Annual Conference 2024

Bio coming soon …..

Agung Yudha is a seasoned public policy, public affairs, and government relations practitioner with more than two decades of experience working for CSOs, international organizations, and private companies.

He started his career in 1998 as Contributing Author for the Community Mapping Network, then joined the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy in 1999 until 2009, when he was recruited by Search for Common Ground to manage its Partners in Humanity program as well as Managing Editor of CGNews South East Asia. During the first decade of his career he also served as an individual consultant for justice, security sector, and bureaucracy reforms in the country. In 2010 he started working for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), to lead some initiatives for its Provincial Governance Strengthening Project in Indonesia.

In 2014, Mr Yudha transitioned to the private sector by joining Google Public Policy team, then joined Twitter in 2015. He was the Director for Public Policy and Philanthropy for Indonesia and Malaysia at Twitter since 2020, while concomitantly serving as Chief Representative for the Twitter Asia Pacific Pte Ltd office in Jakarta since 2017.

Mr Yudha entered the consulting business in 2021 with the Asia Group Advisors as the Indonesia Director and Country Representative. His latest post was as President of Edelman Global Advisory Indonesia from 2022 where he has produced dozens of thought leadership articles on regulatory and policy updates, navigating the business landscape in Indonesia and ASEAN, as well as published the 2023 Indonesia Economic Outlook.

Mr Yudha holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta and master’s degree in international laws from the University of Hong Kong, and received diplomat training at the Clingendael Institute of International Relations in the Hague, Netherlands.

Bio coming soon …

Andrea Gita Millwood Hargrave is an independent consultant in the field of regulation across the communications ecosystem, with particular emphasis on emerging trends in technologies and consumer behaviour.

An Associate of the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy, University of Oxford, and a Member of the Working Group on Information Access (part of UNESCO’s IFAP Programme), Andrea stepped down as the IIC’s Director General in 2020, having run its regulatory programme for over twenty years. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Andrea served as a regulator for content delivery organisations in the UK for many years and has published widely on communications policy in an international context, having acted as an Expert for both the European Union and the Council of Europe.

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.

Dr Annegret Groebel is Director International Relations/Postal Regulation at the German mul-tisector economic regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), regulating the following network industries: electricity, gas, telecommunications, postal markets and railways.

Dr Groebel is also President of the Council of European Energy Regu-lators (CEER), a non-profit association representing 39 independent energy regulators.

Dr Groebel has worked for BNetzA since 1998. She has been CEER President since January 2019 and was a Vice-President of CEER as of 2012. She was appointed Vice-Chair of the International Confed-eration of Energy Regulators (ICER) in June 2020 which was con-firmed for a second term in August 2023. She has also chaired the CEER Market Integrity and Transparency (MIT) Working Group since 2013. She is a member of the Board of Regulators of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER). She has excellent knowledge of the European regulatory framework for electronic communications as well as the regulatory framework for the internal energy market and is actively involved in the work of the Body of Eu-ropean Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). Since 2020 she has been Chair of the BEREC Office Advisory Group (BAG) and has been Co-Chair of the Remedies WG for many years. She is actively involved in the work of the European Regulators Group for Postal Services (ERGP) and IRG Rail. She is also a member of the OECD’s Network of Economic Regulators (NER) and its Bureau, a working group of the OECD looking at cross-sectoral governance issues of economic regulators. She has experience in advising public authorities on regulatory reform and sector specific regulation in nu-merous projects.

Apart from her professional duties, she has also been lecturing for a considerable time on various subjects in the fields of economics, fi-nance, social policy, trade policy and European Integration, as well as on the regulatory framework in the German and European tele-communications and energy markets at a variety of universities and vocational training academies in Germany, the FSR in Italy, and Switzerland. Dr Groebel is the author of various publications in the field of telecommunications and energy regulation.

Dr Groebel has a doctoral degree in Economics from the University of Mannheim, a M.A. (Master of European Administrative Management) from FH Bund (Bruehl) and a Diploma in Economics from the Univer-sity of Heidelberg.

Camilla Bustani is Director, international at Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, where she oversees Ofcom’s programme of international engagement and activities in Europe and beyond. She has been actively engaged in the work of European and regional regulatory networks (including BEREC, ERGA and EPRA), and was involved in several EU legislative negotiations in the sectors Ofcom regulates. Ms Bustani has participated in a number of regulatory debates in communications sectors over the last 15 years, most recently around online regulation and the interaction between the different regulatory regimes that might be implicated. She has written on regulatory reform in developing countries and on the impact of institutional design on forms of regulatory cooperation.

Prior to joining Ofcom in 2006, Ms Bustani worked as a lawyer at Clifford Chance LLP in London for 8 years.

She obtained her bachelors’ degree from Harvard University, a masters’ degree from SIPA at Columbia University, and a law degree from Oxford University.

As Chief Policy Officer, Clare Bloomfield represents the combined positions of AVIA’s members and engages in constructive policy-related dialogues with governments so they may better understand the curated video industry and foster an environment of support for the growth of the industry. Ms Bloomfield will also look to develop and execute policy initiatives and research relevant to the video industry, in consultation with, and on behalf of, AVIA member companies. Ms Bloomfield joined AVIA in September 2017 having previously worked as a UK diplomat. Her previous postings as a diplomat include the British Consulate-General, Hong Kong, Washington DC, Slovakia, Ghana and Pakistan.

Claudia Ximena Bustamante has a solid career in public policy with significant experience in the telecommunications and technology sectors, spanning over two decades. She currently serves as the Communications Commissioner for the regulatory agency of Colombia, CRC, for the period 2024-2028, devising and executing strategies to foster ICT competition dynamics in the country and to protect user´s rights.

As a Commissioner, she oversees CRC’s development of new regulatory measures, market analysis, impact assessments, infrastructure sharing, and the promotion of innovation tools such as regulatory sandboxes, crowdsourcing, and regtech, among other subjects.

She has also held multiple positions and responsibilities at CRC, including Head of Innovation and Prospective, Head of Government Affairs, and Head of Research and Development. In these roles, she was responsible for prospective studies, the implementation of regulatory measures, knowledge management, and innovation. She established alliances with academic institutions to improve regulation awareness and develop research in technical and regulatory topics. Additionally, she represented CRC in national and international Internet governance spaces such as ICANN, IGF, and ITU. She also negotiated international agreements, in collaboration with Colombia’s Trade and Industry Ministry, for ICT chapter in the Pacific Alliance trade agreement and the bilateral agreement with Japan.

