Annual Conference 2022

Adriana Labardini Inzunza is currently an independent public interest lawyer and consumer rights expert, she has always acted afar from political, partisan and corporate interests and has fought to deter anticompetitive practices and eliminate barriers to competition. She has promoted initiatives to bridge the digital divide, promote rural and indigenous connectivity and media, at the same time as she has insisted to embed innovation in the agency, build consumer empowerment tools, work permanently towards gender equality and effective implementation and enforcement of regulation.

Ms Labardini served as Secretary of the Board of COFETEL, the former, telecommunications agency (1999-2003); practiced law in a major law firm, specialising in the areas of corporate, administrative and telecommunications law (1986- 1998). Upon her return to Mexico after completing the H. Humphrey Fellowship in North Carolina, UNC and Duke (2003-2004), she co-founded Alconsumidor, a nonprofit watchdog, pioneer in advocating for consumer rights and consumer class actions, a project that ended in a constitutional and legal reform.

Ms Labardini is a Fulbright scholar and a Hubert Humphrey and Ashoka Fellow. She is a professor at the Escuela Libre de Derecho LLM program in Mexico City and has lectured at CIDE, UNAM, ITAM, ITESM, UP as visiting professor.

She obtained her law degree cum laude from Escuela Libre de Derecho in Mexico City in 1987 and her Masters degree (LLM) from Columbia University in New York, on a Fulbright scholar in 1991. For four and a half years she has served as Commissioner at the Federal Institute of Telecommunications (IFT), the Mexican independent regulatory body and competition authority for telecommunications and broadcasting industries. She also chaired the IFT for an interim term in the fall of 2017. Her tenure ended on February 28th, 2018.

In such capacity she has successfully led efforts to create a research center within IFT, strengthen regional and international relations among regulators, such as FCC, CRTC, and through Regulatel, BEREC and IIC; she has fought for pluralism in media, truly independent public media as well as initiatives for inclusion & accessibility and innovating the regulator. During the first two years of her tenure, she was the Commissioner in charge of transparency and access to public information at IFT and a member of the Ethics Committee.

Dr Allyson Leacock, Chairman of the Barbados Broadcasting Authority and Director of National Transformation Initiative, Government of Barbados, is also an independent media and human development consultant. She led a coalition of 112 Media Houses in 24 Caribbean countries for 12 years and trained over 2000 Caribbean broadcasters. She served on the Executive Board of the Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI) and was elected for 2 terms as Chairman of the Global Steering Committee for the World AIDS Campaign. She was also Cultural Affairs Specialist at the US Embassy covering the Caribbean and Officer-In-Charge and Student Coordinator at the University of the West Indies Distance Education Centre (UWIDEC), now the Open Campus.

Dr Allyson Leacock was conferred with the Order of the Republic (OR) in Barbados National Honours on 30 November 2023. The award was given by the President of Barbados – In ‘recognition of sterling contribution to broadcasting, media relations, corporate communications, training, human resource development and educational technology, as well as distinguished service to Barbados as Head of National Transformation Initiative’.

Dr Leacock has a wide-ranging professional background including in executive management in corporate communications, media, needs assessment, training, human resource development and leadership, as well broadcast media including production and presentation as TV News Anchor, and as General Manager of the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation.

She holds Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Educational Technology, Concordia University, Canada and BA (Double First Class Honours) in English and Education and the Diploma in Education (Dip.Ed with distinction) from Stirling University, UK. Her training also includes Diplomas in Human Resource Management, Facility Management, Arts Management and Alternative Dispute Resolution.

A former national athlete, gymnast, dancer and actress, Dr Leacock is trained in sign language, is a volunteer with Special Olympics and Barbados Council for the Disabled.

Andrew Barendse is Head of Regulatory Affairs Vodacom SA where he is responsible for managing all regulatory issues in SA.

Dr Barendse offers over twenty five years’ experience in the telecoms sector, including five years at Board level (Telkom International [Pty] Ltd, International Institute of Communications) and over ten years in academia (Delft University of Technology, University of Witwatersrand). Dr Barendse is a published researcher presenting a global footprint in telecoms policy (including a five-year residence in the Netherlands).

He holds a Ph.D from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, an MBA from the University of Cape Town and a B.Ed from the University of Johannesburg.

Ann LaFrance retired from Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP on 30 June 2022.  She was a senior partner in the New York office of Squire Patton Boggs and a founding member of the Firm’s global Data Practice. She was also an active participant in the Firm’s Communications Law Practice. Her experience covers a broad range of issues affecting the provision and regulation of advanced digital services and applications in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and the Caribbean.

Ms LaFrance began her legal career in 1980 with Squire in Washington, DC, where her practice focused on US and international telecommunications transactions, regulation and legislation. In 1996, she moved in-house to work as Chief International Counsel of MCI Communications Corp. (now Verizon), based in Washington, Brussels and London. Following her return to private practice in the Firm’s London office in 2004, she has advised a broad range of tech, telecom and multinational clients operating across a variety of sectors, as well as government and regulatory bodies, on data protection policy, GDPR compliance, international transfer agreements, AI ethical guidelines, blockchain, regulation of dominant operators, and the interplay between regulated “electronic communications” status and privacy laws in Europe, the U.S. and around the globe. Since her return to the U.S. in 2019, Ms LaFrance continues to advise on complex cross-border data protection, e-privacy and cybersecurity matters, including transfer risk assessments post Schrems II and integrated approaches to global data protection compliance. She is currently advising clients on the new wave of U.S. state privacy laws that will take effect in 2023.

Ms LaFrance served as the Firm’s first Data Protection Officer in the UK and the EU and on the Firm’s data governance board. She is a Member of the Board of the International Institute of Communications and currently serves as its Vice President.

She is admitted to practice in New York, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia and is a Registered Foreign Lawyer in England and Wales.

