Communications Policy & Regulation Week 2021

Adolfo Cuevas Teja is the acting Chairman of the IFT since March 2020. He was ratified by the Mexican Senate as Commissioner of the IFT, on September 10, 2013, for a nine-year term, until February 2022.

He joined the public service in 1985 and worked in the office of the UNAM’s General Attorney and he was Legal Counsel at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) between 1998 and 2002.

In the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors, Mr Cuevas Teja previously held positions as Legal Assistant Director at the Mexican Radio Institute, Legal Counsel at General Directorate of Radio, TV and Cinematography of the Ministry of Government as Advisor at the Mexican Senate. Before joining the IFT, Mr Cuevas Teja worked in the extinct Federal Telecommunications Commission from 2006, where he was appointed Area Director and then General Director of Resolutions and Agreements Projects “D”.

Mr Cuevas Teja has a Bachelor’s degree in Law, a Specialisation degree in Constitutional and Administrative Law, and a Master’s degree in Law from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). He has a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University.

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.

Bio coming soon ……

Adrienne Corboud Fumagalli is a Doctor of Economics and Social Sciences and a graduate of the University of Fribourg. She has been a ComCom member since 2012 and ComCom President from 2021.

After a few years of research in the field of information technology, Dr Corboud Fumagalli’s career has been focusing on innovation and business development in telecoms, cybersecurity and high-tech, alternating from public to private sectors.

In 1996 she joined the PTT in the management team of Radiocom (radio, TV, mobile) in charge of New Business Development and the international market. After having collaborated in the preparation of the Swisscom IPO in the multimedia domain, Adrienne Corboud Fumagalli held various positions ultimately becoming Director of Product Marketing in Radio Broadcasting Services. Late 2000, Dr Corboud Fumagalli joined the Kudelski Group as Member of the Corporate Executive Board in charge of Business Development. From 2008 to 2016, Dr Corboud Fumagalli served as Vice President for Innovation and Technology Transfer at EPF Lausanne.

Currently, Dr Corboud Fumagalli is a non-executive director of Swiss Life Group, CSD Holding Ltd and a member of the Scientific Technical Committee of the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT). “

Agnieszka Skorupinska was appointed Senior EU Affairs Advisor at Vodafone in 2015 and has a demonstrated history of working in the tech industry.  Ms Skorupinska previously spent 4 years working for consultancy and advising e-commerce clients).

Ms Skorupinska is passionate and engaged on the role that connectivity and digitisation can play in improving lives across different social & demographic groups in Europe and Africa. Outside of work, she volunteers in social inclusion and nature conservation projects.

Ms Aileen Chia is currently the Deputy Chief Executive and Director-General (Telecoms and Post) of the IMDA, a statutory board in the Singapore government which regulates the infocomm, media and postal sectors, and comprises the Personal Data Protection Commission. She has served as a Board member of the Singapore Network Information Centre (a subsidiary of IMDA) since 2009 and has been its Chairman since 2020.

Ms Chia seeks to create a competitive, internationally-connected and trusted environment to enable the development of the infocomm, media and postal sectors in Singapore through the formulation and implementation of policy and regulatory frameworks, and development strategies for these sectors.

Ms Chia holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics (Honours) and a Masters of Public Policy from the National University of Singapore.

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.

Andrea Sanders-Winter has been heading the subdepartment “Internet, Digitisation – especially in SMEs, Market Analysis” of the Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway (Bundesnetzagentur) since August 2020.

Ms Sanders-Winter was previously responsible for the international coordination in telecommunications and railways where she was head of unit since 2010. In this function, she managed the activities of the Federal Network Agency in BEREC (Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications).

From 2005 until 2010 Ms Sanders-Winter was responsible for the European ICT Policy in the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. From 1993 to 2005 she worked for the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in various units including “European Coordination”, “Twinning Programs” and “Posting of workers”. In 1997/1998 she joined the Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the EU in Brussels and in 1996/1997 she worked for the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group on labour and social affairs.

Ms Sanders-Winter holds a degree in law from the Westfälischen-Wilhelms-University in Münster, where she also completed her legal traineeship, including periods abroad and traineeships in Seville and Madrid.

Andreea Antuca is a Consultant in the Digital practice and a member of the Competition and Analytics teams at Oxera, a European business specialising in economics and finance. She has experience in public policy assessments, in particular for digital regulation, market investigations, merger reviews, litigation and damages estimation. She has also been involved in the debate on data access advising a number of clients from different sectors on the economic and financial issues of data sharing.

Before joining Oxera in 2017, Ms Antuca completed an MPhil in Economics at the University of Oxford focusing on industrial organisation and econometrics. She also worked as a research assistant on projects ranging from impact evaluation to developing differential privacy algorithms for open data.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Professor Anthony Clayton is Chairman of the Broadcasting Commission Jamaica and has over thirty years of international experience in policy development in national security and policing, energy security, environment and resources; futures studies and scenario planning.

Professor Anthony Clayton is also the Alcan Professor of Caribbean Sustainable Development at the University of the West Indies, Visiting Professor in the School of Engineering at the University of Surrey, and Affiliated Scholar at the Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University.

He is a former Visiting Professor at the Institute for Studies of Science, Technology and Innovation at the University of Edinburgh, Adjunct Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Technology, and International Associate in the School of Management at the University of St Andrews. He is a Fellow of the Caribbean Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences, and holds the Order of Distinction in the Rank of Commander.

Augusto Fragoso has collaborated, nationally and internationally, in several companies and major projects, having in recent years developed his action in the regulatory context, at Anacom – Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (Portuguese NRA). He continues to learn and add to the growing experience of more than 30 years in management, consultancy, research and teaching in the context of innovation, information systems and digital transformation. Mr Fragoso aims to continuously share knowledge and deliver systems based on an innovation approach, bringing true value to the person, the organization and society.

Mr Fragoso holds a degree in Computer Sciences and Management, with a postgraduate degree in Strategic Management of Information Systems, Leadership and Digital Transformation.

Bocar BA has over 30 years of experience, delivering impact in the Telecom/ICT sector. BA’s professional engagement is well-recognized in industry-wide advocacy activities, especially toward promoting investment sustainability in the private sector of the Middle East. His innate people-centric approach has mobilized multiple consensus-building platforms, cross-regional relationship-building, and issue-specific advocacy on important sector-development challenges.

An advocacy specialist, focused on the promotion of sustainable digital development, ICT infrastructure expansion and investment through collaboration and multi-stakeholder partnerships in the Middle East and Africa regions, Mr BA is collaborating with leading platforms and global telecommunications development organizations as an objective-minded representative of the Private Sector and as an advocate of effective policy-making and future-friendly regulation, with the primary purpose of accelerating digitization, reducing digital divides, and collectively contributing to the fulfillment of the UN Member States’ Sustainable Development Goals as well as improving national ICT development indicators around the world.

In his role as CEO & Board Member of SAMENA Telecommunications Council, a leading ICT industry representative body in the South Asia – Middle East – North Africa region, active in digital development advocacy between the private and the government sectors, Mr BA helps bring together and build alliances among digital ecosystem stakeholders, including regulators and other government bodies, to address critical techno-centric, policy and regulatory issues. His efforts have directly helped drive knowledge-exchange programs, industry discussion platforms, and outcome-driven bilateral meetings.