She has been a lecturer at Universidad Externado de Colombia in master’s level programs, covering subjects such as public policy, ICT regulation, the digital economy ecosystem, innovation, sandboxes, interconnection, and market analysis.

Passionate about the roles of girls and women in the ICT sector, she is a Girls in STEM advocate, awarded by Technovation, and a member of the Women in Tech, Colombia chapter.

She holds an Executive MBA from IE Business School, Spain, a B.Sc. in Electronics Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia, and postgraduate studies in Business Management from Universidad de la Sabana, Colombia.

Clive Kenny is a Manager in the Telecoms, Media and Digital practice at Frontier Economics. Mr Kenny has 15 years’ experience advising clients on a range of competition, regulatory and policy issues related to connectivity, digital and media markets. He has advised private and public sector clients on media and digital policy, mergers, spectrum in countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Christina Lee Storm is an award-winning creative producer and executive recognized for her groundbreaking work at the intersection of storytelling and technology spanning television, film, animation, documentaries, virtual reality, augmented reality, and XR.

Founder and CEO of ASHER XR, Ms Storm drives strategic and creative development of emerging technologies for series, film, digital, and multi-platform storytelling. She has been instrumental in implementing advanced production technologies, spearheading virtual production initiatives, and driving innovation in content creation and creativity for studio IP and franchises.

As the Director of Virtual Production at Netflix, Ms Storm played a pivotal role in establishing global virtual production ecosystems, spaces, and stages collaborating with filmmakers and industry partners to drive growth and adoption. She spearheaded virtual production across Netflix’s series, films, unscripted, and ancillary content including upcoming live action series “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

Previously as Vice President of Business Operations, Strategy, & Emerging Technology at DreamWorks Animation, Ms Storm led the Advanced Creative Technology group, advocating for the future of real-time content creation. She produced three award-winning VR experiences for the “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise, AR projects for “Trolls World Tour” and “Abominable,” and an interactive theme-park “Kung Fu Panda” experience for Universal Studios Beijing.

Ms Storm served as Head of Content & Acquisitions at Positron where she played a key role in strategizing, driving, and acquiring premium cinematic VR content for the company’s platform.

Beyond her creative achievements, Ms Storm helps shape the future of the industry by serving on the Television Academy’s Emerging Media Program Executive Committee and co-leading the AI Working Group. She has served as National Board of Directors for the Producers Guild of America, Board of Governors for the Advanced Imaging Society, and is a Board Member of Wedgwood Circle. Supporting women in STEAM, Christina is a proud Founding Member of DreamWorks Animation’s TECHWomen and is a member of the Visual Effects Society and Women in Animation.

Daniel Son is the CEO of Westworld Studio, a leading visual effects studio renowned for delivering groundbreaking VFX across film and television.  As a VFX supervisor with over 20 years of experience, he has received numerous accolades, including the Technical Awards at the 19th Blue Dragon Film Awards (1998) for The Soul Guardians and the Special Advanced Technology Award at the 52nd Grand Bell Awards (2015) for Ode to My Father. His technical expertise and creative vision have earned him widespread recognition in the industry.

Mr Derek John Fernandez is a Commission Member of the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission.  He is also the Chairman of the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission’s Online Harms and Information Security Committee, Legal Committee and Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

Mr Fernandez is also a director of CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM) and a member of its Cybersecurity Audit Committee. He has also written a paper with an action plan entitled “Cybersecurity : The need for a change in Approach” dated 26 August 2022, which was submitted to the Minister of Communications and Digital.

The paper has been used in part to formulate National Cybersecurity strategies and policies. Mr Fernandez is also the Chairman of MCMC’s Technical Committee involved in preparing draft Guidelines on Information and Network Security for communications and multimedia industry. He has also developed Cybersecurity policies that have been implemented nationally which include: anti scam and fraud measures and policies, licensing of OTT platforms, national internet registry and IPV 6 adoption and digital sovereignty concepts.

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.

Dhanaraj Kheokao is an active scholar in public opinion research and media law, serving as the Program Director of the Asian Network for Public Opinion Research (ANPOR). Under his leadership, ANPOR has become a prominent platform that bridges academia and policy, fostering collaborative research across Asia. Mr. Kheokao has been instrumental in organising and directing ANPOR’s high-profile annual conferences in cities across Asia over the past decades. His efforts have helped ANPOR secure international partnerships and recognition, solidifying its status as a critical driver of public opinion research in the region.

Mr Kheokao’s academic career is equally distinguished. He has been affiliated with the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, where he contributed to the renowned Digital News Report by authoring the Thailand section in recent years. His expertise spans media law, marketing communication, and geopolitics, making him a sought-after speaker at international conferences, government committees, and non-governmental organisations. He was invited as keynote speaker on “How TikTok is shaping the future of journalism in Thailand, Asia and beyond – Ce que TikTok change pour le futur du journalisme en Asie” at the Science Po in Paris. He previously held an academic position at the University of Mannheim in Germany. He was trained in legal studies at Thammasat University, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, University of Cambridge, Queen Mary University of London, University of Adelaide, University of Mannheim, Potsdam University, and King’s College London.

In addition to his academic contributions, Mr Kheokao is a legal advisor focused on business law. He has regularly lectured on the legal aspects of media at various institutions and contributed to key government projects, including leading public hearings for constitutional reforms in Thailand. His blend of academic rigour and hands-on legal experience makes him a unique voice in public opinion and media research.

Chairperson Diorella Maria “Lala” Sotto-Antonio is the daughter of former Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, she swore into office last 07 July 2022 as a Presidential appointee under the Marcos administration.

A Public Servant with over eighteen (18) years of experience in the Local Government Unit of Quezon City (QC LGU), she was a three-term councilor of QC’s Sixth (6TH) district and previously a three-term councilor of the Third (3rd) district of QC, aside from her time in the LGU she served as the Chief of Staff under the Commission on Appointments – Office of Senator Vicente Sotto from 2010 to 2012. As an active member of society, she is currently the President of Samahang Kasama ng Kabataan (KASAMA) Foundation.

Chairperson Sotto-Antonio leads the MTRCB Board through the principle of Consultative leadership and Spiritual Conviction; Treating the Filipino parents, and the Film and TV industry as valued partners of the Board in shaping the minds of the youth through Responsableng Panonood (Responsible Viewership) and Media literacy.

With the leadership of Chairperson Sotto-Antonio, the Board strives to protect to empower viewers to make informed choices through the provision of MTRCB ratings and classification.