Anna Brakey was appointed a Commissioner of the ACCC in December 2020. She is also an Associate Member of the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

Ms Brakey has extensive experience in regulatory economics and public policy with over 25 years of experience working with regulators, government and within the private sector. She has had broad exposure to a wide range of infrastructure industries, including energy, water and transport. Additionally, she has worked on economic reform to social policy.

Prior to starting at ACCC,  Ms Brakey worked as an economist at Frontier Economics and held a number of roles at the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART), including being a deputy Tribunal Member, the Executive Director of Strategy and Economic Analysis and the Chief Operating Officer.  Ms Brakey’s expertise includes the Parliamentary Committee process, the New South Wales Department of Transport, the Australian Productivity Commission, the Bureau of Industry Economics and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.  Additionally, Ms Brakey has worked for the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) on reforms to economic regulation and with the New South Wales Treasury on the sale of assets.

Ms Brakey chairs the ACCC’s Infrastructure Committee, Communications Committee, Electricity Markets Inquiry Board and East Coast Gas Market Board, and is a member of the ACCC’s Competition Exemptions Committee and Agriculture Board.

Ms Brakey holds a Bachelor of Economics from Australian National University and a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance and Investment from Securities Institute of Australia. She is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Annemarie Sipkes has been director for Telecoms, Postal and Transport at the ACM, the Dutch authority for markets and consumers, since 2018. This year, she is the BEREC Vice Chair. Before working as a telecoms regulator, she held different posts in the Dutch government, working from an economic perspective on strategic issues in the field of Education, Culture & Science and in Social Affairs & labour market policies. After completing her MSC in economics and an MA in General Arts in Maastricht, she started her career at the Dutch Central bank and also spent several years in consulting at KPMG.

Bill Davenport is Senior Director for Technology and Spectrum Policy at Cisco Systems, Inc. In this role, Mr Davenport is responsible for advising and representing the company on a wide range of US and international communications issues, including wireless spectrum, universal service, and equipment marketing. Prior to joining Cisco in May 2022, Mr Davenport worked at the Federal Communications Commission as Chief of Staff and Senior Legal Advisor to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, where he oversaw the office’s operations and advised the Commissioner on wireless and international issues. Mr Davenport has also served in senior leadership positions throughout the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, most recently as the manager responsible for spectrum enforcement investigations. In addition to his FCC experience, Mr Davenport has worked as a senior executive at a satellite company as well as an associate at two major law firms.

Bio coming soon ……

Joining the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada in 2012, Brent Homan is currently Deputy Commissioner, responsible for the enforcement of Canada’s federal public and private sector privacy laws.

Mr Homan’s accomplishments in Privacy include key investigations such as: Tim Hortons Location Tracking (2022), Facial Recognition – Clearview, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Cadillac Fairview (2020/1), Facebook Cambridge Analytica (2019), Statistics Canada (2019), Equifax (2018), the World Anti-Doping Association Breach (2017), Ashley Madison (2016), the Bell Advertising Program (2015), and Google Behavioural Advertising (2014).

A global leader in International enforcement, Mr Homan has joined forces with partners, co-leading numerous international investigations including two Global Privacy Award winning joint investigations against Clearview and Ashley Madison, and the first ever international joint-investigation in the field of Privacy (against Whatsapp) with the Dutch Privacy Authority. Mr Homan created and spearheaded the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN) Privacy Sweep, and co-chairs the International Enforcement Cooperation Working Group for the Global Privacy Assembly.

A leader in digital economy, Mr Homan co-chairs a Global Digital Consumer Working Group examining the growing intersection of privacy, consumer-protection and competition, and seeking to advance collaboration across regulatory spheres.
Prior to his appointment at the OPC, Mr. Homan was Assistant Deputy Commissioner at the Competition Bureau of Canada where he led numerous high profile misleading advertising investigations in the Digital Economy. In the area of health, Mr Homan led Canada’s Tobacco Inquiry into the use of Light and Mild descriptors, culminating in the removal of Light and Mild labelling from cigarette packaging across Canada.

Mr Homan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Political Science from Carleton University, and a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Ottawa.

Catherine Tait was appointed President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada on April 3, 2018, for a five-year term. She began her mandate on July 3, 2018. Catherine is also the Chair of the Global Task Force for Public Media, an initiative of the Public Media Alliance launched in September 2019.

As President and CEO, Catherine is responsible for overseeing the management of CBC/Radio-Canada to ensure that Canada’s national public broadcaster can deliver on the various aspects of its mandate and continue to offer Canadians a broad spectrum of high-quality programming that informs, enlightens and entertains, and that is created by, for and about Canadians.

Prior to her appointment, Ms Tait co-founded New York-based Duopoly Inc, an independent film, television and digital content company, which she led as President from 2002 to 2018. She also co-founded iThentic, a digital content company, in 2006 and Hollywood Suite in 2010, a broadcasting company in Canada. Catherine was also previously the President and COO of Salter Street Films from 1997 to 2001. She has experience working for the Government of Canada as Director and Cultural Attaché with the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris, and as Manager of Policy and Planning for Telefilm Canada where her passion for Canadian film and television content was ignited.

She’s been a member of a number of industry-specific boards including Comweb Group, DHX Media LTD, Hollywood Suite (which she co-founded), iThentic Inc, eOne Entertainment, CHUM Ltd, Aliant Inc, Rogers Mobile Film Fund and the Canadian Film and Television Production Association.

Ms Tait holds a Diplôme d’Études Approfondies, Communications Theory from the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas (1983), a Master of Science from Boston University’s School of Public Communication (1982) and a Bachelor of Arts (Hon) in Literature and Philosophy from the University of Toronto (1979).

Ms Tait was named Playback’s Executive of the Year in 2019 and Woman of the Year 2021-2022 by Women in Communications and Technology.

