Francesca de Quesada is the Chief Innovation and Economic Development Officer for Miami-Dade County.

Reporting to Mayor Levine Cava, de Quesada Covey leads efforts to accelerate innovation and economic opportunity, growing the County’s “FutureReady” economy where all residents can succeed and thrive. de Quesada Covey is a seasoned executive and tech investor with over 15 years of experience developing public-private partnerships and advising technology firms, elected officials, and government agencies.

Prior to joining the County, de Quesada Covey was the Chief Investment Officer at TheVentureCity, a global early-stage investment firm. In this role, she oversaw the strategy for pre-seed and seed investments and supported the growth of 108 portfolio companies. In parallel, she served the Mayor of Miami Dade County as Tech and Innovation Advisor and she founded the Miami-Dade Innovation Authority in 2023, a not-for-profit investment vehicle supporting early-stage companies scale products solving pressing local challenges through strategic procurement partnerships.

From 2013-2021, de Quesada Covey worked at Facebook (now Meta) where she led business development and partnerships teams focused on internationalization and growth. During her time at Facebook, she worked on connectivity, payments, and small business efforts, culminating in a cross-company strategy role in the CEO and COO’s office. Before joining Meta, she served as Deputy Counselor of Strategic Engagement in the Office of Public Engagement under President Obama.
Francesca holds degrees from Columbia University (B.A., political science and French) and Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris, France (M.A., finance). She is the daughter of Cuban immigrants, and along with her husband and two daughters she proudly calls Miami-Dade home.

Speaking on: Opening Remarks