Chairperson Sotto-Antonio earned her Bachelor of Arts degree major in Consular Diplomatic Affairs at the De La Salle – College of St. Benilde. She attended the Quezon City Executives and Legislators Planning Course at the University of the Philippines, and finished a program at the Harvard Kennedy School for Applying Behavioral Insights to the Design of Public Policy.

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.

Gina M. Perini is Somos Inc.’s Chair of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Perini also serves as Chair of the Executive Committee.

Under Ms Perini’s vision and leadership, Somos has become a leading global provider of telephone number database administration and numbering information services. Somos plays several critical roles in the North American telecommunications ecosystem, including serving as the North American Numbering Plan Administrator, the Toll Free Number Administrator, and the Reassigned Numbers Database Administrator. Through its U.K. subsidiary XConnect, it also provides critical global telephone number information services for over 200 countries.

Through fostering a culture of agility, innovation, inclusivity and collaboration, Ms Perini has proven herself a force in expanding Somos’ leadership and impact across the global telecommunications industry.

In 2020, Ms Perini was named as a regional winner of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year, and in 2014 she was honored as a pioneer, role model and trailblazer by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly as a “Top Women of Law.”

Prior to joining Somos, Ms Perini was at GTC Law Group & Affiliates, and Foley Hoag LLP, where she advised businesses on global corporate and intellectual property law matters related to technology, telecommunications, Internet, new media and advertising.

Gordon Moir was appointed a Partner with Wiggin LLP in November 2020.

Mr Moir is well known in the telecommunications space and is a global leader in the delivery of complex projects involving aligned legal, regulatory, public affairs and media strategies and the leading of multi-disciplinary teams. Mr Moir was Chair of the well-respected International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Task Force on Telecoms and ICT, driving their work on international market access, internet policies and dispute settlement and resolution models globally as well as internet policy.

Mr Moir was previously General Counsel and on the executive of BT Retail (1999-2009), as well as having responsibility for BT’s global antitrust and regulatory activity. During his ten years at BT, he secured access to markets and wholesale facilities across the world as well as dealing with a vast array of commercial, legal and regulatory matters. He was recognised by the Lawyer magazine as one of the UK’s top 100 lawyers for his work on telecommunications regulation and regulatory policy.

Post BT, Mr Moir was head of the London office of Webb Henderson (2011-2014), a boutique regulatory firm, before taking his team across to Shepherd and Wedderburn to continue that work in 2014 until 2020 after successfully building the practice.

Mr Moir has had a Placement with Judge Edward, European Court of Justice. He is also an Author of works on the Maastricht Treaty, and previously editor of Encyclopaedia of European Union Law, both Sweet and Maxwell

Mr Moir has an LLM from College of Europe, Belgium, cum laude, a Dip LP from University of Aberdeen and andLLB (Hons) from University of Aberdeen.

Harry Dewang, is Founder of Beeyond Ideas, a science channel on Youtube with over 300K+ subscribers. With a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering and a minor in Interactive Media from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, Harry blends technical expertise with creative storytelling.

Ira Keltz is Acting Chief of the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology.

OET is the Commission’s primary resource for engineering expertise and provides technical support to the Chairperson, Commissioners and FCC Bureaus and Offices. Mr Keltz is responsible for developing national spectrum policies, including allocating spectrum, setting technical and service rules for RF devices, and implementing procedures for equipment certification.

Mr Keltz has totaled over 29 years at the FCC spanning two separate stints. He previously served as Deputy Chief of OET, Chief of OET’s Electromagnetic Compatibility Division and Deputy Chief of OET’s Policy and Rules Division. Prior to serving in OET, Mr. Keltz held various positions in the Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. Mr Keltz has also worked for the law firm DLA Piper as well as Loral Advanced Projects and LSA, Inc. He has been awarded the Federal Communications Bar Association’s Excellence in Government Service Award and WiFi Forward’s Wi-Fi Pioneer Award.

Mr Keltz earned a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the George Washington University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan.

Under IsabelleMauro’s leadership, GSOA and its member CEOs lead the effort to showcase the benefits of satellite communications for a more inclusive and secure society – vital to bridging the world’s digital divide, achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and realizing the 5G ecosystem.

Ms Mauro has 25 years experience in the Telecoms and Technology sector, starting at the GSMA, where she was responsible for government and international Affairs. In 2015 she moved to New York to join the World Economic Forum as Head of Information, Communications and Technology Industries, managing the portfolio for 60+ Tech companies globally and leading initiatives on inclusive and sustainable digital transformation.

Ms Mauro is passionate about inclusion and sustainability. She is Chair of the High-Level Advisory Board of the DigitalGoesGreen Foundation. She also sits on the Advisory Board of Women in Tech and is a member of the UNESCO Advisory Group for the Declaration on Connectivity for Education.

Ms Mauro holds an MSc in European Politics and Policy from the London School of Economics. She is fluent in French, English, Italian and Spanish.

Isolde Goggin has over twenty years experience working at the highest level in telecommunications regulation, competition policy and consumer protection. She was chairperson of Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission from 2014 to 2021 and, prior to that, chaired one of its predecessor bodies, the Competition Authority, from 2011 to 2014. She was a commissioner of ComReg, the Irish Commission for Communications Regulation, from 2002 to 2006, and chairperson from 2004 to 2006. From 1996 to 2002 she was a member of the Competition Authority.

Isolde’s involvement in the telecommunications sector dates back to 1980 when, after qualifying with an engineering degree from Trinity College, Dublin, she joined the incumbent telecommunications operator. She completed a masters in business administration at University College, Dublin, in 1988, and subsequently moved to an advisory role in the European Commission, working on satellite policy. She also worked for the Swedish telecommunications manufacturer Ericsson for several years.

Isolde has represented Ireland in many international fora, including the European and International Competition Networks, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, the EU’s Radio Spectrum Policy Group, the European Consumer Protection Co-operation Network and the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network. She has provided advice to government on spectrum policy, next generation networks, data protection and online safety.

Isolde is an honorary life member and fellow of Engineers Ireland, a chartered engineer and member of the IET. She is also a member of the board of Trinity College, Dublin, and of the Central Bank of Ireland’s consumer advisory group. Reflecting a lifelong interest in the classics, she gained a BA in the subject from the Open University in 2021, and a masters from Trinity College Dublin in 2023. She is also a keen open water swimmer and last summer combined the two interests by participating in the 6.5 km Bosphorus Cross-Continental Race in Istanbul.

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.

Air vice-marshal Jadet Khuhakongkit engages with government agencies, regulators, critical information infrastructure organizations, and sector CERTs. He assists them in adopting policies, codes of practice, and guidelines to comply with Thailand’s Cybersecurity Act (2019). He is also in charge of organizing the national cyber exercise.