Chris Chapman was appointed President of the International Institute of Communications on 1 April 2016. He is also Chair of the IIC Nominations Committee.

Mr Chapman previously held the position of Chairman and CEO of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). He was appointed in February 2006 and was re-appointed for a 2nd five year term in October 2010 until April 2016. He was appointed an Associate Member of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in September 2007.

Mr Chapman is a seasoned executive with experience in the media, broadcasting and film, internet, telecommunications, sports rights and infrastructure development worlds.

Before joining ACMA, Mr Chapman held a number of senior management positions with the Seven Network, Stadium Australia Management, Optus and Babcock & Brown. He has also been the Chairman of Film Australia and Sports Vision Australia, and a previous member of the National Film and Sound Archives’ Advisory Council.

Mr Chapman has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales and has completed the Harvard Business School AMP program.

Chris Woolford is Ofcom’s Director of International Spectrum Policy where his responsibilities cover the UK’s international spectrum interests, especially in relation to the ITU, CEPT and EU. He has closely engaged for the UK on a number of key European regulatory initiatives in the field of electronic communications and participates in many European spectrum groups. He leads UK engagement with the ITU and led the UK delegations to WRCs in 2019, 2015 and 2012. He is currently preparing to lead the UK delegation to WRC-23.

In 2019 Mr Woolford took on the role of Chairman of the Electronic Communications Committee (ECC) of CEPT and was re-elected for a second term in 2022. He has also been a Director of the International Institute of Communications since 2018.

Mr Woolford has 25 years’ experience of working on spectrum and communications regulation, both at Ofcom and its predecessor (Oftel). He has a degree in mathematics and statistics from Manchester University.

Chris Ferguson regularly advises on mission critical technology issues and technology transactions, including negotiating and drafting technology services, cloud, data and AI, and outsourcing agreements. Mr Ferguson advises on privacy compliance and risk management, the privacy and cybersecurity implications of novel products and services, and on the privacy and cybersecurity dimensions of technology and M&A transactions, including on legal and regulatory developments in those fields and on practical compliance solutions tailored to new technologies and evolving laws. Mr Fergusons’ privacy practice includes advising on health privacy and public sector privacy matters.

Mr Ferguson has advised on and negotiated key strategic partnerships, services and cloud agreements for essential systems, and mission critical outsourcing arrangements and privacy, data protection, Canadian anti-spam legislation (CASL), and communications law matters. In addition, Mr Ferguson has advised on legal advocacy before regulators and policy makers, including representation on matters relating to intellectual property, CASL, and communications law, and dealings with regulators, administrative boards, public servants, and ministerial staff. Mr Ferguson has participated in proceedings before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the Copyright Board of Canada, and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr Ferguson was in-house at a media and technology company, where he worked with executive and business stakeholders to consistently deliver results.

Derek Wilding is based in the Faculty of Law at University of Technology Sydney where he is the Co-Director of the Centre for Media Transition.

Dr Wilding has worked in statutory and industry-based regulatory positions, specialising in media and communications regulation. He was Executive Director of the Australian Press Council, manager of media ownership and control at the Australian Communications and Media Authority and Director of the Communications Law Centre at University of New South Wales. He has also worked for the Office of Film and Literature Classification and the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance.

Dr Wilding is currently a chief investigator on a three-year research project examining media pluralism and online news (funded by the Australian Research Council) and a two-year research project on consumer and public participation in industry rule-making in the communications sector. The Centre for Media Transition is conducting externally-funded research into the impact of digital platforms on news and journalistic content and the state of trust in news media.

Dr Wilding is Chair of IIC Programme and Market Insight Committee.

Algonquin Anishinabe from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, Claudette Commanda is an alumnus of the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Common Law and Arts. Claudette has dedicated the last 30 years to promoting First Nations people, history, culture and rights in various capacities as a student, professor, and chair of the Aboriginal education council at the University of Ottawa.

Claudette Commanda is a professor in the University of Ottawa’s Institute of Women’s Studies, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Law, and the Aboriginal Studies Program. She teaches courses on First Nations women, Native Education, First Nations People and History, Indigenous Traditions, and Decolonization.

Claudette is also the Executive Director of the First Nations Confederacy of Cultural Education Centres, a national organization which protects and promotes First Nations culture, languages, and Traditional knowledge. She was inducted into the Common Law Honour Society, served two terms on the Board of Governors for the First Nations University of Canada, and three terms on the Kitigan Zibi band council.

In 2017, Claudette became the first First Nations individual appointed as Elder-in-Residence at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law and the first person of First Nations heritage to be appointed to the Board of Governors at the University of Ottawa.

In March 2020, Claudette received the 2020 INDSPIRE Award for Culture, Heritage and Spirituality.

Claudette is a proud mother of four children and a grandmother to 10 grandchildren.

Elena Scaramuzzi leads regulatory services and research activities with a global reach. At Cullen International since 2009, Ms Scaramuzzi led and contributed to new service developments, including, more recently, the Global Trends service, covering the most wide-ranging trends shaping the future of the communications sector. Most of Ms Scaramuzzi’s previous work at Cullen International focused on regulatory research in the Americas.
With over 25 years’ work experience in the sector, before joining Cullen International Ms Scaramuzzi worked for Telecom Italia and the World Bank.

Elisa Giomi is an Associate Professor at Roma Tre University, Department of Philosophy, Communication and Performing Arts, where she teaches Sociology of Media and Communication, Television Narrative, and Advertising. Prof. Giomi also teaches at the MA course in Cultural Leadership Research, a double postgraduate degree programme (University of Groningen and Roma Tre University) and coordinates the Media and Communication module of the MA in Gender and Political Studies.

Prof. Giomi is the author of more than 60 publications for major italian and international publishers and peer-reviewed journals.  Her latest publication is “Male and Female Violence in Popular Media” (Bloomsbury 2022) and “The Media today. Technologies, markets, socio-cultural issues and regulatory responses” (forthcoming).