Mr BA is also Commissioner in the United Nations’ Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, where he actively contributes toward making progress on the Commission’s existing recommendations, to help materialize access to broadband throughout the MEA region and beyond. At the Broadband Commission, Mr BA contributes to provide governments and policymakers with a set of policy recommendations for consideration to foster innovative funding, financing and investment strategies for ICT infrastructure development.

At the ITU, Mr BA chairs the IAGDI/CRO to help identify and align development priorities of the ICT Private Sector and Member States, to remove policy and regulatory impediments within the Industry in order to achieve sustainable digital development and to promote investment in the Digital Economy.

Brian McHugh is a Member of the CCPC. As well as collegiate decision making with other Members on all aspects of the organisation, he currently oversees the Corporate Services, Product Safety and Competition Enforcement & Mergers Divisions. He also leads the Digital Issues Group in the CCPC. Mr McHugh has played a leading role in developing the CCPC’s approach to competition investigations and merger decisions.

Mr McHugh was appointed as a Member of the CCPC in September 2017. Prior to this he spent 15 years in Northern Ireland’s Utility Regulator, the body responsible for both regulating the gas, electricity and water utility industries in Northern Ireland.

Broderick Johnson is the EVP, Public Policy & EVP, Digital Equity for Comcast Corporation. Mr Johnson oversees the company’s Public Policy team and holds overall responsibility for Comcast’s role in the digital equity space. Comcast is a leader in solutions to bridge the digital divide, and Mr Johnson works closely with our partners in government and other stakeholders to support our shared goal of connecting as many Americans as possible to the Internet, and to shape our corporate policies that allow our businesses to continue to grow and innovate.

Mr Johnson has more than three decades of experience as a lawyer, policy advisor, and political strategist, most recently with the international law firm of Covington & Burling. He has served under two US Presidents, as Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs under President Clinton, and as Assistant to the President and Secretary of the Cabinet under President Obama. Mr Johnson also served as chief counsel for several committees in the US House.

Mr Johnson is a highly respected and trusted leader in Washington DC and across the nation, and he has advised hundreds of clients on a wide array of policy issues, including telecommunications and tech matters. He sits on numerous boards, including the boards of directors of the Obama Foundation and the Black Economic Alliance. He also chairs the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance Advisory Council.

Mr Johnson earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of the Holy Cross.

Celene Craig was the former Deputy Chief Executive of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), since its establishment in 2009 until March 2024, in addition to having worked with its predecessors the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) and the Independent Radio and Television Commission (IRTC).

A significant dimension of her work in the BAI has been her responsibilities for the formulation and review of a wide range of broadcasting/media-related policies and for advising on the implementation of legislative and policy changes in the audiovisual field at national and European levels. Most recently, she has led the development of the BAI’s Policy Position on the Implementation of the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive and on the Regulation of Harmful Content on Online Platforms.

Ms Craig has had responsibility for regulatory oversight of public funding for the Irish public service broadcasters, RTÉ and TG4, and has acted as an Authority nominee to the BAI’s statutory committees for Contract Awards and for Compliance.

From 2015 to May 2019, Ms Craig was Chairperson of the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA) and is an active participant in European fora, such as ERGA, on audiovisual legislative and regulatory matters.

Coming from a solid legal background and always fascinated by the Internet and how it transformed the law, Ceren Ünal has been teaching and consulting on IT/Internet law & policy since 2003. Prior to DGG, Ms Ünal worked as the Regional Policy Manager for Europe at the Internet Society, where she advised on a wide range of EU law and policy issues around the Internet and led multistakeholder processes in the region. She also is the founding partner of Wootlex, a consultancy company for IT Law & Policy, and a lecturer for Internet Law at Bilkent University.

Ms Ünal holds a law degree from Ankara University and an LLM in Computer and Communications Law from Queen Mary, University of London as a British Chevening Scholar. She is qualified as a lawyer and European Patent Attorney. As a hopeless optimist for tech bringing good to people, Ms Ünal is inspired to put her experience and expertise to use, to develop sound policies, best practices and standards for a sustainable digital future.

Bio coming soon ………………

Chaucer Leung was appointed Director-General of Communications of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in July 2019.

As the Director-General of Communications, Mr Leung heads the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA), the executive arm of the Communications Authority (CA), and is the ex-officio member of the CA.

The CA is an independent unified regulator for both telecommunications and broadcasting sectors in Hong Kong.

Mr Leung provides support to the CA in the exercise of the CA’s statutory functions under the relevant Ordinances. These mainly cover licensing matters for both the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors, management of radio spectrum and enforcement of the provisions safeguarding market competition and fair trade practices, as well as giving advice to the Government with regard to telecommunications and broadcasting matters.

Mr Leung is also appointed as the Director of Films, Newspapers and Articles Administration and is responsible in that capacity for enforcing the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (COIAO) and overseeing the work pursuant to COIAO, as well as acting as the Film Censorship Authority and the registrar of newspapers.

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 Peirce is Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer for Ooredoo Myanmar Limited, one of two international mobile operators granted licences by the Government of Myanmar in 2013. Mr Peirce joined Ooredoo Myanmar in 2015 and has played an instrumental role in the development to date of an effective regulatory and policy framework for Myanmar that will support a sustainable, competitive mobile industry.

Prior to joining OML, Mr Peirce was Chief Corporate Officer at MTS Allstream, a Canadian wireline and wireless provider. With over 15 years of experience, he was a leading voice in all telecom regulatory and policy proceedings in Canada as competition was opened up and extended in both wireline and wireless segments.

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.

Christopher Mondini was appointed Vice President, Stakeholder Engagement, Europe and Managing Director, Brussels Office, ICANN the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers in January 2021.  He previously held the position of Vice President and Managing Director for Europe at ICANN.  ICANN coordinates the addressing systems, such as the Domain Name System, that allow the Internet to expand rapidly as a globally unified network.

Mr Mondini leads ICANN’s outreach efforts to the business sector worldwide. His work with ICANN is focused on broadening participation among a variety of Internet stakeholders, while improving the quality of their experience.

From the halls of Washington to the start-ups of Silicon Valley, he has dedicated his career to bridging communications gaps that occur among diverse sectors — public, private and non-profit – and across international borders.

Mr Mondini began his career as a United States diplomat and later became a corporate investigator with Deloitte. He has investigated the world’s largest corporate corruption cases, while working with NGOs on ways to mitigate corruption risks. He also led grant-making teams for the Full Circle Fund, an engaged philanthropy organization addressing economic development challenges.

He speaks and writes frequently on topics such as Internet governance, technology policy and the digital divide

Mr Mondini holds degrees from Georgetown and Johns Hopkins Universities.

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.

Dan Sjöblom is the Director General of the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) and was appointed by the Swedish Government on 1 February 2017.

He served as Chairperson of BEREC (Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communication) in 2020, having served as a vice-chair in 2019.

Prior to taking up his position, Mr Sjöblom was the Director General for the Swedish Competition Authority for eight years, between 2009 and 2017.