He formerly served for 22 years in the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) and the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters (RTARF HQ), holding different positions including Director of Operations and Intelligence Division and Director of Operations Division in the Royal Thai Armed Forces Cyber Security Center. He also collaborated on the National Military Strategy for Cyberspace Operations (2015), the National Cybersecurity Strategy (2017), the RTARF Joint Cyberspace Operation Doctrine (2018), the RTARF HQ Cyber Exercise (2017 and 2019), the RTARF Joint Cyber Exercise (2019 and 2020), and the RTARF Cybersecurity Policy and Practices (2021).

He graduated from the Royal Thai Air Force Academy with a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering with Honors and a Master of Science (Applied Statistics) in Information System Management from the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA).
He also achieved certifications from (ISC)2 CISS

James Cheatley is Senior Regional Director, VOD, Digital Affairs and Intellectual Property at the Motion Picture Association and is based in Singapore. James has worked in media and copyright policy for over 15 years. Mr Cheatley started his career working in copyright policy at the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department in Canberra. Subsequently, Mr Cheatley worked in Sydney as a copyright lawyer and was secretary of the Copyright Society of Australia and edited the Society’s journal – the Copyright Reporter. Before joining the MPA, James was Director of Government Relations for Screen Producers Australia.

Jeanette Whyte is Head of Public Policy at the GSMA. She brings 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. In her current role she provides advice and thought leadership in digital policy to mobile network players, policy makers and regulators. She has contributed to several reports and published articles on 5G, competition policy, data privacy, digital inclusion, mobile economy, metaverse and spectrum policy.

Before joining the GSMA Ms Whyte was the Managing Director of a Telecoms Media and Technology consultancy firm where she led a wide range of projects including development of fixed broadband strategies and business plans for mobile operators across Asia: China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Macau, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand.  Ms Whyte is a former Director at British Telecom where she held senior roles in the areas of strategy, portfolio management, product development, Merger& Acquisition and IT.

Ms Whyte graduated from Loughborough University in the UK with a BSc (Hons) in Management Sciences. She is a Sloan Fellow with an MSc from London Business School.

Jeremy Godfrey has over 30 years of regulatory, government and business experience in the communications, technology and online sectors, in Ireland and Hong Kong.

Mr Godfrey was previously Chairperson of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC). He served eight years as a Commissioner and Chairperson of the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). During that time, he also served as Chair and vice-Chair of BEREC, the coordinating body for EU telecoms regulators. In Hong Kong, he served as Government Chief Information Officer, as a management consultant and as a senior executive in the telecommunications sector.

Mr Godfrey has been involved in regulatory developments such as the EU’s Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, and the Open Internet Regulation. As Hong Kong Government CIO, he had responsibility for the e-government programme and cloud computing strategy, as well as for Internet governance, digital inclusion and promoting online safety. As a consultant, he advised clients about online business strategies and on regulatory issues in the communications, energy, transportation and financial services sectors. While in the telecommunications industry he was involved in the launch of the world’s first commercial online video-on-demand service as well as in many regulatory issues.

Mr Godfrey started his career as a civil servant in the UK government. He holds an MA from Cambridge University, where he studied mathematics

Dr Wang Jiang-Jia earned a doctorate degree from National Taiwan University and became a professor at Chung-Cheng University, Jia-Yi County, where he taught law. On more than one occasion, he was also a visiting professor at Osaka University, Japan. His major areas of research have been criminal law, criminal and new technology, and speech on the internet. Prior to becoming a professor, he practiced as a lawyer for over ten years.

In 2022, Dr Wang was appointed as one of seven commissioners at the National Communications Commission (NCC), which is an independent organization overseeing communications regulation in Taiwan. During his time at NCC, Dr Wang has been involved in critical decision making pertinent to communications and media policies and regulations. In line with the key policy objectives and mission of NCC, Dr Wang is committed to enhancing the communications and media environment in Taiwan.

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

Kate Jones is the Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Regulatory Cooperation Forum (www.drcf.org.uk). Kate leads this innovative team, working to increase and deepen coordination between regulators of online services and technology for the benefit of both businesses and their customers.

Before joining the DRCF, Ms Jones was an expert consultant and researcher on the governance of emerging technologies, with particular regard to human rights law, public international law and diplomacy. She was an Associate Fellow with the International Law Programme at Chatham House, Senior Associate with Oxford Information Labs, and member of the advisory board of an AI ethics company. She has published and spoken widely on aspects of national and international tech governance, with specialisms in artificial intelligence, disinformation and foreign interference, and the role of technical standards.

In her work, Ms Jones brings to bear her many years of experience as a legal adviser and diplomat with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, including as Legal Adviser to the UK Mission to the United Nations in Geneva and UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. She also draws on her experience of leadership, skills and technical expertise as Director of Oxford University’s Diplomatic Studies Programme and as Course Director and Advisory Board member of the Centre for Political and Diplomatic Studies. Kate took her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in law at the University of Oxford and qualified as a UK solicitor at Norton Rose.

Kayleigh Hughes joined SPI in 2019, and as a Consultant works across all of our services, providing detailed and comprehensive research and data analysis. Ms Hughes has particular expertise in organising and managing large or complex studies

Ms Hughes has worked for a range of SPI’s international clients, such as the Australia and New Zealand Screen Association (ANZSA), Ausfilm, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, the Georgia Screen Entertainment Coalition (GSEC), the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI), the Motion Picture Association (MPA), and the British Film Institute (BFI).

Ms Hughes’s current projects include a Production and Infrastructure Capacity Audit (PICA) for the Mid-West region of Ireland, a monthly intelligence briefing for a global studio and in-depth sector and data mapping for a Middle Eastern client. She recently led SPI’s update to the Best Practice in Screen Sector Development report, produced in collaboration with AFCI. The key findings from the report were presented as part of the Global Film Commission Network Summit at Marché du Film – Festival De Cannes. The full report was published in September, with the key findings summary report available in 11 languages.

Her past projects include economic impact studies in Poland, Australia, the UK, and the US state of Georgia, as well as a study examining the impact Of Film and Television Production on Economic Recovery From COVID-19.  Ms Hughes also led a cultural impact study on Ireland’s Section 481 Tax Incentive, the first report of its kind. She also managed several workforce studies, including a PICA for Ausfilm in Australia, and a study to pilot a workforce mapping and skills forecast methodology in the UK.

Prior to SPI, Ms Hughes worked in academia in Australia and the UK. As an academic, Kayleigh lectured at several leading Queensland universities, including the Queensland University of Technology and Griffith Film School, as well as Ravensbourne University in London, on subjects relating to international screen studies, screen business practices and the global creative industries.