Prof. Giomi has coordinated national and international scientific projects aimed at studying the media and identifying good practices in the sector, on behalf of various bodies and institutions including: European Parliament, EJC-European Journalism Center, EIGE-European Institute for Gender Equality. She has coordinated television content analysis projects on behalf of italian broadcasters, including monitoring the representation of women in public programming.

Prof. Giomi has collaborated with the “Commission of enquiry on feminicide, as well as on all forms of gender-based violence” of Italian Parliament; she is a member of the board of the “Gender Studies” section of the AIS-Italian Association of Sociology and of the magazine “AG.About Gender-International Journal of Gender Studies”.

By decree of the President of the Republic, Prof. Giomi was appointed on 15 September 2020 as a member of the Board of AGCOM- Authority for Communications Guarantees.

Emmanuel Gabla was nominated as Membre du Collège at the board of Arcep at the beginning of 2019. He was previously the Head of the Economic Section of France’s embassy in Norway from 2016 until his appointment at Arcep.

Mr Gabla began his career in 1993 at the Ministry of Post & Telecom, which developed the 1996 Act that opened the telecoms sector up to competition. Starting in 1999, Mr Gabla served as an advisor on telecoms, the information society, postal affairs and industrial aspects of the internal market to the Permanent Representation of France to the European Union, as Technical Advisor to the Prime Minister, Jean Pierre Raffarin, in charge of telecoms and postal affairs, industrial property and space, and the head of the Technologies and Information Society department at the Directorate-General for Enterprise.

From 2009 to 2015, Mr Gabla was a member of the Board of the French broadcasting authority, CSA, and a member of the General Council for the Economy, Industry, Energy and Technologies from 2015 to 2016.

Mr Gabla is a former student at the Ecole Polytechnique, a graduate of the Ecole nationale supérieure des télécommunications (ENST), and a Chief Telecommunications Engineer.

Bio coming soon …..

Farhan Mohamed is the co-founder and CEO of Overstory Media Group, a Canadian media company focused on rebuilding community news. Since launching the company in May 2021, Overstory now owns and operates more than a dozen community publications and employs more than 50 people – majority of whom are in editorial roles. Their publications include Capital Daily, The Georgia Straight, The Coast in Halifax, Vancouver Tech Journal, and Fraser Valley Current. Overstory focuses on delivering high quality, in-depth news and thought-provoking storytelling produced by journalists and creators from the communities they serve. They centre their distribution and engagement around email newsletters.

Prior to Overstory, Mr Mohamed was the Editor-in-Chief and co-owner at Daily Hive, growing the company from a passion project to fully functioning newsroom across Canada with over 6.5 million monthly readers.

Dr George Houpis is a Director at Frontier Economics.  His main areas of expertise are the theory and application of regulation and competition policy, market research and forecasting in the telecoms, postal and other sectors.

Examples of his recent project work include advising regulatory authorities and operators on the application of the EU telecommunications regulatory framework, fixed and mobile interconnection, regulation and costing of NGNs, margin squeeze cases in the broadband internet services market, and advice on auctioning of spectrum.  Mr Houpis has also advised on postal sector reform, including advice on access pricing and costing, competition issues in the postal sector, and costing and funding of universal service.

Dr Houpis has also extensive quantitative experience, including the production and review of forecasts for fixed and mobile revenues, penetration and usage and has provided support to a number of bids for telecommunications, TV and radio licences.’

Gerry McQuaid is the Director for Telecoms and Internet Security at Ofcom with a focus on regulating the technical aspects of security within the regimes of the Telecoms Security Act and NIS Directive. Prior to Ofcom he took a detour spending two years in The Hague securing an international organisation’s operations under the chemical weapons convention. Working for a global operator and a vendor, he was responsible for managing the various national security obligations globally. He has chaired or participated in a number of ETSI/3GPP/GSMA technical security committees, ERNCIP, ENISA and EuroPol EC3. Additionally, he has invested time advising various international bodies particularly on capacity building and specific vendor related oversight e.g. evaluation centres and supply chain security.

Bio coming soon …..

As Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, Ian Scott supervises and directs the work and staff of the Commission. He also chairs Commission meetings and participates in public hearings and consultations.

Mr Scott has over 25 years of policy and regulatory experience in broadcasting and telecommunications both in the public and private sectors.

After working at the Competition Bureau, he joined the CRTC from 1990 to 1994, where he collaborated on the development of a framework for long-distance telephone service competition in Canada. Between 2007 and 2008, as part of the Executive Interchange Program, he was Senior Policy Advisor to the Chairman at the CRTC.

Before rejoining the CRTC in 2017, Mr Scott held various executive positions in the communications industry, including at Telesat Canada, Telus and Call-Net Enterprises, one of the first companies to offer competition in the Canadian long-distance market. He also provided leadership on broadcasting policy and regulatory issues as an executive at the Canadian Cable Television Association.

Mr Scott has served on various boards, including Women in Communications and Technology and Ski Quebec Alpin.

Mr Scott has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, McGill University

His Term ends January 4, 2023

Jacob Glick is the Vice President, Public Policy at TELUS, a senior executive fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, and a global leader on complex issues at the intersection of technology, public policy and law. He brings more than 15 years of executive experience in technology and telecommunications law and policy.

Before joining TELUS, Mr Glick was general counsel of North Inc., a world-leading smart glasses start-up, funded by Intel Capital, Amazon and others, and acquired by Google. He also served as chief corporate affairs officer at Rogers Communications Inc.

Mr Glick was the head of Google’s central public policy and government relations team, based at Google’s headquarters in California. Prior to that, he founded and led Google Canada’s public policy and government relations team.