He is also board member of the Swedish Broadband Council.

Mr Sjöblom has served as a civil servant at the European Commission between 1996 and 2009. He holds a Master of Laws from Stockholm University.

Denis O’Brien is chairman of Digicel Group, a Digital Operator headquartered in Jamaica. He has been chairman of Digicel’s board of directors since 2000.

Mr O’Brien founded Esat Telecom Group in 1991 to compete against the former state-owned telephone company in Ireland, Eircom plc. In October 1997, Esat, of which Mr O’Brien was chairman and chief executive officer, listed on Nasdaq Easdaq and the Iseq establishing itself as the number two telecommunications company across the full spectrum of telecommunications services, fixed-line, GSM mobile, data and internet services and brought real competition and choice to the Irish telecommunications market. Esat Telecom Group plc was sold to British Telecom Group plc in January 2000 for $2.8 billion.

Mr O’Brien was voted Ireland’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 1998 in the inaugural running of the worldwide competition organised and sponsored by Ernst & Young. He was also the recipient of a 2007 Business & Finance Award for Business Person of the Year.

Mr O’Brien is also a director of a number of private companies, which hold some of his other business interests including Quinta do Lago SA, and Topaz Energy Group Limited. Mr O’Brien was the chairman of Communicorp Group Limited until 2021, when Bauer Media Group acquired the company. In addition, Mr O’Brien chaired the 2003 Special Olympics Summer Games’ organising committee and now serves as the chairman of Special Olympics Ireland’s Council of Patrons.

Mr O’Brien is a philanthropist who established two foundations, the Iris O’Brien Foundation and the Digicel Foundation. The Digicel Foundation has invested over US$150 million into community development projects across Haiti, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago.

Mr O’Brien holds a BA from University College Dublin, an MBA from Boston College, and he has an honorary Doctorate of Laws from University College Dublin.

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.

Dr Dina Dellyana is a lecturer and business incubator director at the School of Business and Management, Institut Teknologi Bandung (SBM ITB) and head of entrepreneurship development division in LPIK ITB. Appointed as a program director at GCINC (Global Center of Excellence and International Cooperation of Creative Economy), she is actively involved in several start-up and creative industry development activities. Dr Dellyana is also a Mentor in Indigo Incubator Telkom and head of the start-up development division in MIKTI.

Elif Yenihan Kaya has started her professional life in 1997 as a telecom engineer in Turkcell Network Operations. She has performed many engineering roles in Operations and Planning of the Mobile Network.

She has undertook several managerial positions both in Operations and Planning organizations between 2005-2013. By Feb 2013 she has been appointed as Head of Mobile Network Planning Division. From 2015 Sep to now on she has been the Head of Access Network Capabilities Division, responsible from strategic planning for fixed and mobile network technologies.

Ms Yenihan Kaya graduated from İstanbul Technical University, Electronics & Telecom Engineering Department and she received her MBA degree from İstanbul Bilgi University.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eric Fournier is currently Director for Spectrum Planning and International Affairs in the Agence Nationale des Fréquences (ANFR), the French public agency in charge of spectrum management (www.anfr.fr).

In this capacity, Mr Fournier is responsible for preparing the revisions of the French national table of spectrum allocation and for coordinating French positions in international meetings on spectrum within ITU, CEPT and EU. He was deputy head of the French delegation for RRC-06, WRC-07, WRC-12, WRC-15 and WRC-19.

Mr Fournier has been involved in all discussions on major evolution of spectrum in Europe and was Chairman of the Electronic Communication Committee (CEPT/ECC) from 2013 to 2018 and of the European Conference Preparatory Group for the World Radiocommunications Conference 2012 (CPG-12).

He is currently the chairman of the RSPG Good Offices addressing issues of cross-border coordination and interference within the EU.

Mr Fournier is a graduate telecom engineer from SUPELEC (France).

As Ericsson’s CTO, Erik Ekudden is responsible for setting the overall strategy and direction of technology leadership for Ericsson. In 2017 he re-located to Kista, Sweden, after nearly seven-years in Santa Clara, California.

His focus for the group is on strategic decisions and investments in mobility, cloud, artificial intelligence and Internet of things. This builds on his decades-long career in technology strategies and industry activities with leading customers and partners from
2G to 5G and beyond. Mr Ekudden first joined Ericsson in 1993 working on mobile systems, but rapidly moved into leadership within research and technology. He has served as research area director and vice president of technology strategy, standardisation and
industry.

Mr Ekudden holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. He is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA).

Bio coming soon…

Frédéric Bokobza has been Deputy Director General at the Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel since July 2016.

Previously, Mr Bokobza has held various managing positions in the fields of media, telecommunications and culture within the French Government’s administration: (2014 to 2016) he was in charge of public policies in the fields of electronic communications and postal services at the Ministry of Economy and Industry;  (2010 to 2014) Head of the division for the development of cultural economy at the Ministry of Culture and Communication;  (2006 to 2009) he was in charge of European and International affairs, Digitization and Media Economics at the Directorate for Media Development (Prime Minister’s Office) and  (2003 to 2006) he was in charge of European and International affairs at the Directorate for Media Development.

Mr Bokobza has also been a senior consultant at the Boston Consulting Group’s Paris Office (2002-2003), after being in charge of several IT projects at the Ministry of Interior (1996-2001).

Mr Bokobza holds degrees from École polytechnique and Télécom Paris, two French engineering schools.

Gerard de Graaf is Director for Digital Transformation in Directorate-General “Communications Networks, Content & Technology” (DG CONNECT). In this capacity, he is responsible for a number of policies and instruments, which are key to the development of the digital economy in Europe. In addition to overall preparation of the EU’s digital strategies, and links between Digital and the Green Deal, his Directorate is inter alia responsible for the coordination of the digital components of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), digital platforms policy (including the Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts), e-commerce and geoblocking, blockchain, standardisation, innovation and start-up policy, access to finance, digital skills, and competition aspects and economic analysis of the digital economy (through the Digital Economy and Society Index – DESI).

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

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

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

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

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

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

His Term ends January 4, 2023

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.

Ivana Kriznic is Verizon’s head of public policy for Canada, Latin America and Emerging Markets. She started her legal career in private practice at the law firm of Morrison and Foerster and worked thereafter in different legal, regulatory, compliance, privacy, government affairs, and policy positions for AT&T, BT and Orange.

Ms Kriznic has been recently appointed Co-Secretary of the Hispanic National Bar Association Corporate Counsel Division. She is also part of Verizon PPLS Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council, co-leading the International Committee and of SOMOS (Verizon Latinx employee resource group) acting as one of the Communications Coordinator.

Ms Kriznic received her LL.M. from Columbia University School of Law and her legal degree from Universidad de Buenos Aires in Argentina. She also holds a master degree in Telecommunications Management, a bachelor degree in International Affairs and she has been certified as an information privacy professional by the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

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.

