Adam Lewis’ vision and leadership has transformed the way spatial data is organised, prepared and analysed, leading to changes in the way satellite images are processed in Australia to produce resource information. From 2004 to 2017 he transformed Geoscience Australia’s earth and marine observation function into a globally recognised capability. He has been key to the design and development of Digital Earth Australia — technology which provides the Australian government with the data to monitor the environment and increase productivity in the agricultural and mining industries, and to the Open Data Cube, a global initiative which increases the value and use of satellite data, providing users with free access to technology and analysis platforms. Adam now leads the Digital Earth Africa (DE Africa) program, working with African stakeholders and organisations and with international partners to establish an operational Earth observation data cube specific to Africa’s lands and seas. DE Africa is an open platform, led and governed by Africans, that is making petabytes of free and open satellite data accessible to support decision-making by governments, the private sector, and civil society.