He also served as general counsel, director of policy at the Canadian Internet Registration Authority and was a litigator with McCarthy Tétrault LLP.
Mr Glick was a distinguished visiting executive fellow at the Centre for Law, Technology and Society in the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law. Called to the Bar in 2003, he holds a bachelor of arts with high distinction and a bachelor of laws, both from the University of Toronto.

Jacquelynn (Jackie) Ruff has more than 25 years of experience in global law and public policy around policy frameworks for digital services, Internet governance, digital trade, expansion of broadband connectivity, and women and technology. Since February 2019 she has been a consulting counsel at the law firm of Wiley Rein where she provides legal, regulatory and public policy guidance on international issues impacting telecom, media, and technology industries.

Previously, Ms Ruff was Vice President of International Government Relations and Policy at Verizon Communications. Her responsibilities included leading work in international organisations such as the UN International Telecommunication Union, the OECD, ICANN, and the Internet Governance Forum, and regional organisations CITEL and APEC. She also represented Verizon on federal advisory committees to the US Department of State, the US Trade Representative, and the US Department of Commerce. Ms Ruff was a board member of the US Telecom Training Institute and co-chair of the Digital Trade group of the US Council for International Business, and she participated in the Policy and Spectrum Groups of the GSM Association. She is currently a Director of the International Institute of Communications. She is also a professorial lecturer at the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs.

Ms Ruff joined Verizon in 2004 from the International Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), where she was Associate Chief and Chief of Staff for the Bureau. Previously she practiced with the communications and Latin America groups of an international law firm and served as staff for a US Senate Committee.

She has a BA from Radcliffe College/Harvard University, MA from Harvard University, and JD from the Georgetown University Law Center.

James Cameron is an Authority Member with the Australian Communications and Media Authority, having been appointed in August 2013.

Mr Cameron has over 25 years Australian Government public policy experience, including senior executive roles in the telecommunications, radio communications, broadcasting and digital economy fields. Mr Cameron has also held executive positions managing government policies and programs supporting Australia’s arts and sports sectors and, immediately prior to joining the ACMA, was Chief Executive Officer of the National Water Commission.

Bio coming soon …..

Bio coming soon ……

Josh Korn is the head of global technology and innovation policy at Netflix, the world’s leading streaming entertainment service. He leads a team of policy experts in various technology policy fields.

Mr Korn is an expert on the intersection of technology and entertainment including issues related to artificial intelligence, protection of minors, net neutrality, and media law. He Works to promote policies that support a competitive, open and dynamic internet entertainment ecosystem with
vibrant choice for consumers.

Mr Korn has held many positions at Netflix including head of policy in Australia and New Zealand, global protection of minors policy lead, and manager of US state and federal policy.

Prior to joining Netflix, Mr Korn investigated anticompetitive conduct and mergers as a part of the Telecommunications and Media Enforcement Section of the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust

Kevin Chan is the Global Policy Campaign Strategies Director at Meta Platforms, where he is focusing on the future of the internet, including the metaverse, AR/VR/MR, and the creator economy. In this role he is responsible for Meta’s $50 million XR Research and Programs Fund, and is Meta’s representative on the World Economic Forum’s Global Collaboration Village.

A former government executive and university administrator, Mr Chan launched Facebook’s Canadian public policy function and spent 7 years as its Head and then Director of Policy. His work fighting white nationalists made NOW Magazine’s 2019 Year In Review, and he was awarded a 2020-21 Harvard Technology and Democracy Fellowship for his leadership of Facebook’s Canadian Election Integrity Initiative.

Mr Chan graduated from Harvard Kennedy School, the Ivey Business School and the Royal Conservatory of Music. An Action Canada Fellow, he is the recipient of the Public Service Award of Excellence, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal.

Kevin McNamee founded Nokia’s Threat Intelligence Lab. This lab analyses hundreds of thousands of malware samples each day to create the threat intelligence that powers Nokia’s adaptive 5G end-to-end security solution. Previously he was director of Security Research at Bell Labs, specialising in the analysis of malware propagation and detection. He is an expert on mobile network security, holds ten patents in this field and has had speaking engagements on the topic at RSA, BlackHat and the (ISC)2 Security Congress.

Laura Berger is a lawyer with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. In her time with the CCLA, Ms Berger has contributed to research and advocacy on topics ranging from freedom of expression and privacy to police accountability and criminal justice reform. Previously, she worked as an advisor to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law, where she taught a seminar on the Charter protection of freedom of expression. A graduate of the University of Toronto (BA and JD), Laura was called to the Ontario Bar in 2014. Outside of work, she is an experienced wilderness canoeist and volunteers with an adaptive skiing program.

Lynn Robinson became Director General of the International Institute of Communications (IIC), in March 2020.

Lynn is an experienced senior director and trustee / non exec-director, having held key senior leadership positions in the technology, built environment, regulation, accreditation and dental industries. She has extensive experience of professional membership bodies working within the full spectrum including, Regulatory bodies, Industry associations and Chambers of Commerce. Lynn is a well-known and established ambassador in these areas having led on many strategic programmes to aid engagement, growth, retention, change management, stakeholder and political engagement.

An experienced Trustee / Non-Executive Director as Vice Chair at Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust, a unique heritage site in the heart of Bristol (UK), Lynn is also a Trustee / Non-Executive Director at The Bristol and Bath (UK), Parks Foundation.

Reflecting on becoming Director General at the IIC at the outbreak of a pandemic, Lynn said, ‘these last two years have been like no other we have known, with many challenges coming our way. In 2020 we successfully pivoted the organisation through a digital transformation programme to maintain a full schedule of events and by increasing the outputs delivered. Transforming the programme enabled us to continue to deliver the professional service and increase our engagement with IIC members and stakeholder community to remain connected to them through such a difficult time.

As we move through 2022, I am delighted to return to a combined in-person and online programme and to continue to evolve the IIC in to the next phase, with the vision and strategic focus to deliver our objectives and to build on our growth, engagement and retention’.