Jennifer A. Warren is Vice President, Civil & Regulatory Affairs (C&RA) for Lockheed Martin Corporation. In this capacity, she is responsible for leading the corporation’s US Government civil customer relationships, outside of NASA and NOAA, as well as the corporation’s regulatory team engagement across the Executive Branch, Independent Agencies and Intergovernmental Bodies on Lockheed Martin programs, technologies and systems. The C&RA regulatory portfolio includes spectrum governance, 5G, commercial space, crewed/uncrewed aviation, ocean minerals, and emerging technologies.

Ms Warren serves on Federal Advisory Committees, including as an appointed member of NASA Advisory Council’s Regulatory Policy Committee, and has just completed serving as Co-Chair of the Department of Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC).  Ms Warren holds leadership positions in several professional / trade organizations, including the Boards of the Satellite Industry Association and the US ITU Association.

In 1996, Ms Warren joined Lockheed Martin’s Space & Strategic Missiles Sector, and in 2001 she became part of LM Washington Operations. Prior to Lockheed Martin, she served in several senior roles at the US Federal Communications Commission; before joining the US Government, Ms Warren worked for the Commission of the European Union – both in Brussels, and in Washington, DC, – with a focus on EU-US trade.
She is also a graduate of Georgetown University (B.S. in Languages) and Georgetown University Law Center (J.D.), and a member of the Illinois State and D.C. Bars, the Federal Communications Bar Association, American Bar Association, and the Women’s Bar Association. Her civic activities include Secretary of the City of Alexandria’s George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee, the Vice-President of the Board of Gadsby’s Tavern Museum Society in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, and the Foundation of the National Archives & Records Administration (NARA).

Jessica Rosenworcel, Acting Chairwoman at Federal Communications Commission, believes that the future belongs to the connected. She works to promote greater opportunity, accessibility, and affordability in our communications services in order to ensure that all Americans get a fair shot at 21st century success. She believes strong communications markets can foster economic growth and security, enhance digital age opportunity, and enrich our civic life.

From fighting to protect net neutrality to ensuring access to the internet for students caught in the Homework Gap, Ms Rosenworcel has been a consistent champion for connecting all. She is a leader in spectrum policy, developing new ways to support wireless services from Wi-Fi to video and the internet of things. She also is responsible for developing policies to help expand the reach of broadband to schools, libraries, hospitals, and households across the country.

Named as one of POLITICO’s 50 Politicos to Watch and profiled by InStyle Magazine in a series celebrating “women who show up, speak up and get things done,” Ms Rosenworcel brings over two decades of communications policy experience and public service to the FCC. Prior to joining the agency, she served as Senior Communications Counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, under the leadership of Senator John D. Rockefeller IV and Senator Daniel Inouye. Before entering public service, Ms Rosenworcel practiced communications law in Washington, DC.

Ms Rosenworcel is a graduate of Wesleyan University and New York University School of Law.

Bio coming soon…

José Fernando Parada Rodríguez is a Film and Television Producer from the National University of Colombia and a specialist in Management of Creative and Cultural Industries.

Mr Parada has been a consultant in the areas of music, film, television, advertising, design, animation and cultural enterprises and worked on important projects in the areas of creative and cultural industries for the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá. He was also General Director of the National Film School of Colombia, Director of Content of the National Pact for Quality Television for Children, advisor to the National Television Commission, Member of the National Film Council and Director of UnTelevisión of the National University.

Mr Parada also has a teaching career in undergraduate and master’s degrees from important Universities in Colombia and has been a regular workshop facilitator and speaker at various Communication events such as Ficci, BAM, Input, Inalde and the Latin American Network of Festivals in Mexico City and Chile.

Mr Parada has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from INALDE Business School.

Juan Montero Rodil was appointed Chief Public Policy, Competition and Regulatory Officer at Telefonica S.A in July 2021.

After five years initially practicing law in a firm in Madrid, he joined the Telefónica Group in 1996, becoming part of the Legal Services of Telefónica Móviles at the time when telecom liberalization process began in Spain. From 2006 to 2016, he was head of the Telecommunications Legal Department in Telefónica España. In 2016 he joined the Corporate Legal Services of the Group, at Telefónica S.A., as Director of the Competition Law, Privacy and Legal Regulatory Units.

Mr Montero Rodil holds a degree in Law from the Complutense University of Madrid and a PDD from IESE.

Dr Katrin Nyman-Metcalf works as Senior Expert of Legal Framework at the Estonian e-Governance Academy and is a Adjunct Professor of Communications Law at the Department of Law, School of Business and Governance, Tallinn University of Technology.

She is also involved in international consultancy, primarily in the area of information and communication technology law, including e-governance. Her projects include regular legal analysis of media and communications legislation for e.g. the OSCE and the European Commission; work on setting up regulatory systems and professional training, especially for post-conflict societies; and support for e-governance.

Dr Nyman-Metcalf’s PhD in Public International Law (the law of outer space) (1999) and her Master’s degree (1986) are both from the University of Uppsala in Sweden. Her research interests include how law and technology meet, with a special emphasis on IT and communications, as well as outer space; international (global and regional) decision-making and the changing structure of governance; the implementation of human rights; and the rule of law. She has published widely on these and related topics.

Kent Walker has worked at the nexus of cutting-edge technology, policy, and legal issues for over twenty years. He currently oversees Google’s legal, policy, and compliance affairs, product policies, philanthropic efforts, and work with governments around the world.

Before joining Google, Mr Walker held executive positions at leading technology companies, including eBay, Netscape, AOL, and Airtouch Communications. He served as an Assistant US Attorney with the US Department of Justice and advised the Attorney General on technology policy issues. At the start of his career, he worked as a litigator specializing in government and public law issues.

Mr Walker has served on the boards of a variety of industry associations and currently serves on the Harvard Board of Overseers and the Mercy Corps Social Ventures Fund. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Mr Walker graduated with honors from Harvard College and Stanford Law School.

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.

Luci Abrahams (PhD, Wits) is Director of the LINK Centre at Wits University https://www.wits.ac.za/linkcentre/, building research on digital innovation, how digital technologies and processes influence change, and on human-centered digital transformation. Research studies include: digital skills gap analysis and implementation; digital government strategy; scaling up innovation in tech hubs, and open access in scholarly publishing (OpenAIR). Dr Abrahams supervises research topics on applications of dynamic software (in mathematics education), biopower, cybersecurity, digitalisation in public services, digitalisation in universities, fintech, smart environments and other topics. She participates in The Open African Innovation Research network (Open AIR) and is a CyberBRICS associated scholar. Dr Abrahams is Corresponding Editor for The African Journal of Information and Communication, indexed in the SciELO Citation Index. She currently serves on the Board of TENET. She has previously served on various Boards and Committees, including the Board of the National Research Foundation and the Ministerial Review Panel on the Science Technology and Innovation Institutional Landscape

Lucilla Sioli is the Director for “Artificial Intelligence and Digital Industry” within Directorate-General CONNECT at the European Commission. She is responsible for the coordination of the European digitisation of industry strategy and for policy development in the area of artificial intelligence (AI). The directorate also supports R&D&I in key digital industrial technologies including microelectronics, photonics, robotics and AI.  Ms Siolo has been a civil servant with the European Commission since 1997.

Ms Sioli holds a PhD in economics from the University of Southampton (UK) and from the Catholic University of Milan (Italy).

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’.