Ms Hughes holds a PhD in Screen Studies from the Queensland University of Technology.

Kimball Thurston oversees the complex web of user facing tools, new research and the render software which fuels the ever-evolving VFX pipeline. His focus is on building an integrated and flexible system that has the capability to expand the volume and variety of projects that the company can work on, while retaining and enhancing the stunning visuals Wētā FX is famous for. Key components of this are accomplished by managing external relationships with Wētā FX’s technology partners.

With the ambition of easing the future of VFX production, Mr Thurston contributes time to the Academy Software Foundation. He also plays a role in defining open standards and software within the industry for the interchange of data between Wētā FX and partners.

Mr Thurston brings 25 years of VFX experience to Wētā FX, having originally joined the company in 2017 in a role that focused on our proprietary rendering software, Manuka. He then transitioned into a role that was focused on Gazebo. As a technology leader, he then moved to Head of Department of Engineering, and then Head of Architecture before taking this appointment.

Prior to Wētā, Mr Thurston’s career in media and entertainment took him to Dolby Laboratories, Lowry Digital, Dreamworks Animation, Apple and Silicon Grail. Although there are many career highlights, his time at Lowry Digital was particularly special as he received the Academy Scientific & Engineering Award in 2012 for the creation of a toolset to reduce noise and other artifacts in images for the filmmaking process. During this time, Mr Thurston worked on preserving numerous landmark films and repairing current film issues, as well as personally rewarding non-movie projects like working on the Apollo 11 moon landing footage.

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.

Krishna started his career with Hewlett Packard in the US as a software engineer. He began his career with the satellite communication industry in 1994. Since then, he has held numerous senior roles with the industry including business,
engineering, operations, and policy roles. Krishna joined Amazon’s Project Kuiper in 2022. Today, he heads the consumer business and country development efforts in countries in the Asia Pacific region. Krishna is based in New Delhi, India.

Latifa Akharbach was appointed President of the High Authority for Audiovisual Communication (HACA) on December 3, 2018.

Ms Akharbach formerly held numerous decision-making positions in Moroccan diplomacy : Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to Tunisia and Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to Bulgaria and Macedonia.

Ms Akharbach has also served as Director of the Moroccan National Radio and Director of the High Institute of Information and Communication where she had previously been Professor and researcher for more than twenty years.

She is an experienced international consultant in the field of journalism, communication and journalists training. She has published several articles, studies and books on media, communication and women’s rights.

Ms Akharbach has a PhD in Information Sciences and Communication.

Lina María Duque del Vecchio is a lawyer from the Pontifical Xavierian University, specializing in Business Law, with a Master’s degree in Law from Externado de Colombia University.

Before assuming her current role, Ms Duque Del Vecchio held various positions at the CRC, including Coordinator of Legal Advisory and Dispute Resolution, Acting Executive Coordinator (General Secretary), Acting Commissioner of the Communications Commission Session, and legal advisor.

As the Coordinator of Dispute Resolution, she managed sensitive and high-impact industry issues that significantly contributed to the effective implementation of regulatory policies, as well as promoting competition and protecting user rights. Thanks to her impeccable management, the CRC was recognized by the National Agency for Legal Defense of the State (ANDJE) as one of the entities with the highest judicial defense success rate, achieving 95% effectiveness.

Lucas Bertrand, Founder and CEO of Looper Insights has 25+ years of experience in building retail, tech and media companies. He was also the Founder and CEO of MoMedia (UK), a digital media business that delivered TV & Film content to broadcast and digital platforms from 220+ TV & Film producers, distributors & TV Channels.

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 Kurlanzik is YouTube’s Head of Business Public Policy for the Asia Pacific region. Based in Singapore, he has over a decade of experience covering policy and regulatory issues impacting the digital ecosystem. Previously, Mr Kurlanzik worked on international strategy for an e-commerce company and in various roles across the finance sector.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree from Columbia University.

Dame Melanie Dawes joined Ofcom as an Executive Board Member and Chief Executive on 2 March 2020.

Prior to joining Ofcom, Ms Dawes was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (2015-2020). She has held senior roles across the Civil Service, working in partnership across the public and private sectors. She became the overall Champion for Diversity and Inclusion in the Civil Service in 2019.

Ms Dawes started her career as an economist and spent 15 years at the Treasury, including as Europe Director. She was Director General of the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat at the Cabinet Office between 2011 and 2015, and prior to that she served on the Board of HMRC as Head of Business Tax. Ms Dawes was Director General for Business Tax from November 2007, which involved responsibility for all the business taxes and duties as well as leadership of the department’s relationships with big business. From 2009, she also led the development of HMRC’s overall strategy as a department.

Ms Dawes has held non-executive roles including with the consumer body Which? and is a trustee of the Patchwork Foundation, which promotes the participation of under-represented young people in democracy.

Melissa Blassingame serves as the Regional Vice President of Partner Alliances for Twilio where she is responsible for managing the global business development team and leading strategy for trusted communications.

Ms Blassingame has previously been a member of the FCC’s North American Numbering Council and participates in industry groups such as SIP Forum, Global Leaders Forum (GLF), and i3Forum’s One Consortium.

Prior to joining Twilio, Ms Blassingame spent over 10 years of her career at various telecom companies and has held positions in call center management, pricing development, routing, operations, cost management, carrier relations and business development.

On a more personal note, Ms Blassingame was a working cellist performing in various symphonies during her college years and gigs as an electric cellist in her spare time.

Michael Coonan joined Free TV Australia in January 2024 as Director of Public Policy, having previously held policy, regulatory and government affairs roles at SBS and Foxtel. Prior to Foxtel, Mr Coonan worked at the Australian Communications and Media Authority, in both broadcasting and telecommunications regulation.

Michael is Vice President of the Australian Chapter of the International Institute of Communications, and a member of the Board of the Restless Dance Theatre.

Moses Chibuike Iyi obtained a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) degree in Accountancy from the University of Nigeria in 1998, and a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Public Administration from Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) in 2021. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate Degree in Public Administration at ESUT and completing an online Certification Course in Regulation Strategy at the London School of Economics (LSE), UK.

In 2004, Mr Iyi began his career at XL Logistics Limited as an analyst. He later joined Celtel Nigeria Limited in 2007 (which subsequently became Zain Nigeria Limited and ultimately Airtel Networks Limited), where he worked as a Customer Care Executive and Team Member for High-End Service Experience between 2008 and 2010. In 2011, he joined the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as a Senior Manager, rising to the Directorate Cadre in 2022.