Matt Allison is Senior Public Policy Manager at Vodafone Group, covering Data, Platforms and Artificial Intelligence. Mr Allison has worked at the cutting edge of tech public policy for a decade in a variety of roles spanning industry, consultancy and NGOs. During this time, he has grappled with some of the key public policy challenges facing the technology sector and helped shape the policy landscape as governments and regulators look to confront and harness the rapid growth of digital services. At Vodafone Mr Allison is responsible for developing policy and regulatory strategies for data, AI and digital platforms, influencing new regulation and creating alignment between Vodafone’s local market activities.

Prior to joining Vodafone Mr Allison was a Manager in the International Public Policy team at Access Partnership, a leading government affairs consultancy in the technology sector, as well as working in the NGO sector focused on the development of Internet safety policy.

Mr Allison holds a Masters degree in Politics, Security and Integration from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), part of University College London. His studies focused on Russian and Eastern European politics, European integration and national identity. Prior to this he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in History at the University of East Anglia where he specialised in Soviet history and the economic and social history of early modern England.

Matthew Johnson is the Director of Education for MediaSmarts, Canada’s centre for digital and media literacy. He is the author of many of MediaSmarts’ lessons, parent materials and interactive resources and the architect of MediaSmarts’ Use, Understand, Engage: Digital Literacy Framework for Canadian K-12 Schools and is one of the authors of the Canadian Pediatric Society’s screen time guidelines for children and youth. He has served on expert panels including the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada, consulted on the K-12 curriculum of several provinces, and has been interviewed by outlets such as The Globe and Mail, BBC News Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, CBC’s The National and Al Jazeera.

Maureen James manages CIRA’s Community Investment Program which funds community-led internet projects across Canada. Her background is in fundraising, grantmaking and strategy development with non-profits internationally and in Canada. With the recent release of CIRA’s ‘How to Fund Digital Equity in Canada’ guide, her current obsession is working to build community and commitment around funding digital equity.

Meghan Chilappa is Policy Counsel in Access Partnership’s DC office. She focuses on global policy and regulatory issues encompassing AI, the metaverse, cross-border data flows, government access to data, and digital governance. Prior to Access Partnership, she was a Privacy Consultant at Deloitte. s Chilappa has developed policy strategies and advised global companies on child safety in the metaverse, algorithmic accountability, the human rights and national security impacts of data localization, and more.

In law school, she held positions at the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Justice. She is published in Slate about the long-term impacts of internet shutdowns and served as a 2020 LENS (Law, Ethics, and National Security) Scholar. Prior to law school, Ms Chilappa worked in public diplomacy and politics in Washington, DC.

Ms Chilappa holds a BA in International Relations and Spanish from Syracuse University and a law degree from American University Washington College of Law.

Miriam Estrin is Senior Policy Manager at Google, working globally on intermediary liability and content regulation. She previously worked at the U.S. Department of State as Policy Director in the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS, as a policy advisor in the Office of the Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations, and at the Brookings Institution in Foreign Policy Studies.

Ms Estrin has degrees from The University of Texas at Austin and Yale Law School.

Natalie Campbell is Senior Director, North American Government and Regulatory Affairs for the Internet Society. She is passionate about analyzing how government and business actions could impact the Internet and drives advocacy efforts to grow, protect, and defend an Internet for everyone. Some of her recent work includes working with Indigenous Connectivity Summit advocates to promote an enabling environment for community-led solutions for fast, affordable and reliable Internet across North America.

Notachard Chintakanond is the Executive Director of the International Affairs Bureau at Office of The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission of Thailand (Office of the NBTC).

Mr Chintakanond is in charge of all international – related matters for Office of the NBTC. He has extensively in close cooperation with many international forums such as ITU, APT, APEC, ASEAN, WTO, ATRC as well other international collaborations. He has contributed greatly for Office of the NBTC’s work through his responsibilities covering all liberalizations and negotiations under various regional trading arrangements such as cooperation under ASEAN Telecom Regulators Council (ATRC); Spectrum coordination; Collaboration on regulatory issues with overseas regulators as well as Bilateral cooperation with other international regulatory bodies. He has also been main negotiator for Telecommunications issues under various FTA negotiations including the recently concluded RCEP 2020.

Mr Chintakanond joined the Office of the NBTC in 2009 as a Senior Analyst, Director of Policy and Planning Division, Senior Expert in Policy and Planning and Executive Director of International Affairs Bureau, respectively.

Previously, he has been Trade Negotiator at the Department of Trade Negotiations (DTN) where he was the US Desk Officer responsible, in particular, for all trade related matters and trade negotiations with the US. Later on, he worked as Foreign Relations Supervisor at the Office of SMEs Promotion (OSMEP) where his capability covered a wide range of issues including Internationalization, Innovation, Informal Sector, Intellectual Property, and Capacity Building.

Mr Chintakanond holds a Master Degree in International Political Economy from the University of Warwick, England and Bachelor Degree in Business Administration (Marketing) from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. Furthermore, He has completed The Civil Service Executive Development Program: Visionary and Moral Leadership.

Isaac Alcalá is a Mexican qualified lawyer specialized on Competition Law issues. He began his work in the Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE) in 2014. In October 2021 he was appointed by COFECE Board as Head of the Digital Markets General Directorate, where he was Executive Director since August 2020. Prior to this position, he collaborated as Executive Director at the Investigative Authority and as Director on the Legal Affairs General Directorate, where he participated in high-profile investigations and procedures for COFECE.

Before COFECE, Mr Alcalá participated in important local law firms and companies from the food industry and the energy sector, focused on Constitutional Administrative Law and Intellectual Property.

Mr Alcalá, a qualified lawyer from Universidad Panamericana, holds an LLM in Competition Law by King’s College London and he is currently lecturer in the Competition Law course at Universidad Anahuac Mexico.