Madeleine de Cock Buning is the Vice President for Public Policy EMEA at Netflix.  As Vice-President for Public Policy Europe, Middle-East and Africa, Prof de Cock Buning is working with her team to ensure Netflix continues to play an active role in supporting EU institutions and national governments across the region in their efforts to promote and champion the creative industries as a catalyst for innovation and creativity.

Prof de Cock Buning is also a professor of Copyright and Media Law at the University of Utrecht Faculty of Law (UU) and chaired professor of Digital Politics, Economy and Societies at the School of Transnational Governance of the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence. Previously, Prof de Cock Buning was Chair of the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) on fake news and disinformation (2018), chair of the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) (2016 & 2017) and was President of the Board of Commissioners at the Dutch Media Authority (2009-2019). She was Honorary Judge of the Court of Appeal in The Hague (2010-2020) and was a panelist of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) (2001-2018).

In May 2019 Prof de Cock Buning received a Royal Distinction; she was appointed Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau by the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Dr Maria Michalis is an Associate Professor in Communication Policy at the University of Westminster’s Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI), a leading research centre in the UK and internationally for almost thirty years.

Dr Michalis has been for over 20 years now researching telecommunications, Internet and television policy and regulation. She has published widely on these issues. She is author of ‘Governing European Communications’ (Lexington, 2007), and has numerous refereed academic articles and book chapters. In recent years, her work has concentrated on the convergence between television and the Internet, and on examining the major transformations in ‘television’ like internationalization, platformization and growing on-demand consumption.

Dr Michalis is also active professionally. She regularly makes submissions to policy consultations. Her public-facing role includes positions in civil-society organizations. She has presented her research at European and international policy fora, at venues that bring together academics, industry and policy-makers including the European Parliament, the European Audiovisual Observatory and Unesco.

Maria Rachel J. Arenas is the incumbent Chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) (January 2017 – Present) under the Duterte administration.

Her work experience includes being a director for special projects for Father Pio Lend a Hand Foundation in Makati City.  She was a research and training assistant at the Congressional Research and Training Service and a radio and television producer for public affairs at ACE TV Concepts and has also served as a contributing writer at Money Asia and as a consultant, in PAGCOR.

Chairperson Arenas was the first woman representative, in the history of the province of Pangasinan thus far, specifically in the province’s third district.  Hence, she was hailed as one of the Most Outstanding Congresswoman of 2007 by the Congress Magazine, Trade Express Asia.

Right now, she also dons the hat of being one of the members of the Board of Governors of the Philippine Red Cross.

When it comes to helping the less fortunate, MTRCB Chairperson Maria Rachel Arenas is in every inch as tireless and dedicated as her mother, the famous social worker, and philanthropist, now the Representative of the Third District of Pangasinan, Rosemarie “Baby” Arenas.

Chairperson Arenas is the 15th and seventh woman chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) which is composed of 30 board members and a vice chairperson and is mandated to regulate and classify motion pictures, television programs, and publicity materials among others.

Chairperson Arenas has a degree in AB Political Science from the De La Salle University. She took up further studies at the Institute of Politics of the John F. Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University in 2003, and at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Boston, USA, in 2004.

Mark Williams is a Practice Manager in the Digital Development Global Practice of the World Bank. His responsibilities include Global Knowledge and Expertise and the East Asia and Pacific Region. He is an economist with over 20 years of experience in the economics, regulation, and strategy of the digital sector, covering a range of specialist areas including strategy, policy, regulation, cybersecurity, financial analysis corporate restructuring, and litigation.

In addition to the World Bank, Mr Williams has worked in some of the world’s leading economic consulting firms – NERA, Frontier Economics, Deloitte, and Berkeley Research Group (BRG).

Matthew Sinclair is Senior Director at CCIA, the Computer and Communications Industry Association. CCIA is an international, not-for-profit trade association representing a broad cross section of communications and technology firms. For more than 50 years, CCIA has promoted open markets, open systems, and open networks. Matthew has worked on digital policy and strategy as an economist for a wide range of organisations including the UK Government, the EU institutions and major media and technology companies. Alongside that policy work, he has provided practical support to major technology businesses seeking to anticipate, understand and implement changing European tech regulation.

Mauricio Ramos was appointed CEO of Millicom in April 2015. He was most recently President of Liberty Global’s Latin American Division from 2006 until February 2015.

Over the past fourteen years Mauricio held a number of leadership roles at Liberty Global, including positions as Chairman and CEO of VTR in Chile, CFO of Liberty’s Latin American Division and President of Liberty Puerto Rico. Throughout this period he successfully developed both mobile and broadband businesses in Latin America, delivering solid operational improvement and outstanding financial results. Mauricio is also Chairman of TEPAL, the Latin American Association of Cable Broadband Operators.

Previously Mr Ramos was a Partner and Vice President at Investment Banking Services Ltd. (IBS), and Assistant Director of the Deutsche Morgan Grenfell office in Bogotá, Colombia. Prior to this, he worked for the Office of the President of Colombia and taught economics at Universidad de los Andes and Universidad Externado in Bogotá. He also served as the Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Chile from 2007 to 2011.

Mr Ramos received a degree in Economics, a degree in Law and a postgraduate degree in Financial Law from Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá.

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.

Mercedes Aramendía is the president of the Uruguayan Regulatory Unit of Communication Services (URSEC).

Ms Aramendía has extensive experience in the telecommunications sector. Prior to her current position, she worked as an independent consultant, collaborating with various telecommunications, technology and entrepreneurship organizations. Likewise, among other positions, she served as Head of Institutional Relations and Regulation at Telefónica Móviles de Uruguay, as well as a lawyer for the Uruguayan Chamber of Telecommunications and KPMG-Uruguay.

Since 2017 Ms Aramendía is a Professor at the University of Montevideo, where she also directs the Postgraduate Course on Digital Transformation and Law.

In 2019, she was recognized by Ursec as one of the outstanding Uruguayan women in regulation and / or Communications. Likewise, in 2021 she was recognized by DPL News as one of the 25 women leaders who will define the digital course.

Ms Aramendía has the following qualifications: Phd in Legal Sciences from the University of Granada, Spain, LLM in Law, Technology and Entrepreneurship from Cornell University, United States, MBA from the EAE Business School and Masters in Administration, Management and Business Organisation from the Camilo José Cela University, Spain. She also has a degree in Law, Master’s Degree in Access to the Legal Profession from the Antonio de Nebrija University, Spain, Master in Economic Administrative Law from the University of Montevideo, Uruguay and graduated as a Lawyer from the University of Montevideo, Uruguay.

The Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, Q.C., M.P., became Barbados’ eighth and first female Prime Minister on May 25, 2018.

Ms Mottley was elected to the Parliament of Barbados in September 1994 as part of the new Barbados Labour Party Government.

Prior to that, she served as one of two Opposition Senators between 1991 and 1994. One of the youngest persons ever to be assigned a ministerial portfolio, Ms Mottley was appointed Minister of Education, Youth Affairs and Culture from 1994 to 2001.

She later served as Attorney General and Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados from 2001 to 2008 and was the first female to hold that position.

