Antonio Mugica

Antonio Mugica (born May 1974) is the founder and CEO of Smartmatic, a multinational electronic voting company. He also previously served as the Director of Anoto Group AB and Director of Panagroup Corporation.[1]

Antonio Mugica Rivero
BornMay 1974
Caracas, Venezuela
Alma materUniversidad Simón Bolívar
OccupationFounder and CEO of Smartmatic

Early life

Antonio Mugica was born in 1974. He graduated from the Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas, Venezuela, where he earned an Electrical Engineering degree.[1]

Career

In the late 1990s, Mugica along with two other Venezuelan colleagues, Alfredo José Anzola and Roger Pinate, created a system where thousands of inputs could be placed into a network simultaneously. Early trials of this system were used on ATMs in Mexico, though after the 2000 United States presidential election, they decided instead to dedicate the system toward electoral functions.[2]

Mugica has been an advocate for electronic and internet voting,[3] election modernization,[4] and digital democracy.[5] Some of his views to bring in technological advancement in elections include: the need to create tools for engaging citizens through voting and participation in the governance process,[6] making voting more accessible,[7] making sure that comprehensive pre- and post-election audits become a common practice,[8] and the significance of investing in research and development in the election technology market.[9][10]

Smartmatic

Smartmatic formed out of the SBC organization that was owned 51% by Smartmatic, 47% Venezuelan state telecommunications organization CANTV and 2% by an affiliated company,[11] Bizta, also owned by the owners of Smartmatic, with a board member from the Bolivarian government during the time an industry-fostering loan from a government institution was in force. In 2004 Smartmatic was granted a contract worth $128 million with the CNE, the government's elections agency, to acquire its products (an automated voting system, voting machines and support services) for the Regional Elections scheduled for that year's 2nd semester. But then, after collecting the required number of citizens' signatures, the 2004 Venezuelan recall referendum was activated to remove Hugo Chávez from the presidency, and Smartmatic had to hastily tailor the Voting System to the changed requirements.[12]

Smartmatic's election technology has been used in local and national elections in Venezuela, the United States, Belgium, Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina, Chile, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Estonia[13] and the Philippines.

SGO Corporation

In 2014, Mugica together with British Lord Mark Malloch-Brown announced the launching of the SGO Corporation Limited,[14][15] a holding company headquartered in London whose primary asset is the election technology and voting machine manufacturer Smartmatic.

Lord Malloch-Brown became chairman of the board of directors of SGO since its foundation,[16] while Mugica remained as CEO of the new venture. They were joined on SGO’s board by Sir Nigel Knowles, Global CEO of DLA Piper, entrepreneur David Giampaolo and Roger Piñate, Smartmatic’s COO.

The aim of SGO, according to Mugica is "to continue to make investments in its core business (election technology), but it is also set to roll out a series of new ventures based on biometrics, online identity verification, internet voting and citizen participation, e-governance and pollution control.”[17]

Patents

As of 2016, Antonio Mugica holds 13 granted and over ten pending patents in the United States. [18]

Personal life

Mugica has also dedicated time toward playing and composing music,[19] writing and collecting modern and contemporary art.[20]

In 2010, he wrote Húkiti-Túkiti-Tá, a children's book.[21] Written in verse, it is a story on healthy eating. The tale is about Hookity-Tookity-Tah, a wizard baker boy who uses his cooking magic to rid his town of a bullying dragon.[22]

Awards and recognition
  • 2011 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards Gold Medal in Spanish Category for Húkiti-Túkiti-Tá.[21]

Works
  • Mugica, Antonio (2010). Húkiti-Túkiti-Tá. Multiple Personality Entertainment. ISBN 978-9962552406.

References
  1. "Executive Profile: Antonio Mugica". Bloomberg. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  2. Brownfield, William (10 July 2006). "Who Owns Smartmatic?". Caracas, Venezuela: Embassy of the United States, Caracas. Retrieved 27 January 2021. Smartmatic was founded in the late 90s by three Venezuelans, Antonio Mugica, Alberto Anzola, and Roger Pinate [sic]. ... the company is de facto Venezuelan and operated by Venezuelans. The identity of Smartmatic's true owners remains a mystery. Our best guess is that there are probably several well-known Venezuelan businessmen backing the company who prefer anonymity either because of their political affiliation or, perhaps, because they manage the interests of senior Venezuelan government officials.}
  3. "e-Democracy entrepreneur: 'Online voting will boom in coming years'". EurActiv.com. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  4. "Modern technology as key to restoring trust". IT Pro Portal. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  5. "Revolutionising the ballot box". Financial Times. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  6. "What Election Technology Actions Are Needed Now?". www.govtech.com. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  7. "Q&A: Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica on electronic voting". www.africanbusinessreview.co.za. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  8. Takala, Rudy (2017-02-02). "Technology is key to rebuilding trust in elections". TheHill. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  9. "Interview with Antonio Mugica, CEO, Smartmatic". FindBiometrics. 2011-10-14. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  10. "Antonio Mugica". SGO Corporation. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  11. "urru.org". www.urru.org. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  12. "European Union Electoral Observation Mision Venezuela 2005" (PDF).
  13. "Estonian Voters Cast Ballots Online". FindBiometrics. 2015-03-04. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  14. "Smartmatic spins off new parent company, SGO, with British lord". BiometricUpdate. 2014-11-28. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  15. "Lord Mark Malloch-Brown to chair election technology group SGO". Financial Times. 24 November 2014.
  16. Miller, Robin. "Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, Chairman, SGO Corporation". www.globescan.com. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  17. "SGO, world's largest elections tech firm, launched". Upgrade Magazine. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  18. "Antonio Mugica Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications". Justia Patents Search. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  19. "We Are Smartmatic: Antonio Mugica, our CEO". We Are Smartmatic. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  20. "Why a Multinational CEO Doesn't Believe in Work-Life Balance". www.larryslist.com. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  21. "Antonio Mugica". Smartmatic. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  22. "Healthy Eating Children's Book: Antonio Mugica's Hookitty Tookitty Tah". 2013-07-15. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
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