Peter S Grant is an Adjunct Professor at York University, Toronto. In 2020, he retired as Senior Counsel at McCarthy Tétrault LLP, one of Canada’s largest law firms. For many years he was the head of its Communications Group. Mr Grant pioneered the field of communications law in Canada, and for over 50 years his practice was substantially devoted to this field, including broadcasting and cable television licensing, satellite services, copyright negotiations, cultural industries, and telecommunications regulation. Mr Grant is the author or co-author of numerous articles, books and publications, including Blockbusters and Trade Wars: Popular Culture in a Globalized World (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2004), Canadian Broadcasting Regulatory Handbook, now in its 14th edition, and Communications Law and the Courts in Canada, now in its third edition. Mr Grant was one of six experts on the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel, which published its report, Canada’s Communications Future: Time to Act, in January 2020.

Philip Marnick is the General Director of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). He was appointed early January 2022 by the Members of the Board, to assume the position, paving the way for a more effective regulatory framework by continuing the evolution of the telecom sector liberalization.

Mr Marnick leads the TRA, including the development of consumer protection initiatives and resolving disputes. The TRA develops regulatory rules that promote competition, innovation, and investment in broadband services and facilities, as well as developing a more comprehensive and competitive framework that aligns with international best practices. Ensuring that Bahrain remains a center of innovation and that its telecommunications sector serves everyone while supporting Bahrain’s strategic objectives.

Before assuming his role at the TRA, Mr Marnick managed and directed at Ofcom in the UK, where he was the Group Director of Spectrum responsible for all aspects of UK national and international spectrum management – from strategy to delivery including awards, clearance and enforcement. Mr Marnick has worked in the telecommunications sector for over 30 years. He has served as a senior executive in technology, operations, and strategy. Mr Marnick has worked in both start-ups (from inception to sale) and major corporations, in firms such as UK Broadband, O2, Orange, BT, J-Phone in Japan (now Softbank Mobile), Extreme Mobile, and SpinVox (now Nuance).

From analogue to 5G, he has engaged across every mobile generation. Throughout his carrier he has been at the forefront of industry developments – in both fixed and mobile. He has collaborated on the first deployments of mobile networks utilizing new technologies and standards, this has also included innovative products such as the first camera phone and photo messaging service, as well as mobile internet and hosted voice services.

Bio coming soon ….

Ramiro Camacho Castillo was appointed Commissioner of the Federal Telecommunications Institute of Mexico (IFT) in March of 2019 for a period of nine years.

Commissioner Camacho has worked as an economist at the competition and telecommunications authorities of Mexico for the past twelve years. He was General Director of Economic Consulting at IFT and Deputy General Director of Economic Studies at the Competition Commission (COFECE). Previously, he was an Associated Professor at the University of Guadalajara for eleven years.

Commissioner Camacho holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from the University of Guadalajara, and three master’s degrees: In Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; in Operations Research from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM); and in Energy Economics from Scuola Superiore Enrico Mattei in Italy.

Sashieka Seneviratne is Ericsson North America’s Director of Sustainability for Network Product Solutions based in Plano, Texas. Sashieka is responsible for driving sustainability initiatives across the organization, advising leadership and leveraging key stakeholder insights to identify opportunities where new sustainable network solutions for customers can be introduced.

Prior to her current role, she served as a Network Solutions Director at Ericsson Canada, where she brought together customer insight, business acumen and technology to create compelling strategic insights and network solutions for customers. She comes from a Research and Development (R&D) background with experience primarily in Radio Access Network (RAN) Hardware Development. She has 16 years of industry experience where she started her career at Nortel and then joined Ericsson in 2009. She has held several technical leadership roles, lead teams in product development and has additionally contributed to innovation through patents. She has served in the Advisory Board to the Head of R&D at Ericsson and currently serves on the Ericsson North America Sustainability Council working in areas of Climate Action, Digital Inclusion and Responsible Business.

As Executive Director of Broadcasting, Scott Shortliffe works with a diverse and talented group to provide Canadians with a wide range of Canadian programming that displays Canadian talent and serves the interests of Canadians across the country. This includes analyzing emerging trends in broadcasting, providing solutions to Canadian broadcasters and distributors, and working with all part of the Commission.

Mr Shortliffe joined the CRTC in 2017 as Chief Consumer Officer. In this role, he served as a focal point in ensuring that the interests and concerns of consumers are considered in the Commission’s decision making.

Before joining the Commission, Mr Shortliffe spent 23 years at the Department of Canadian Heritage, including as Deputy Director General of Broadcasting and Digital Communications. As an executive, his duties included creating the Canada Periodical Fund and managing $75 million in grants and contributions, dealing with complex and sensitive ownership and control issues, advising senior officials and Ministers on issues related to CBC/Radio-Canada policy issues, the Canada Media Fund, and petitions to Cabinet of CRTC broadcasting licence decisions. From 2011 to 2017, Mr Shortliffe was an observer on the Board of Women in Communications and Technology Canada (WCT) and the Canadian Heritage champion for the Jeanne Sauvé Professional Development Program.

Mr Shortliffe has a Bachelors of History, Carleton University.

Sean Kennedy is a Partner at DT Economics LLP, based in the UK. He is a telecommunications regulatory specialist with more than 22 years of wide-ranging international commercial and regulatory experience in public and private sectors. Mr Kennedy has specialist skills in network economics, cost modelling, telecoms strategy development, interconnection agreement negotiations and the economic impact of regulatory interventions in digital markets. His clients include leading telecoms multinationals such as Vodafone, BT and Etisalat and regulators such as Ofcom (UK), ICASA (South Africa), NCC (Nigeria) and CRA (Qatar). Mr Kennedy is a IIC Board member and Treasurer.

