Annual Conference 2023

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.

Ali-Abbas Ali leads Ofcom’s work on Media Plurality and Competition. Over the last ten years he has worked across Ofcom’s competition portfolio, including Post, Telecoms as well as the Media sector. Prior to joining Ofcom he held senior finance posts at BT Group. His career also spans the motor industry, consulting and private equity.

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.

André Gomes works at Cullen International leading the digital economy service in the Americas. He has extensive experience in telecoms, media and digital economy regulation, including in Brazil, Korea and the US. Prior to his collaboration with Cullen, Mr Gomes coordinated policies to increase broadband coverage at the Ministry of Communications in Brazil.

Mr Gomes is a lawyer and holds a master’s degree in Public Policy from the University College London.

Video Games Europe is the European Federation representing the video game industry in Europe. Ann Becker heads up the EU Policy and Public Affairs activities. Prior to joining Video Games Europe in October 2017, Ms Becker worked as Senior Adviser to the European Publishers Council; at Hill + Knowlton Strategies in Brussels. as Director of the IP, Media, Entertainment & Sports practice. Earlier in her career, Ann represented the French media group Lagardère SCA towards the European Institutions.

Ms Becker holds an MA from King’s College, University of London, in UK, EU & US Copyright Law and an MA from the University of Paris in Regional Economic Development and international Cooperation.

Aynon Doyle is Head of Policy Analysis and Research, in the Regulatory Affairs department at MultiChoice South Africa and has been with the group since May 2006. He has provided regulatory support in due diligence processes in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and South America, as part of the MIH Group. Mr Doyle’s main focus area currently is providing input and expert advice to government policy development processes and the Digital Broadcasting Switchover. In South Africa, he was the chairperson for the Policy Working Committee of the Digital Broadcasting Migration Working Group, established by the Minister of Communications to make recommendations on a digital broadcasting switchover strategy. Mr Doyle currently chairs the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) Commercial Rules of Operation Joint Committee established by the national terrestrial broadcasters (SABC, etv, and M-Net) to draft a South African operations manual for the commercial roll-out of DTT in South Africa and is a member of the sector regulators’ Joint Spectrum Advisory Group (JSAG).

Mr Doyle’s career has spanned a wide spectrum of industries with a specific focus on policy development and analysis since 1994. In that period he has worked for the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) where he was responsible for overseeing the development of policy and regulations for the broadcasting sector in South Africa. He also worked for the South African National Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) where he engaged in the areas of intellectual property, consumer protection, competition and the development of national standards; the Consumer Institute South Africa (CISA) as a researcher in the area of consumer protection policy; and the University of Port Elizabeth where he was a lecturer in the Political Studies department.

Mr Doyle completed his graduate and postgraduate studies at the University of Port Elizabeth (now known as the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University). He currently holds a Masters degree (MA) in Political Studies and is a member of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR).

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.

Christian is a manager at Frontiers Economics. He has been working as an economist on regulatory and competition issues for more than 20 years focusing mostly on the telecommunication, postal sectors and digital markets.  He has worked on the intersection between regulation, technological development and consumer needs and outcomes.  Most recently, this included questions relating to sustainability, environmental, social and economic. He has looked at sustainability of telecommunication networks in light of climate change and the impact on sustainability from digital business models.  In relation to postal markets, he has assessed the environmental impact from changes to the postal USO and the use of robotic last mile delivery.

Christiane Gillespie-Jones is the Director Program Management, and Deputy CEO at Communications Alliance, Australia’s primary industry association for the communication sector. In this role, Ms Gillespie-Jones advocates on behalf of business, giving industry a voice in the development of government policy and regulation. She also leads the organisation’s development of industry codes and standards.

Ms Gillespie-Jones prior roles include Executive Director of Communications Compliance and Senior Manager, Policy and Regulation, at Communications Alliance. Before relocating to Australia, she managed interconnection and regulation issues at mobile and fixed-line operators in Germany and the UK.

Since April 2016 Christof Sommerberg is responsible for Public Affairs at Deutsche Glasfaser Holding, a German FTTH player. Deutsche Glasfaser plans, builds and operates open-access fiber networks for private households, businesses and public institutions.

From 2000 onwards, he was Head of Regulatory Affairs at QSC AG, a German business services and IT service provider. Mr Sommerber started his career in telecoms with Talkline GmbH, a German long distance and mobile service provider in 1997.

Mr Sommerber holds Economics Degrees from the University of Cologne and the University of Wyoming.

Bio coming soon …..