Ms Mottley is an Attorney-at-law with a degree from the London School of Economics, specialising in advocacy. She is also a Barrister of the Bar of England and Wales.

In 2002, she became a member of the Local Privy Council. She was also admitted to the Inner Bar, becoming the youngest ever Queens Counsel in Barbados.

Michel Van Bellinghen, Master of Laws (UCL), started off at the university in 1990 as a researcher, then became an assistant under the supervision of Professor Françoise Tulkens, at the UCL Laws Centre for Criminal Law.

Mr Van Bellinghen became an assistant advisor at the Ministry of Justice in 1992 under the supervision of Professor Marc Bossuyt and joined the BIPT in 1997. From 1999 to 2003 he held the position of expert at the private office of Rik Daems, who was the Federal Telecommunications Minister at the time, and afterwards took up the function of Assistant Head of the Private Office. From 2003 until 2009 he was nominated Member of the BIPT Council for the first time. Following this mandate he remained closely affiliated to the Council and supervised the legal department of the regulator during a number of years. He has written scientific publications.

In 2013 Mr Van Bellinghen held a position on the Council as a Member. In January 2017 he was assigned Chairman of the BIPT Council.

Mr Van Bellinghen served as Chair of BEREC in 2021.

Mitsuhiro Hishida is a senior government official of Japan with more than 25 years professional career in ICT policy. He was appointed to the Deputy Director-General for Global Digital Policy in Global Strategy Bureau of Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) in July 2021.

Prior to the current position, he had worked in several senior positions, including Deputy Director-General for International Economic Affairs and Director for Multilateral Economic Affairs Office, MIC. He had contributed to the bilateral relations with the US, EU and other European countries, as well as negotiations including OECD, APEC, WTO and TPP as a telecommunication negotiator.

Mr Hishida graduated from Tokyo University with Bachler of Law (B.A.) degree in 1994.

Monica Ariño joined Amazon in April 2020, to lead public policy in the UK and Ireland. Before Amazon, she worked for BT Group as a Director of Regulatory Affairs (2017-2020) and for Ofcom, where from 2011 she led the International team. Ms Ariño has been a Vice-Chair of the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (2009-2017) and a Director of the Institute of International Communications (2015-2017).

Ms Ariño studied Law in Madrid, and then completed a PhD at the European University Institute in Florence.

Dr Natee Sukonrat is Vice-Chairman of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) of Thailand and also Chairman of the National Broadcasting Commission, whose main responsibilities are licensing, promoting and regulating the broadcasting sector (radio and television) in Thailand.

Dr Sukonrat has worked in the broadcasting and telecommunications sector for more than 20 years with regulatory concerns for broadcasting. His first objective is to license all unlicensed broadcasting in Thailand. He has held senior posts with several organizations during his career, including Qualcomm Inc., Directorate of Joint Communications Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters, CAT Telecom Public Company Limited in Thailand, and TOT Public Company Limited in Thailand.

Dr Sukonrat has a Bachelor’s degree of Science in Electrical Engineering (Gold Medal), Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy, Thailand, and PhD in Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.

Nerida O’Loughlin was appointed Chair and Agency Head of the ACMA from 14 October 2017 for five years.

Prior to joining ACMA, Ms O’Loughlin was Deputy Secretary in the Department of Communications and the Arts providing policy advice across telecommunications, broadcasting, online content and the arts. Ms O’Loughlin has also been responsible for major projects in the communications portfolio, including leading the Digital Television Switchover Program. Ms O’Loughlin served as interim CEO of the Digital Transformation Agency from 2016 to 2017. Over her career, Ms O’Loughlin has also held senior positions in the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments, predominantly across the technology and cultural sectors.

On 6 April 2019, Ms O’Loughlin was appointed as an Associate Member of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. On 10 June 2019 Ms O’Loughlin was awarded a Public Service Medal in the Queen’s Birthday honours for ‘outstanding public service through contributions to a more digital Australia and government’.

Dr P D Vaghela was appointed Chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 1st October, 2020.

Prior to joining TRAI, Dr Vaghela was Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers. He joined Indian Administrative Service [IAS] in 1986. He has held various assignments from District level to State level, during which he had won a number of awards for excellence as best Collector & District Magistrate 86 District Development Officer. In his assignment as Chairman, Kandla Port (2008-2013), the port was awarded as the best port for five years of his tenure. Dr Vaghela was Chief Commissioner of Sales Tax, in Gujarat, during which period he has played a major role in drafting GST law, its rules and fixing GST rates of goods and services as Convener of national level GST Law and GST Fitment Committees. He was closely involved in the GST implementation at national level as a key member of GST Implementation Committee.

As Secretary Pharmaceuticals, Dr Vaghela has launched four ambitious schemes to transform the sector. He has also worked as Convenor of Empowered Group 3 (now EG2) which handled availability of critical medical supplies like PPE, N-95, Ventilators and testing kits. Today India is exporting these items for which India was otherwise dependent on imports during pre-covid time.

In May, 2018 Dr Vaghela was honoured by Honourableble Prime Minister of India for excellence in Public Administration while appreciating his contribution in implementation of GST in India.

Dr Vaghela graduated in Commerce in 1982. He did his MBA (Master of Business Administration) with specialization in Financial Management in 1984 and also obtained MA in Development Studies (Public Policy & Management) from the Institute of Social Studies, the Hague in the Netherlands in 2005. He was decorated with a Doctorate in Public Management and Policy by Sardar Patel University, Anand, Gujarat in 2013

Dr. Pascal Dutru has worked with ictQATAR, since 2012, and with the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA), the independent authority in charge of ICT and postal services in Qatar, where he has held various senior managerial positions ranging from strategy, policy, planning and legal. In that capacity, he has ensured that the mandate of the regulator enables an over-arching regulatory approach, comprising new digital services (convergence, IoT, OTT, data transfer, smart cities, etc.). Amongst a wide span of achievements, he has developed specific regulatory frameworks for competition, access, and reviewed a host of regulatory policies and instruments related to CRA mandate. His actions support Qatar transforming into a connected nation, with very high speed broadband available everywhere and significant ongoing digital transformation projects.

Dr Dutru brings with him over 30 years of experience in the communications industry, with an in-depth understanding of markets at all stages of competition and the deployment of proactive strategies tailored to foster growth. Indeed, Pascal works closely with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

Formerly, he was General Counsel of Clear Channel (France), a worldwide external communication group, and of Alten SA, a listed IT services company. Prior to that, he was Deputy General Counsel in charge of the regulatory and competition division of Bouygues Telecom. As part of his duties, he helped the company branch into new markets, oversaw strategic contract negotiations with French and Foreign service providers, handled complex litigations and was deeply involved in the regulatory field in France and in Europe. His earlier professional experience includes working as an attorney at law with Thieffry & Associes, and Bigle, Carbonnier, Lamaze & Rasle, amongst other distinguished organizations.

Dr Dutru is an Attorney at Law (Paris) with a PhD in Law and an LLM in European Law from the College of Europe (Bruges). He also graduated from ESSEC in Finance and Control. Pascal often conducts lectures in telecom law and electronic commerce, regularly speaks at high profile international conferences and is an officer of the international Bar association (IBA).