Mr Kennedy is Chair of IIC Finance and Governance Committee.

Selina Chadha has worked at Ofcom for over 20 years. She currently leads Ofcom’s work on digital markets. Her areas of responsibility include Ofcom’s digital markets strategy, net neutrality and content gateways. Prior to her current role, she has led both telecoms and broadcasting competition and consumer protection work, including work on ensuring the availability of universal services and extending mobile coverage.

Steve Reeder joined TikTok in May 2021, and leads on global antitrust and competition law matters, as well as other regulatory aspects of M&A. He manages all the company’s competition-related advice and regulatory engagement. This includes responding to government inquiries, advising on product, and managing competition and foreign investment filings. Prior to joining TikTok, Mr Reeder spent over six years working for the software company Oracle as the sole US-based attorney in their Antitrust group, contributing to competition responses across six continents. Mr Reeder began his career in the Antitrust department of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.

Steven was appointed Chief Compliance and Enforcement Officer (CCEO) at the CRTC in November 2016. He is responsible for the enforcement of the Unsolicited Telecommunication Rules, Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation, and the Voter Contact Registry.

As the CCEO, Steven Harroun’s leadership approach is to promote compliance with the applicable legislation and regulations through education and outreach and, when necessary, encourage and enforce compliance through both traditional and innovative approaches.

Mr Harroun joined Canada’s converged communications regulator in 2002 and has developed his expertise in both broadcasting and telecommunications through various positions of increasing responsibility. As Director General, Strategic Policy from 2012-2016, Mr Harroun led the development and implementation of key Commission policies, including the Wireless Code of Conduct, Video Relay Service, and Broadband Performance Measurement, through his leadership of the Social and Consumer Policy, Network Technology and Strategic Policy and International Affairs teams.

Mr Harroun began his federal public service career in 1999 with the Canada Revenue Agency, following several years in the private sector.

Mr Harroun has a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree (accounting and management double major), Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Stéphanie Duquette has worked in the cultural and media industries for the past 25 years. She is a seasoned executive with a great depth of knowledge and expertise in privacy, data management, governance, and intellectual property. As part of senior Management, she has been involved in the transformation of the organizations she has worked for, combining her business and legal skills to ensure their sustainability. In her current role, as CBC/Radio-Canada’s Chief Privacy Officer, she has developed the public broadcaster’s national privacy program, grounding her actions in respect and transparency. The program covers a wide spectrum of business activities ranging from innovative digital products to strategic human resources initiatives.

Thomas Spiller was named Vice President, Global Public Policy, Europe, Middle East & Africa of The Walt Disney Company in September 2011. Mr Spiller serves as head of the Brussels EU office for the company and drives the company’s global public policy initiatives throughout the region.

Previously, Mr Spiller was Vice President, Global Public Policy for SAS, the leader in business analytics software and services, a company he joined in 2007. Before working at SAS, Mr Spiller was Counsel, Transport & Energy, Europe, Middle East, Africa at General Electric. He joined GE in 2003 after over seven years working in the nuclear industry as International Affairs Manager for Orano, the global nuclear services company. Mr Spiller joined Areva from the Office of the French Prime Minister where he was a Policy Officer for two years.

Mr Spiller graduated from La Sorbonne University in Paris with degrees in Law, Political Science, Defense, and International Relations.

Tim Ringsdore has over 15 years extensive experience as a Managing Director within the telecoms industry, working at Board level across the Channel Islands, London and the Caribbean.

Mr Ringsdore was Managing Director of Jersey Telecom and was pivotal in setting up Wave Telecom in Guernsey. He had responsibility for consumers and corporate clients across both Islands. Mr Ringsdore was also instrumental in developing JT’s global business with the acquisition of Worldstone in 2012.

Mr Ringsdore moved back to the Channel Islands to join the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority (JCRA) after leading Cable & Wireless as Managing Director based in the British Virgin Islands. He had jurisdictional and overall financial responsibility for the Cable & Wireless business in the BVI and was responsible for developing relationships with government, the industry regulator and corporate clients. During this time, he successfully restructured and rebranded the business to help improve credibility and the customer experience.

As CEO for the JCRA, Mr Ringsdore is focussing on delivering strong results which will support the economic strategic objectives for the Island and its citizens. He will help ensure that Jersey receives the best value, choice and access to high quality services in addition to promoting competition and consumers’ interests.

Dr Tobias Schmid is Director of the Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia. He is also elected as the European Affairs Commissioner of the Conference of Directors of the German Media Authorities (DLM).

Dr Schmid is also Chairman of the Federal Media Committee of the German Music Council. Since 1st April 2021, he is also a Member of the Expert Committee for Communication and Information of the German UNESCO-Commission.

Dr Schmid holds a doctorate in law.

Vivek Krishnamurthy is the Samuelson-Glushko Professor of Law and Director of the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC).

Prof. Krishnamurthy’s teaching, scholarship, and clinical legal practice focus on the complex regulatory and human rights-related challenges that arise in cyberspace. He advises governments, activists, and companies on the human rights impacts of new technologies and is a frequent public commentator on emerging technology and public policy issues. Along with his former colleagues at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center, Prof. Krishnamurthy is the author of a landmark study for Global Affairs Canada that evaluates the risks and opportunities for human rights that artificially intelligent systems present.

Prof. Krishnamurthy was previously the Assistant Director of Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic and Counsel in the Corporate Social Responsibility Practice at Foley Hoag LLP. He is a Rhodes Scholar and clerked for the Hon. Morris J. Fish of the Supreme Court of Canada upon his graduation from Yale Law School. Vivek is currently a Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, an Affiliate of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and a Senior Associate of the Human Rights Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

Prof. Krishnamurthy has a Hon B.A., Economics and Political Science, University of Toronto, 2002, M.Phil, International Relations, University of Oxford, 2004 and a J.D., Yale Law School, 2008.