Creina Chapman has held a number of senior executive and strategic adviser roles at commercial media companies; Southern Cross Austereo, News Corp, Publishing & Broadcasting Limited and the Nine Network. Her experience in the media and communications sector is gained from organisations spanning television, radio, print, mobile services, podcasting and online services which serve metropolitan, regional and remote Australian markets. She has also been a senior policy adviser to Federal members of Parliament including; Senator Richard Alston, Minister for Communications and the Arts and Treasurer Joe Hockey MP.

Ms Chapman has been appointed Deputy Chair and CEO at the ACMA for five years from 11 June 2018 until 10 June 2023.

Darko Ratkaj is a senior project manager at the EBU’s Technology & Innovation department where he works in the field of communications technologies. He facilitates technical collaboration amongst EBU Member organisations and with external stakeholders, including the industry, academia, standards developing organisations, regulators, and policy makers.

His work involves radio spectrum management, R&D projects, technical standardisation and regulation with the aim to enable the use of wireless technologies, such as 5G, in production and distribution of public service media content and services.

Mr Ratkaj is a member of the EBU’s spectrum team that contributes to CEPT and ITU preparations for the WRC-23. He chaired a working group in the ITU-R Task Group 6/1 which carried out the studies required under the WRC-23 Agenda Item 1.5 (review of the UHF band).

Before joining EBU in 2008 Mr Ratkaj held an expert position at the European Communications Office (ECO) of CEPT.

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.

Dragoș Tudorache is a Member of the European Parliament and Vice-President of the Renew Europe Group. He is the LIBE rapporteur on the AI Act, and he sits on the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), the Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (PEGA), the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE), and the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with the United States (D-US). He was the Chair of the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in the Digital Age (AIDA).

Mr Tudorache began his career in 1997 as a judge in Romania. Between 2000 and 2005, he built and led the legal departments at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the UN missions in Kosovo. After working on justice and anticorruption at the European Commission Representation in Romania, supporting the country’s EU accession, he joined the Commission as an official and, subsequently, qualified for leadership roles in EU institutions, managing a number of units and strategic projects such as the Schengen Information System, Visa Information System, and the establishment of eu-LISA1.

During the European migration crisis, Mr Tudorache was entrusted with leading the coordination and strategy Unit in DG-Home, the European Commission Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, until he joined the Romanian Government led by Dacian Cioloș. Between 2015 and 2017, he served as Head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, Minister of Communications and for the Digital Society, and Minister of Interior. He was elected to the
European Parliament in 2019. His current interests in the European Parliament include security and defence, artificial intelligence and new technologies, transatlantic issues, the Republic of Moldova, and internal affairs.

Bio coming soon …..

Bio coming soon ….

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.’

Gonzalo de Dios serves as Head of Global Licensing for Project Kuiper, Amazon’s initiative to increase global broadband access through a constellation of satellites in low earth orbit (LEO). The Kuiper System will deliver high-speed, low-latency broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved communities around the world.

Mr de Dios has over 25 years’ experience in domestic and international regulatory, market access, licensing, compliance, spectrum management, government affairs, corporate/ transactional and business development matters. He has worked in-house with multinational corporations as well as with law firms, advising customers on both domestic and international telecommunications and regulatory matters.

Mr de Dios is a frequent speaker on international telecommunications regulatory topics, has served as a Board member of the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (“USTTI”), a non-profit organization that brings together industry and government to provide intensive tuition-free ICT training to participants from developing countries, and the Board of Directors of the US ITU Association (“USITUA”). He has also served as a member of the Advisory Board of the ITU-D’s Smart Sustainable Development Model (“SSDM”) Initiative and as a member of the U.S. Department of State’s Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy (“ACICIP”).

Mr de Dios is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center and of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and has completed other legal and business academic course work at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, the Boston University School of Management, and the Harvard University Law School.

Dr Guillaume Lebrun has been working on improving connectivity in Europe for more than 15 years, working for Orange, Qualcomm, Airbus and now Meta.  Dr Lebrun contributed to key international spectrum projects such the opening of the 6 GHz band to Wi-Fi 6E and the 3.6 GHz to 5G.

Dr Lebrun is a member of the Global Connectivity Policy team at Meta where he is working on improving connectivity to enable the Metaverse.

Mr Lebrun holds an Engineering degree from ENST, Paris, France and a PhD in telecommunications from Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.

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.