Dr Peter Lovelock is Principal, Fair Tech Institute, Access Partnership. Prior to its acquisition by Access Partnership, Peter Lovelock was the Director of TRPC, along with Professor John Ure.  Peter and John established the Telecommunications Research Project (TRP) at the University of Hong Kong in 1993 and the Telecoms Infotechnology Forum (TIF) in 1996. Peter subsequently established the TRPC offices in Beijing (1999) and Singapore (2006) and expanded the academic collaborations in both locations, initially with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and subsequently with Qinghua University and the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Between 1999 and 2004, Peter built and ran China’s leading IT research consultancy, and prior to that he was a lead policy analyst at the UN in Geneva, where he was principal author on the World Telecommunications Development Report amongst others, including many of the ITU Secretary General’s speeches from this period.

He brings more than 25 years’ experience in telecoms, technology and media to these undertakings, including regulatory assessments, implementation and execution projects, and due diligence and market entry strategic guidance projects throughout Asia.

In recent years, Dr Lovelock has provided advice to governments and companies alike regionally on digital enablement and digital transformation, including to ASEAN on its ICT Masterplan, and to APEC on the Internet and Digital Economy principles and roadmap; as well as authoring reports on global data networks and bandwidth developments, cross border data flows and the economic impacts of data localisation, digital transactions, authentication and digital identity.

In the financial services and fintech spaces, Dr Lovelock has been involved in the establishment of new payments regulatory regimes in Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Zambia, focused on facilitating fast access channels and furthering financial inclusion He has advised and authored thought leadership on blockchains, digital and crypto currencies and national payment gateways and is currently working with multilateral donor agencies on the development of regulatory financial sandboxes in several jurisdictions and national eID schemes. Dr Lovelock is advising the Central Bank of Myanmar on their QR code standardisation and adoption, and is an expert on TV White Spaces and other non-traditional connectivity options for extending access.

Dr Lovelock is an advisor to PECC on digital and internet economy developments and sits on the board of the International Institute of Communications (IIC). TRPC provides Executive Director and Secretariat support to the Asia Cloud Computing Association (ACCA) and the Asia Pacific Spectrum Innovation Group (APSIG), among others.

Between 1999 and 2004 Dr Lovelock built and ran China’s leading IT research consultancy. Prior to that, Peter worked at the ITU in Geneva.

Reinald Krüger is Director, Policy and Public Affairs of Vodafone Group, based in London. Prior to joining Vodafone Group in 2018, he held management positions with the European Commission, in the Directorate-Generals for Industry, for Competition and for Communications Networks, Content and Technology. Until 1995, Mr Krüger was Head of the Research Group “Industrial Economics and Competition Policy” at the HWWA-Institute in Hamburg. He was also a Consultant with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in Washington, D.C. (1989) and a Competition Expert to the World Bank (1990). Mr Krüger is an economist by training and author of more than 30 publications in the areas of industrial economics, competition policy and transition economics.

As founder and president of ITIF, recognised as the world’s top think tank for science and technology policy, Rob Atkinson leads a prolific team of policy analysts that is successfully shaping the debate and setting the agenda on a host of critical issues at the intersection of technological innovation and public policy. During the Obama administration he served as co-chair of the White House U.S. China Innovation Experts Group, and is the author of numerous books, including Big is Beautiful: Debunking the Mythology of Small Business (MIT Press, 2018).

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).

Robert Pepper was Head, Global Connectivity Policy and Planning, Meta until August 2024.  He helped lead Meta’s connectivity and technology policy activities focusing on new technology development, deployment and adoption. Dr Pepper previously was Cisco’s Vice President for Global Technology Policy for more than a decade working with governments across the world helping them develop their digital strategies and address areas such as ICT and development, broadband plans, IP enabled services, wireless and spectrum policy, the Internet of Things, security, privacy and internet governance.

As Chief of the Office of Plans and Policy and Chief of Policy Development at the FCC for 16 years beginning in 1989, Dr Pepper led teams designing and implementing the first US spectrum auctions, developing policies promoting the development of the internet, implementing telecommunications legislation, and planning for the transition to digital television.

Before joining the FCC, he was Director of the Annenberg Washington Program in Communications Policy. His government service also included Acting Associate Administrator at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and initiating a programme on Computers, Communications and Information Policy at the National Science Foundation.

His academic appointments included faculty positions at the Universities of Iowa, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, and as a research affiliate at Harvard University. He chairs the US Department of State’s Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy and has served on the board of the US Telecommunications Training Institute, the US Department of Commerce’s Spectrum Management Advisory Committee and the UK’s OFCOM Spectrum Advisory Board.

Dr Pepper received his BA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Robyn Greene is a nationally recognised expert in law and policy concerning privacy, surveillance, and cybersecurity. She leads Facebook’s global privacy policy work on surveillance and cross-border data flows, where she focuses on how best to protect the privacy and human rights of Facebook users, and internet users generally.

Samuel Tew is Senior Manager at Axon Partners Group, an international firm founded in 2006 that provides investment and advisory services in the ICT and digital space in more than 50 countries across the world.

Mr Tew is a strategy consultant with strong expertise in emerging technology and innovation, currently with a focus in cybersecurity, and has worked with Start-ups, Governments and Corporates alike across Europe, Asia and Australasia. He has led advisory projects with a wide range of regulatory authorities and multilateral institutions including the European Commission (EC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) and also regularly works with National Cybersecurity Agencies on strategic projects, from the assessment of national ICT infrastructure to the creation of regulatory policies.

Holding both a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Mr Tew’s expertise lie in business strategy and technology policy.

Sanjeev Kumar Sharma is a senior officer with Government of India, with over twenty-six years of experience in telecom sector.  Mr Sharma is currently Advisor, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Government of India and looks after issues related to Network, Spectrum, Licensing, Broadband Policy Analysis, Administration and International Relations.

Mr Sharma’s experience ranges widely from telecom regulation, telecom operations, development of the Cellular Mobile networks from scratch, organisation restructuring, licensing and telecom policy formulation.

Mr Sharma, an Engineer, has a post-graduation from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore in association with Syracuse University, USA.  He also has a degree in Law.

Bio coming soon …….

Bio cominf soon …..

Siobhan Walsh is a Director in the Content Policy Team. She joined the team four years ago and oversees the regulation of the BBC and PSB sector.

Previously she worked in the Competition Group in Ofcom, working on broadcasting, telecoms and postal regulation. Prior to Ofcom Ms Walsh was an economist in the Government Economic Service and started out working as an economist in a research team at the University of Westminster, focussing on education and labour market issues.

Professor Sizwe Lindelo Snail ka Mtuze is a member of South African Information Regulator (SAIR) and a member of Films and Publication Appeal Board (FPAB) since 2016 and 2017 respectively. He is a regular external examiner for Cyber Law / IT Law for LLB and LLM students and is the International Co-ordinator of the African Centre for Cyberlaw and Crime Prevention (ACCP) based in Kampala, Uganda.

Sizwe Snail Ka Mtuze was a member on the ICT REVIEW Panel of the Department of Telecommunications & Postal Services (DTPS), serving as a Chair of the E-commerce Committee (Digital Society as renamed) within the Panel sub-committees (2014 – 2015); he also served on the National Cyber Security advisory Counsel of the DPTS. (2015 – 2017).