Mr Iyi is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Local Government and Public Administration of Nigeria (FCPA) and a member of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN). He has attended various international and local trainings in Social Science Management.

Mothibi Glenview Ramusi is the Chairperson of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. A qualified electronic systems engineer, and an information technology certified professional. Mr Ramusi has over three decades of working experience in the ICT sector, ranging from telecommunications, satellite, lotteries and broadcasting. Mr Ramusi has an extensive leadership portfolio, which extends to Executive positions in both public and private sectors.

He has played a critical role in spearheading the role of ICT and satellite in community upliftment and development, especially in underserved and rural areas. Mothibi was part of the group of experts that developed the Telecommunications, broadcasting and satellite policy and regulatory framework in South Africa post 1994.

Mr Ramusi holds a Bachelor’s Degree (BEng) in Electronic Systems Engineering from the University of Essex, B-Tech Higher National Diploma in Electronic Systems Engineering from Anglia Higher Education Institute, now Ruskin University, Transnet Executive Development Programme from GIBS and International Executive Development Programme from Witwatersrand University

Mr Narinrit Prem (aka A.Fon) is a cybersecurity expert with more than 20 years of experience. He has extensive and full-range of experience from system security analysis, penetration testing, process & policy development and IT-related legislation development. He is a well-known speaker in this topic in both national and international arena. He had shared knowledge to the industry through number of seminars and TV programs & NEWS.

​After he educated from the faculty of computer engineering of Assumption University, he started his career as oil & gas production automation engineer of an American company operating in the middle of the Thai gulf. Then he joined one of the world largest and legendary IT company, IBM, and that was where he started his cybersecurity consulting career. He had a chance to exchange knowledge and experience with ethical hacker from all over the world once he was sent to IBM campus in NY-USA. After that he came back and provided ethical hacking service for IBM Thailand’s client as the 1st ethical hacker of IBM Thailand.

Afterward, he had a chance to join Thailand largest energy corporation, PTT Group. That was when he got his title as “CSO” or Chief Security Officer and was the first officially appointed CSO in PTT Group in the whole group’s history. In 2010, he was awarded with “ASEAN CSO Award” by IDG together with Vietnam Government. And in the same year, he was awarded with “ISLA Award” or Information Security Leadership Award by world-renowned information security association, (ISC)2.

Mr Prem specializes in cyber investigation and digital evidence analysis, so he was appointed as an advisor for technology-related trial for The Department of Special Investigation or DSI. He was also appointed as the first group of cybersecurity advisors to The Defence Information and Space Technology Department, Ministry of Defence. He has been contributing as committee and subcommittee for number of organizations. He also received number of royal honorary symbols for himself and his family’s honor.

​Recently, he is a member of “Future Think Tank” of Royal Thai Armed Forced to provide futuristic analysis and provide advice for national strategy to accommodate the forthcoming events effectively.

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Nathan Stathis is a passionate technologist currently working at nbn Australia, where he focuses on technology evolution and has a nurtured a keen interest in fostering a sustainable global future. In his entry for this year’s Young Leaders Essay competition, he examined how technology and technology companies can address the critical challenges of minimizing climate change and the enabling roles of regulators in this area.

Mr Stratis holds a Bachelor of Telecommunications Engineering from the University of Technology, Sydney, and has experience with various carrier-grade access networks, including fiber, DSL, and DOCSIS.

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 leads Meta’s Connectivity Policy in EMEA, 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.

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.

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.

Priya Mahajan is the Head of Asia Pacific Public Policy & Regulatory Counsel where she is responsible for strategic-level regulatory and policy advice regarding Verizon’s operations in Asia Pacific. Ms Mahajan previously served as Chief Counsel for Verizon-India where she led legal, regulatory & policy matters pertaining to India operations.

Her expertise includes consulting and advising on a range of telecom, media and technology matters. In her policy role, she works closely with the stakeholder’s policy makers, regulators and trade associations to build, support and promote the company’s policy position on ICT issues. She has successfully led policy efforts related to regulatory simplification, market access, digital trade, anti-trust, data protection & Cyber Security policy across the region.

Ms Mahajan holds honorary position at Executive Body of the Asia Pacific Carriers Coalition (APCC), an industry advocacy body representing the interest of global carriers, closely working with the policy makers in the Asia Pacific Region. She is a founding member of the Society of Women Lawyers (SoWL), a mentoring and professional platform for women lawyers in India.

Ms Mahajan is a qualified attorney, an Associate member of Institute of Company Secretaries of India. She has also attended the Accelerated Management Programme (AMP) at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad

Rita Irina Wahab is currently the Director of Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, Astro where one of her key remits will be to manage all the various anti-piracy activities within the Group. Rita’s extensive background includes roles in regulatory affairs, public policy, stakeholder management, and partnership strategies, most recently as the Head of Government Affairs at Shopee Malaysia and more notably as the Vice President of Public Affairs & Communication for Huawei Malaysia, where she oversaw policy-to-market initiatives encompassing ICT Technology, Digital Economy, and Smart Solutions. Ms Wahab also played a pivotal role as a Senior Manager in the Performance Management & Delivery Unit (PEMANDU), a unit under the Prime Minister’s Department, overseeing the implementation and progress assessment of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). Her distinguished career also includes positions in PETRONAS and PROTON Bhd.

While at Huawei, Ms Wahab jointly developed the Sarawak Women Leadership (SWOT) program with the Women Leadership Foundation (WLF). Recipient of the 2022 Outstanding Women CEO Leadership Excellence Award, Ms Wahab has about 23 years of experience in public policy, transformation advisory, program strategy, project implementation, and category management.

Ms Wahab holds a degree in Chemical Engineering (Petrochemical & Process) from the University Technology PETRONAS.

Robert Mourik  is Chairperson, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg).

Mr Mourik has almost thirty years’ experience in the telecoms sector, as an industry executive and as Government official.

Prior to joining ComReg, he worked for Cubic Telecom, a new entrant in the automotive IoT space, where he was responsible for all wholesale activities. Robert spent almost 10 years in Telefonica as the European Regulatory Strategy Director at their corporate HQ in Madrid and as Strategy Director in Ireland.

He also worked for Vodafone Group, as its head of the Brussels Office and in the regulatory department in Newbury, UK.

In 1991, Mr Mourik began his career in the Dutch Department for Transport and Telecommunication and from 1994 until 1999 he served, as Telecom Attache at the Netherlands’ Permanent Representation in Brussels. He was a Member and Chair of the Council Telecoms Working Group in 1998 when the first telecom regulatory package was adopted.