For the last 4 years, Jonny Bunt has been the Regulatory Affairs Director, Retail at BT, responsible for BT regulatory strategy in BT’s B2C and B2B divisions and implementation of regulatory change. He has led on issues including Consumer Fairness, Cross-platform switching and Net Neutrality. Prior to this, he was Pricing and Portfolio Director for BT Consumer the culmination of 6 years in commercial roles at BT. During this time Mr Bunt led on the implementation of significant regulatory change including BT’s response to Ofcom’s Standalone Fixed Voice Consultation and the Loyalty Penalty super-compliant. He also has significant professional and lay experience in the voluntary sector.

Jürgen Bering works at Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte (Society for Civil Rights, GFF), a Berlin based strategic litigation organization. Jürgen’s work is focused on digital rights, particularly surveillance, platforms, and algorithmic discrimination.

Prior to joining GFF, Jürgen worked as a lawyer at Dentons’ Berlin office, focusing on public law and antitrust law.

He studied law in Halle (Saale) and Bergen in Norway and holds master’s degrees in business law from the University of Halle and in international legal studies from New York University. Jürgen worked at a researcher at the University of Halle and the University of Potsdam.

Karel Douglas is the Executive Officer of Legal and Enforcement at the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago where he advises on legal matters related to telecommunications and broadcasting.

He is a qualified Attorney at law with over 25 years experience in public law and telecommunications law. He has a Law degree from the University of London,a legal practicing certificate from the University of the West Indies, Hugh Wooding Law School and a Masters in Telecommunications and Information Technology law from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland.

Mr Douglas has worked as Senior State Counsel at the Solicitor General’s Chambers in the Office of the Attorney General in Trinidad and Tobago. And worked as Head Legal and Corporate Secretary at National ICT Company of Trinidad and Tobago – a government owned entity in charge of Government’s enterprise wide ICT projects where he advised on legal matters related to a variety of ICT matters.

He currently represents Trinidad and Tobago in the Governmental Advisory Committee at Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) since 2017 where he also serves as a co-chair of the underserved regions working group.

Klaus Müller took office as President of the Bundesnetzagentur in Bonn in March 2022.

Prior to this he had been the executive director of the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V.) in Berlin. He held the same position at the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer organisation (Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen e. V.) in Düsseldorf from 2006 to 2014.  Mr Müller was a member of the regional parliament of Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel for one year, where he also served as minister of the environment, nature conservation and agriculture from 2003 to 2005 and minister of the environment, nature and forestry from 2000 to 2003. He was a member of the German Bundestag in Bonn/Berlin for two years from 1998, having begun his professional career at the Schleswig-Holstein investment bank (IB.SH) in Kiel in the same year following a degree in economics.

Klaus Müller is a member of the Heinrich Böll Foundation and a German Marshall Fund fellow.

Professor Konstantinos Masselos has been appointed as the President of the Hellenic Telecommunications & Post Commission (EETT) in February 2018 and his mandate has been renewed in February 2022.

Professor Masselos has been elected as Chair of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) for 2023 and also Vice-Chair for 2022 and 2024. Moreover, he served as Vice-Chair of BEREC in 2019.

He is a Professor in the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications of the University of Peloponnese where is also served as Rector during the period 2012-2017. From 2005 to 2008 he was a Lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London. Also during the period 2010-2016 he was an Honorary Lecturer in the same Department. From 2001-2004 he worked in the telecommunications industry.
Since 2005 he has been collaborating as an expert with various units of the European Commission. Also, he was member of the Scientific Committee of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) from 2015 to 2017.

Kristina Olausson is Senior Public Policy Manager at Liberty Global. She is responsible for monitoring and advocacy on issues affecting Liberty Global including infrastructure policy, data protection and sustainability. She is currently the Vice-Chair of the Digital Economy Committee in AMCHAM EU.
Prior to joining Liberty Global in 2019, she held positions in ETNO, the telecom association, and the European Parliament where she worked with a Swedish MEP.

Ms Olausson received her MA in European Governance from Utrecht University and Masaryk University and her BA from Lund University.

Bio coming soon ….

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’.

Mariam Sulaberidze – CEO of N(N)LE OPEN NET with 15 years of experience in telecommunications. In 2020, Mariam joined N(N)LE OPE NET – the company implementing the “Log in Georgia” project. The project ensures and facilitates digital transformation by building and operating FO infrastructure and taking steps to reduce digital inequality.
Before becoming OPEN NET’s CEO, Mariam worked in the ComCom (Regulatory Authority of broadcasting and electronic communications fields) as well as in private telecom operators. As head of the International Relations and Project Management Unit of ComCom, Mariam managed and successfully implemented several donor-funded projects (including the Log-In Georgia project framework preparation stage and negotiations with project stakeholders). Additionally, her primary duties were implementing international agreements and treaties and coordinating and cooperating with international partners. The primary motivation to move from ComCom to CEO of OPEN NET was a professional attitude toward the project and a personal belief that the successful execution of this “project of the future” would stimulate and facilitate country development.

