Padmashree is the Senior Advisor, Global Access in Action Program, Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University. She has over two decades of experience in policy forecasting and analysis, policy design and implementation of relevance to global and national governance in various sectors of the economy. As a widely renowned thought leader in these areas, she influences policy and strategic decisions by assessing and predicting the emergence of new market opportunities, current and future competition patterns, and identifying strategic areas of intervention to promote change. She has held several positions in academia and international agencies, including a tenured position at the Open University, United Kingdom, an adjunct professorship at the University of Aalborg, Denmark, and most recently, she served as Head-Policy of the International Renewable Energy Agency.

At Berkman Klein Center, Harvard University, her work particularly focuses on the ways in which the digital technologies can be leveraged through new business models in the public and private sectors. Topics of work include leveraging AI for growth and prosperity, government-as-a-platform in the global South, digital development strategies, privacy and control for the public good, and new business and governance models for plural, participatory futures in the digital economy. She also continues to work on how the global pharma and life sciences sector can better address global health challenges.

In the past, she has advised the national governments of Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, USA, UK, apart from a range of African, Asian, and Latin American governments, international policy organizations such as World Intellectual Property Organization, World Health Organization and various other United Nations organizations, regional agencies and regional banks, and other associations which influence business and government policies. She continues to influence policy and new models of partnerships with industry leaders and private companies, market makers, regulators from national governments globally and international agencies. She has authored over sixty publications on these topics, including five widely acclaimed books, white papers and position papers that have been implemented widely. She is on the editorial board of the Journal of Competition and Change.

Selected publications by Padmashree Gehl Sampath