Mr Mourik studied Economics and Public Policy at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, and the University of Hull (UK).

Ruben Hattari is the Public Policy Director for Netflix in Southeast Asia. He currently oversees Netflix’s various regulatory engagements with both governments and communities in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Previously Mr Hattari was the Head of Public Policy for Facebook in Indonesia and Timor Leste where he led initiatives such as e-commerce, content management, investments and national elections. He has also worked as the Corporate Affairs Director for Microsoft Indonesia and was responsible for leading policy issues around data localization/sovereignty, data privacy, cybersecurity, smart city projects and the local content requirement for hardware devices. In addition, Ruben has extensive regional expertise in Southeast-Asian affairs where he held past positions as the Executive Director of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) and was an official at the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Mr Hattati is an IDEAS Fellow of MIT Sloan School of Management and holds a Bachelor’s Degree of Business from Central Queensland University in Australia. 9 Straits

Samantha Yorks has been appointed as a Full-time Member of Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) on 28 August 2023 for 5 years.

Ms Yorke is an accredited mediator, technology lawyer and policy advisor with over 24 years’ experience working within the digital media and technology sectors both in Europe and the Asia Pacific.

Prior to being appointed as an ACMA Authority Member, she worked in Google’s Government Affairs and Public Policy team leading their privacy, online safety, scam and mis/disinformation efforts in Australia.

Ms Yorke established the regulatory function at the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Australia, worked as General Counsel AUNZ and Legal Director for Yahoo! Asia Pacific and spent 10 years working for Microsoft in London where she supported the MSN business through a period of exponential growth and contributed to the launch of the Xbox gaming console across Europe.

Ms Alderson has worked in telecommunications regulation for over 20 years. As General Manager, Regulatory at NBN Co she leads the consumer and network regulatory functions with key focus on universal service, spectrum, security and consumer policy as well as a broad range of associated telecommunications policy and regulatory issues. Prior to joining NBN Co she had extensive experience as a telecommunications and regulatory lawyer working for a broad range of domestic and international clients. She also worked in Government telecommunications policy roles for the (then) Department of Communications.

Ms Alderson has a Bachelor of Law and Media Communications from Macquarie University.

Sarah Waladan is the Director of Policy & Regulatory Affairs at IAB Australia. Ms Waladan works with IAB member organisations, policy makers and the global IAB network, advising on communications law and policy issues.

Prior to joining IAB Ms Waladan held various legal and policy roles across government and the private sector with a focus on media and intellectual property issues, most recently as Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs at Free TV.

Clinical Professor Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck has served as Chairman of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) since 2022. Under this role, he also serves an advisor for the Working Group on Universal Service for Public Health Service, and an advisor for the Working Group on Metaverse Ecosystem.

Prior to this role, he was a deputy dean, and a lecturer at Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University. He also served as President of Cardiovascular Intervention Association of Thailand, and the Secretary General of the Heart Association of Thailand under the Royal Patronage of H.M. the King. In addition, he served as a former member of the National Legislative Assembly.

Mr. Boonbaichaiyapruck received both a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Medicine from Chulalongkorn University. He trained as a Medical Specialist in Cardiac Intervention at the Hospital of the Good Samaritan in Los Angeles, California; Cardiology at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles, California; and Internal Medicine at the Los Angeles County and the University of Southern California (LAC+USC) Medical Center.

Saranee Sanguanruang (Faunglada) is the CEO of Ladies of the Digital Age (LDA). With over 1.2 million YouTube subscribers, LDA World (la-da world) is a hub of female edutainers who create high quality VDO content in a friendly manner and educated way. Khun Fuang is a former reporter for Thairath TV and has spoken at over 180 events in both Thai and English. Khun Fuang graduated from Chulalongkorn University with a Bachelor of Arts 1st honor in English.

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).

Seow Hiong Goh advises government officials and regulators across Asia Pacific on a range of ICT-related policy issues, assisting them in adopting policies and regulations that foster investment, innovation, growth and adoption of advanced ICT technologies and services. His current focus includes advising on national broadband strategies and deployment, convergence policy, cyber-security and e-government.

Previously, Mr Goh was in the Singapore public service for 10 years, where he undertook various responsibilities including Deputy Director for Infocomm Development Policy, Deputy Director for Infocomm Security and Special Assistant to the CEO at the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore. He was subsequently in private legal practice for several years, before taking up the position as Director, Software Policy for Asia with the Business Software Alliance for five years. He joined Cisco in his present position in 2008.

Mr Goh has a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science, with Honors and Distinction in General Scholarship from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Master of Science in Computer Science from Stanford University. He also holds a Bachelor of Law with Honors from the University of London and a Postgraduate Diploma of Singapore Law with Merit from the National University of Singapore. He has completed the Executive Management Programme in Strategic Management at the National University of Singapore. He is called to the bar of the Supreme Court of Singapore as an advocate and solicitor.

Thabisa Faye serves as a Councillor the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, an executive director role she has held for the past 2yrs. Councillor Faye is a seasoned development economist who has practiced as an ICT economic regulatory expert within Sub-Saharan Africa for the past 14 years. Her experience includes, but not limited to: ICT regulatory analysis, economic advisory, renewable energies, trust management, strategic repositioning, public policy, governance and sustainability and project management. Councillor has contributed extensively to a wide range of projects in the Telecoms sector across the African continent, having worked in more than 23 African countries. She has also contributed to the renewable energy space in South as a socio-economic advisor, she further has managed reporting for six operating projects, and administered two Trusts.

Councillor has a long-standing working relationship with the International Telecommunications Union, the UN bureau for ICT, in her capacity as an expert in inclusive and collaborative regulation. Councillor Faye has contributed to the ITU body of knowledge extensively, such has developed a Universal Access Fund toolkit for the ITU, which has subsequently been converted into training modules for regulators in the Africa, Middle East, and Asia regions. Councillor also developed the first Regulatory Sandbox Framework for the African region, this was published by the ITU, and further work continues.

Councillor Faye is currently driving the implementation of a sandbox in the Authority, with the framework being implemented for emerging technologies and future innovations. Complementary to this work, CCouncillor Faye is Chairing the national IMT Forum which is charting the way for 5G and future technologies, as well as the Dynamic Spectrum Assignment and Opportunistic management project using a geolocation database. Furthermore, Councillor Faye is Chairing the satellite licensing framework to establish a licensing and pricing regime that would enable the growth of satellite connectivity direct to end users.

In addition to her career aspirations, Councillor Faye is a founding member of a women led social entrepreneurial initiative called Mbewu Movement, the initiative focuses on wealth creation, networking and mentoring for young professionals.