Markham Cho Erickson leads Google’s Centers of Excellence—a global team of subject matter experts focused on the application of law and policy to technology and the Internet. The CoE is a hub for strategy and expertise on global government affairs and public policy issues affecting Google’s business today and in the future.

Prior to joining Google, Mr Erickson was an attorney in private practice in the United States, where he represented Internet, media, and telecommunications companies in regulatory complaints, investigations, rule-makings, legislative and policy matters, trial and appellate
advocacy, and merger investigations. In private practice, he represented Internet companies from the inception of the commercial Internet in the mid-1990s and was involved in crafting the global regulations that apply to Internet and technology companies.

Mr Erickson has been widely recognized as one of the nation’s top Internet and media lawyers. He served as co-chair to the annual Broadband and Cable Law Seminar at the Practicing Law Institute in New York City. He was ranked in Chambers USA in Telecom, Broadcast & Satellite –
District of Columbia; Super Lawyers in communications law; and The Legal 500, which described him as a “substantive legal expert with great connection and understanding of the regulatory process, as well as a command of the political, policy, and relations aspect of regulatory work.” In recognition of his authority in the field, Mr Erickson was appointed by the White House to represent the United States before the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development on Internet speech and regulatory matters.

Mr Erickson graduated from George Washington University Law School, with Honors, and Wheaton College, where he majored in English Literature.

Massimiliano Capitanio, a graduate of Modern Literature from the Catholic University of Milan, is a professional journalist and former Member of the Chamber of Deputies at the Italian Parliament. Since May 2022 he has held the position of Commissioner at Agcom, the Italian Communications Authority, within the Infrastructure and Networks Commission.

From 2018 to 2022, he served as Secretary of the Parliamentary Commission for the General Guidance and Supervision of Radio and Television Services.
Throughout his career, he has always been deeply involved in matters of digitization, innovation, copyright protection, and the battle against piracy. Furthermore, he has spearheaded numerous legislative initiatives, including the reintroduction of civics and digital education in schools.

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.

Bio coming soon …..

Mike Jensen is a South African ICT expert currently working as APC’s internet access specialist. Mr Jensen has assisted in the establishment of internet-based communication systems in more than 40 developing countries over the last 20 years, mainly in Africa. He provides advice to international development agencies, the private sector, NGOs and governments in the formulation, management and evaluation of their Internet and telecommunication projects, ranging from national ICT policy development to international fibre and rural wireless telecommunication feasibility studies.

Mr Jensen Coordinate’s APC’s ICT policy work on access, which includes research, advocacy, capacity building, networking and communications, at international, regional and national levels, as appropriate. The position also includes oversight and supervision of the CIPP staff working on access-related activities and projects.

Mr Jensen sent his first email 30 years ago while studying for his Master’s degree in rural planning and development in Canada. He subsequently returned to South Africa to work as a journalist on the leading national newspaper in Johannesburg, the Rand Daily Mail. When the paper closed in 1983, with little sign of improvement in the political situation in South Africa, he moved to Canada, and in 1987 he co-founded the country’s national internet service provider for NGOs, called, coincidentally, The Web. He returned to work on the development of the Internet in Africa in the early 1990s. Mr Jensen’s clients have included the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Internet Society, the UK Department for International Development, the UN World Food Programme, UNESCO, the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. A member of the African Conference of Ministers’ High Level Working Group, which developed the African Information Society Initiative (AISI) in 1996, Mr Jensen’s more recent projects include strategic advice on cross-border fibre provision in Africa, and a study of the benefits of promoting infrastructure sharing for lowering the cost of access.

Miruna Herovanu is a trained lawyer and actor with a passion for EU Copyright legislation, Media law and digital policies. She has a vast experience in public affairs, having worked with European press publishers and commercial broadcasters in Brussels.  Ms Herovanu also has institutional experience in the European Parliament as an advisor and as a legal advisor to the President of the Romanian Senate.

Ms Herovanu has a Masters and bachelor in European Law from the University of Bucharest.