He holds a Baccalareus Legum (LLB) from the University of Pretoria with Tax Law and Cyber-Law electives also an (LLM) from the University of South Africa (UNISA). He is currently registered with the University of Fort Hare for an (LLD) and has recently been appointed as Adjunct Professor in the Mercantile Law Department of Nelson Mandela University (NMU) Law Faculty.

Dr Stephen Unger was until recently a Board member of Ofcom, the UK regulator responsible for digital communications. He had various responsibilities, including setting regulatory strategy for the UK, representing the UK internationally, and leading Ofcom’s technology programme. For a period he was Acting Chief Executive.

Before becoming a regulator Dr Unger spent several years in the private sector. He worked for a variety of high-tech start-ups who were developing and exploiting new wireless technologies.

Dr Unger’s current focus, working as a non-executive board member, consultant, and academic, is on the practical implications of disruptive technology change. He is a member of the IIC Board.

For more background see www.linkedin.com/in/ungersteve. Dr Unger can be contacted at swunger@swunger.com

Thomas Sullivan is Chief of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) International Bureau. The International Bureau represents the FCC in international conferences and meetings and also oversees the licensing and policy activities for international telecommunications services and satellite services.

From March 2010 to January 2017, Mr Sullivan served as the Chief of Staff for the International Bureau, where he coordinated International activities within the FCC and advanced the FCC’s international representation within the U.S. Government and at international events. Mr Sullivan has served in a variety of positions within the International Bureau and the FCC’s Office of Managing Director.

Mr Sullivan joined the FCC in 1991 after receiving his Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan.

Thomas Zerdick, LL.M. (@TZerdick) is Head of the Unit “Technology and Privacy” in the office of the European Data Protection Supervisor, dealing with new technologies and their impact on personal data protection and privacy.

Previously, Mr Zerdick was a Member of Cabinet for the European Commission’s First Vice-President Timmermans with responsibilities in particular for issues relating to the Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights, including personal data protection.

At the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, Mr Zerdick was a key member of the team that prepared and negotiated the European Commission’s data protection reform proposals, i.e. the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Police Data Protection Directive between 2009 and 2016.

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

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

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

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

Professor Umar Garba Danbatta is Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Agency charged with the responsibility of regulating telecommunications in Nigeria. He was the Vice President of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), International Centre for Advance Communications Studies, established in 2004 by the NCCto build capacity for the Nigerian/Africa telecom industry in information and communications technology. While at DBI he developed expertise in the following major areas of ICT: implementation, policy and regulation.

Professor Danbatta served as a lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Technology of Bayero University Kano for 28 years, where he taught courses in telecommunications engineering and electronics and held academic positions of Dean of the Faculty and Head of Department at different times. He was also a member of over 60 University committees and task forces, including numerous stints as Chairman. In administrative and other responsibilities outside the university, he has served on over 20 committees, prominent among which was his Chairmanship of the Implementation Committee on Kano State University of Science & Technology, after which he became its pioneer Deputy and Acting Vice-Chancellor when it took off in 2001.

Professor Danbatta has to his credit more than 50 articles in journals, conference proceedings and technical reports. He is also the author of a book entitled ‘Elements of Static Engineering Electromagnetics’. A recipient of 18 distinguished awards and certificates of honour, Professor Danbatta has served two terms as a Member of Council of the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), and is also a COREN Registered Engineer and a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers. (NSE).

Prof Danbatta obtained his BEng, MSc degrees from the technical University of Wroclaw in Poland and his PhD from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) UK respectively.

Dr Wilhelm Eschweiler, one of the two Vice Presidents of the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur), is responsible for telecommunications and rail.

He was Chair of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) in 2016.

Prior to his current position, he worked in several senior positions in the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy. He was Head of Unit for the European ICT Policy from 2007 until April 2014 and Head of Unit for International Telecoms and Postal Services Policy from 2002 until 2006. Prior to that, he worked as an advisor for regulatory policy from 1998 until 2002.

After graduating from the University of Bonn with a degree in Law (Second State Examination) he started his career at the Federal Ministry of Post and Telecommunications from 1992 until 1994 including a mandatory secondment to the Directorate-General Information Society and Media of the European Commission in Brussels. From 1995 until 1997 he worked in the Office of the Minister Dr. Wolfgang Bötsch.

Dr. Eschweiler holds a degree in Law from the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University in Bonn and spent two terms at the University of Lausanne.

Bio coming soon ……..

William Webb is CEO at Webb Search, an independent consultancy. He was one of the founding directors of Neul, a company developing machine-to-machine technologies and networks, which was formed at the start of 2011 and subsequently sold to Huawei and became CEO of the Weightless SIG, a body standardizing IoT technology.

Prior to this Mr Webb was a Director at Ofcom where he managed a team providing technical advice and performing research. He has worked for a range of communications consultancies and spent three years providing strategic management across Motorola’s entire communications portfolio, based in Chicago. He was IET President 2014-2015.

Mr Webb has published 17 books, 100 papers, and 18 patents. He is a Visiting Professor at Southampton University, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the IEEE and the IET. He has been awarded multiple honorary doctorates by the UK’s leading universities and in 2018 was awarded the IET’s prestigious Mountbatten Medal for technology entrepreneurship.

Xiaogang Zha is Director of Center for International Policy and Senior Expert in Tencent Research Institute (TRI) of Tencent Company. Previously he was the Deputy Director of Research Department of Shanghai Institute for International Studies (SIIS) and a diplomat of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dr Zha was a Chevening Fellow and a Stars Foundation Fellow.  He got his PhD from Fudan University in Shanghai on international political economy.

Dr Yeali S. Sun is a Commissioner and was nominated for a seat on the National Communications Commission by Premier Ching-te Lai of Executive Yuan and was confirmed by the Legislative Yuan on July 25, 2018. She was sworn into office on August 6, 2018.

Previously from 1988 to 1993, Dr Sun was with Bell Communications Research Inc. (Bellcore; now Telcordia), where she was involved in the area of planning and architecture design of information networking, broadband networks, and network & system management. In August 1993, she jointed National Taiwan University as a professor. Dr Sun was chairperson of the Department of Information Management from 2005-2007 and a visiting scholar of CyLab, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA from 2007-2008. She was the director of the Information Networking Group in the Computer Center of National Taiwan University and founded Taiwan Academia networks (TANet) Northern Regional Security Operations Center (SOC). In 1996-2002, Dr Sun served in the TANet Technical Committee, Steering Committee of the National Broadband Experimental Network (NBEN) and Internet2, and IP Committee of TWNIC. She also served in many government science and technology project review committees. She was an adjunct research fellow of the Office of Science and Technology and a member of the Science & Technology Program Executive Review Board, Executive Yuan from 2017-2018.

Dr Sun’s research interests are in the area of cybersecurity, communication networks, mobile Internet, and quality of service (QoS).

Dr Sun received her B.S. degree in Computer Science from National Taiwan University in 1982, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, both in Computer Science, from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1984 and 1988, respectively.