Mr. Trairat Viriyasirikul, the Deputy Secretary General, assumed the role of Acting Secretary General of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) in July 2020. Prior to his tenure at the NBTC, Mr Viriyasirikul gained extensive experience in budget analysis at the Office of the Prime Minister’s Budget Bureau.

With nearly two decades of leadership in the telecommunications sector, Mr Viriyasirikul has been instrumental in supporting the nation’s spectrum auctions and facilitating the transition from 2G to 5G. Under his leadership, the implementation of the 5G Roadmap and broadband connectivity initiatives has significantly enhanced national connectivity. His commitment to promoting basic infrastructure has provided access to ICT infrastructure in urban, rural, unserved, and underserved areas, driving digital transformation across the country. Furthermore, he initiated the transition of granting the right to use satellite orbits from concession system to licensing system in satellite orbit management.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr Viriyasirikul championed measures to ensure continued access to the internet, equipment, and essential services for the public. Notably, he financially supported the initiative to establish the Central Vaccination Center, which provided free vaccinations to the public. Mr Viriyasirikul is currently dedicated to addressing issues relevant to scams and call centers, particularly in border areas. He also focuses on satellite related issue. In particular, he supports open market access to allow foreign satellite operators to provide services within Thailand. Additionally, under his guidance, Office of the NBTC is actively researching and raising awareness about Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), with plans to launch a regulatory framework for NTN next year.

He holds a Master of Science in Leadership and Management from the University of La Verne, USA.

Tram Ngoc Bich Nguyen is a partner with the Vietnam corporate and commercial team of Tilleke & Gibbins. Based in firm’s Ho Chi Minh City office, Tram’s practice focuses on foreign investment and corporate matters, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, e-commerce, fintech, and data privacy. Her expertise includes advising foreign and multinational clients on investment in Vietnam, ranging from market-entry stage to expansion, corporate governance, internal rules and regulations, fundraising, restructuring, commercial transactions, and employment.

Tram has advised in domestic and cross-border M&A transactions involving Vietnamese companies engaged in a broad range of business sectors including real estate, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, energy, education, and distribution. Clients also benefit from Ms. Tram’s solid legal background in development, construction, management, operation, and lease activities in respect of real estate projects in Vietnam.

She also provides advice to technology-based businesses, including e-commerce retailers, platform owners, social networks, payment intermediaries, and fintech entrepreneurs. She assists multinational corporations in their adherence to local data protection laws and advises on issues such as platform and social network operations, terms and conditions, vendor contracts, e-contracting, cybersecurity, and data privacy.

In 2023, Tram was honored by Asian Legal Business in its “Vietnam Rising Stars” list. Prior to joining Tilleke & Gibbins, she spent 16 years with one of Vietnam’s top local firms. Tram is a qualified lawyer in Vietnam and holds an LLM from the University of the West of England in Bristol, U.K.

Vivan Sharan is a partner in Koan Advisory Group, a technology policy consulting firm based in New Delhi. He works on the political economy of technology markets and advises Fortune 500 companies, international organizations and governments. He is also the author of “Wonked!: India in Search of an Economic Ideology”, published by Bloomsbury in 2019; and co-author of “The Dazzle of the Digital: Unbundling India Online”, published by Routledge in 2022.

Warwick Davis joined Frontier Economics in 2006, and has more than 25 years of experience advising firms on economic and financial issues. Warwick’s particular expertise lies in the areas of regulated pricing, economic modelling, and market analysis, and he has applied this expertise in many network industries including telecommunications, digital platforms, ports and airports, taxis, and roads.

Mr Davis’s clients have included policy makers, regulators, and industry participants, who value his ability to provide credible and independent economic analysis, and to manage complex projects under tight timelines. As well as economic consulting, he has experience working for telecommunications and competition regulators in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Mr Davis has a M.Com (Econ) from the University of Melbourne and has published a number of articles on contemporary economic issues in telecommunications, including structural separation and access pricing, and has also written extensively on taxi reform.

An engineer of the “Corps des Mines,” a graduate of the École Polytechnique and the Institut d’études politiques de Paris, Xavier Merlin had been the head of the Inter-ministerial task force on simplifying businesses’ administrative procedures and legal publicity since 2019.

Mr Merlin began his career in 1996 at the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry’s Department of Forecasting, where he was in charge of economic studies on the internet, audiovisual media, telecommunications and competition. In 1998, he joined that ministry’s Department of External Economic Relations, and tasked with multilateral e-commerce, audiovisual media, telecommunications and postal negotiations. Appointed technical advisor to Catherine Tasca, then France’s Minister of Culture and Communication, in 2000, he became Director of European and International Affairs at the French National Centre of Cinema (CNC) in 2002. In 2008, the joined the Directorate-General for Enterprise (DGE) as the Assistant Director of Institutional relations, in the areas of information technologies and the information society. Assistant Director of Regulation and European and multilateral affairs for the DGE starting in 2009, he was appointed head of the Territorial, European and International Action Department in 2014.

Yee Ler Lau leads Tencent’s public affairs and policy work in Southeast Asia. He oversees the company’s engagements with governments and other partners on programmes and policy developments to promote the positive impact of technology on the economy and community.

Prior to Tencent, Mr Lau spent eight years with the Singapore Foreign Service and worked on cross-cutting issues including foreign policy, economic partnerships, and security. He also served as a diplomat at the Singapore Embassy in Jakarta.

Mr Lau holds a bachelor’s degree from Cambridge University and a master’s degree from the Geneva Graduate Institute.

Yoonee Jeong is the Senior Digital Tech Specialist, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department (CCSD) at ADB.

Ms Jeong is a public policy professional in digital technologies with over twenty years of international experience. Before joining ADB, Ms Jeong was the Director of Public and Regulatory Affairs with the Telenor Group, a global mobile operator, and led the advisory and stakeholder engagement on policy and regulatory issues related to telecommunications, emerging digital technologies, and data governance in Asia.

Previously, Ms Jeong led several research and policy analysis projects on the digital economy, digital infrastructure, e-commerce, cloud computing, and data privacy and cybersecurity for both the public and private sector clients as a senior consultant to the World Bank and as the Director of Research and Consulting with TRPC, an advisory firm. She also spearheaded capacity-building initiatives to foster the digital transformation of government services and women-led businesses with the United Nations ESCAP/APCICT and APWINC, an international NGO.

Ms Jeong obtained her Master’s degree in International Development Policy from Duke University as a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Scholar and her bachelor’s from the Ateneo de Manila University of the Philippines.