Nicole Darabian started her career in international development focusing on the socio-economic impact of mobile technologies and has pivoted to the regulatory sector where she works at Ofcom, the UK’s independent communications regulator, specialising in international cyber and tech policy.

Ms Darabian has a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University and an MSc in Media Governance from the London School of Economics.

Nina Cummins is an EU antitrust and telecoms regulatory lawyer, with over 20 yrs’ multi-jurisdictional legal experience. She graduated from the University of Nottingham, England and Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) Germany, where she specialized in EU law. She has a Masters of Law degree in EU antitrust from RUB. She is admitted as a lawyer in England & Wales, Republic of Ireland, N. Ireland and Germany. She was a partner in international law firm Osborne Clarke, leading UK & EU telecoms regulatory issues. And also worked as senior legal and policy adviser at the Telecoms Regulatory Authority in Bahrain, dealing with complex strategic projects, legal separation of the incumbent fixed telecoms provider, as well as proposals to revise the prevailing communications sector regulatory framework.

Ms Cummins re-joined Facebook (now Meta) in Oct 2019  where she is a Policy Director and Head of Connectivity Strategy (Global),  covering a broad range of regulatory issues regarding OTT regulation and regulation of emerging technology, net neutrality rules, infrastructure and subsea cable projects, spectrum frameworks and accessibility.

Olaf Steenfadt is the Founder and Managing Director of Global Media Registry (GMR), a charitable social enterprise that promotes transparency, accountability and pluralism in the information space. With his background in news reporting and investigative journalism, he is a speaker, lecturer,
entrepreneur and globally visible expert on digital media policy and ethics. Two of his signature projects include the “Media Ownership Monitor” and the “Journalism Trust Initiative” which he developed and implemented on behalf of the press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders.

Mr Steenfadt previously worked for national German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF in various roles.

He is a member of the “High-level Expert Group on Fake News and Online Disinformation” of the European Commission and of the “Committee of Experts on Quality of Journalism in the Digital Age” and the “Committee of Experts on Media Environment and Reform” at the Council of Europe.

Patrick Grady leads the tech practice at Fourtold, a Brussels-based consultancy, and runs Metaverse EU, a website that analyses metaverse policy and business in the EU. He also works with the World Economic Forum on Metaverse Governance.

Co-Chair of the GIDE and a distinguished fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. He was a former CEO of ICANN,
and CEO of the Australian Government’s National Office for the Information Economy.

He holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Pauline Kuipers is a partner at Bird & Bird LLP since 2003. She leads Bird & Bird’s International Competition and EU Law Group and has wide-ranging expertise in EU & competition law, particularly in regulated sectors like the telecoms industry. Starting from her expertise relating (perceived) competition law issues in sustainability cooperation initiatives and EU regulatory expertise, Ms Kuipers has broadened her practice to advising clients on ESG regulatory developments.

Peter Alexiadis is a Visiting Scholar at the Catholic University of Lille and a Visiting Professor at King’s College in London, while also being a Visiting Scholar at the KEDGE Business School of Paris as from Academic Year 2025-2026. Until his retirement from legal practice in Brussels 2021, Peter was a leading practitioner for over three decades in the fields of competition law, regulatory policy and intellectual property law, as confirmed by all peer reviews. His particular focus is on the intersection of those disciplines in network sectors, and especially in the world of digital communications.

Peter has acted as external legal expert to various Directorates-General of the European Commission and National Regulatory Authorities all around the world. He plays an active role in the teaching and training of officials outside the EU that administer competition law and regulatory policy in their home jurisdictions, particularly through various EU and OECD-sponsored programmes, and is a Research Fellow in the Center on Regulation in Europe (CERRE).

He is currently the Chief Editor of the International Bar Association’s IBL publication and the EU Affairs Editor of the Utilities Law Review. Peter is a prolific writer and speaker in his areas of expertise, with his counsel often sought by government decision-makers. He has postgraduate legal qualifications from the London School of Economics, the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki and the University of Sydney.

Assistant Professor Prapanpong Khumon (PhD) is Dean of School of Law, University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Thailand. He is the President of Academy of Public Enterprise Policy, Business and Regulation (APaR). He also acts as an Expert Committee in the Personal Data Protection Committee of Thailand (PDPC).

Professor Khumon leads a number of research projects for the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission of Thailand (NBTC) including a comparative study about media regulation in ASEAN, a comparative study of media regulation of the EU and ASEAN, and a study on regulation of the pay TV sector, child online literacy, market access and communications satellite services liberalisation, and ASEAN cross-border personal data protection. He also heads a research project for the Thai Council of State on Digital Economy regulations for Thailand.

