for The Leadership Quarterly, Associate Editor for Judgment and Decision Making, and Editor at Scientific Reports. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics and Social Sciences and has held prior academic posts at Columbia University, the University of Bonn, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the University of Warwick, and the University of Birmingham.
Blending behavioral science, AI, computer science, data analytics, engineering, and business model innovation, Ganna helps cities, businesses, charities, and individuals better understand why they make decisions and how they can optimize their behavior to achieve higher profit, better social outcomes, and bolster their wellbeing. Her recent projects focus on smart technological and social systems, cybersecurity, human-computer and human-data interactions, and business models.
Ganna's work on risk analytics and modelling was recognized by the Leverhulme Research Fellowship award. In January 2020, she was named as the winner of TechWomen100—the prize awarded to leading female experts in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in the UK. She is named as one of 20+ Inspiring Data Scientists by the AI Time Journal. In 2024, Ganna received the Asia-Pacific Women in AI Award for her work in Risk Analytics and Cybersecurity. In 2025, she received the AI Cyber Security Champion award in Australia.
She is a contributor to the Oxford Handbook of AI Ethics and co-editor of the Cambridge Handbook of Behavioral Data Science. Her upcoming books include "Handbook of Behavioural Data Science" (Cambridge University Press, 2026) and "Big Bad Bias Book" (Behavioural Data Science Press, 2025).
At Ecoheart, Professor Pogrebna advises on AI strategy and economic development, helping us understand how communities interact with data and decision-support systems, ensuring our platform design accounts for real-world behavioral patterns and promotes better decision-making outcomes.