Professor Khumon has published a number of scholarly articles on cross-border data protection and trade in services in a number of academic journals, including the law and development review and Asian Journal of WTO and International Health Law and Policy.

Sascha Devigne is editor-in-chief of STUDIO 47 in Duisburg, one of the largest private regional television stations in Germany. After studying English and German at Gerhard Mercator University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania, he worked as a freelance journalist for print and radio media. Devigne is an alumni of the London School of Journalism and the Academy for Journalism in Hamburg.

Mr Devigne worked for the editorial office of Rheinische Post in Düsseldorf and completed an editorial traineeship at Deutscher Ärzte Verlag in Cologne. He later worked here as editor for management and health policy. Mr Devigne is juror for the Citizens’ Media Award by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and curates the Online Academy for Local TV Journalism.

He is a member of the Media Specialist Advisory Board NRW and the Communications Advisory Board of the IST University of Management. In 2013 he was awarded the German Regional Television Prize.

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).

Shiva Goel was previously a partner in the telecom, appellate, and litigation practices of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP, where he advised on wireless, space policy, and universal service issues. Prior to joining HWG, Mr Goel clerked for the Honorable Maryanne T. Barry on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the Honorable Louis L. Stanton on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He has been recognized as a leading communications lawyer by several legal peer-review publications and is a member of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court, the nation’s preeminent association of appellate lawyers. He received his law degree Order of the Coif from the University of Virginia School of Law and a BA from Cornell University.

Tebogo Mmoshe is the Director, Licensing at Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA), the position she assumed in 2021. Her main role is to facilitate the licensing of all sectors regulated by BOCRA being Postal, Broadcasting, Internet and ICT.

Ms Moshe’s experience spans 12 years in communications regulation as a member of BOCRA family. She has 18 years of experience in the Accounting and Auditing in various sectors of Botswana.

Ms Moshe was admitted as a Chartered Accountant in 2006 and was awarded an MBA by University of Derby in 2013. She is a Fellow Member of the Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA). At National level, she was appointed as one of the founding Board Members of Botswana Geoscience Institute since 2016.

Teresa Ribeiro, of Portugal, is the fifth OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. She has vast political, diplomatic, human rights and media experience.

Prior to this position, Ms Ribeiro was Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, while serving as President of the National Commission for Human Rights.

She was also Secretary of State for European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal and Deputy Secretary General at the Union for the Mediterranean, positions that gave her extensive experience in dealing with the EU institutions and Member States, as well as with its close neighborhood.

Throughout her career, Ms Ribeiro has held different positions in media, both in Portugal and in multilateral organizations, such as President of the Institute of the Media of Portugal, Chairperson of the Steering Committee on Mass Media of the Council of Europe, as well as co-founder and first elected President of the Executive Board of Obercom – Media Observatory.

She holds a degree in Philosophy from the University of Lisbon.

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.

Ulrich Rehfuess, Head of Spectrum Policy, Nokia Ulrich holds a diploma degree in Electrical Engineering of Technical University of Munich, Germany and one in Industrial Engineering of Fernuniversität Hagen, Germany. Of his 25 years of professional experience in Siemens, Nokia Siemens Networks and Nokia, he spent 20 years in R&D, business strategy, system architecture and product management of mobile radio network systems covering GSM,
EDGE, UMTS with HSPA, Flash OFDM, WiMAX, LTE and LTE Advanced. In 2011, he assumed responsibility for spectrum policy within Nokia, now organised within the CTO and Nokia Bell Labs team. Ulrich is vice chair of the BITKOM Spectrum working group in Germany and chairs the DIGITALEUROPE spectrum working group in Brussels.

As Director Public Policy, Wolfgang Percy Ott has been leading Cisco’s government relations in Germany since 2012.

From 2001, Mr Ott worked as an online campaigner and, after the 2002 general elections, as an adviser and analyst in the political department of the CDU party headquarters. He managed party committees and commissions of the CDU party executive on education, cities and various other issues.

Before joining Cisco, Mr Ott worked at the German Bundestag from 2009 to 2012. As senior adviser on digital policy to the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, he co-ordinated the group’s members and external experts for the 1st Enquiry Commission on “Internet and Digital Society” of the 17th German Bundestag.

From 2015 to 2022 Mr Ott chaired the working groups “Smart Cities & Smart Regions” and “Smart Education Networks” of the German government’s Digital Summit.

Mr Ott holds an MA in history from Tübingen University.