International Regulators’ Forum 2019

Ajit Pai joined CTIA as its President and CEO in April 2025.  He joined CTIA from Searchlight Capital Partners, a leading global private investment firm, where he has been a partner since 2021. Prior to Searchlight, Mr. Pai had a distinguished public service career at the Federal Communications Commission. He was designated FCC Chairman by President Donald Trump, and during his tenure, he implemented major initiatives to help close the digital divide, promote U.S. leadership in 5G, encourage innovation, and safeguard consumers and national security. Mr. Pai was appointed to the FCC as Commissioner in 2012 by President Barack Obama. Mr. Pai graduated with honors from Harvard University and from the University of Chicago Law School.

Akifumi Irie is Advisor to Director-General, Global Strategy Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan. Before this he was Senior Deputy Director, General Affairs Division, Global Strategy Bureau (2017-2018) and Senior Deputy Director, Broadcasting Policy Division, Information and Communications Bureau (2016-2018) in the Ministry.

Mr Irie has also held positions as First Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japanese delegation representative to the OECD) (2013-2015) and OECD Vice Chair; Deputy Director for International Economy division (in charge of US and EU), Global Strategy Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan (2012-2013); Deputy Director for Public Finance Policy Division, Ministry of Finance (2010-2012) and Consumer Policy Division / Telecommunications Business Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, in charge of planning consumer protection in the field of telecommunication (2002-2005).

Alee Fa’amoe is an independent consultant.  He was the Deputy CEO and Executive Director ICT for OfReg, the newly formed (January 2017) converged utilities regulator overseeing ICT, fuels, electricity, and water industries in the Cayman Islands until August 2020.

Mr Fa’amoe has a broad background in technology, operations, and management and has spent 20 years in the telecommunications industry, working as an industry expert on telephone numbering and network operations. He spent several years at Deloitte Cayman as Chief Operating Officer where he was responsible for HR, marketing, IT, operations, and finance departments. He also served as a subject matter expert on client consulting engagements, and worked with Deloitte offices in several Caribbean locations with operational matters.

Mr Fa’amoe was previously appointed Managing Director of the Information and Communications Technology Authority (ICTA) in 2013, which has since become part of OfReg.

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.

Antonio Nicita is a Professor  of Economic Policy at Lumsa University, Italy.

Professor Nicita was previously Commissioner of the Italian regulatory authority (AGCOM) until October 2020.  He has also been Associate Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Siena and Visiting Fulbright Professor at Yale University. From 2005-06 he was a Non- Governmental Adviser to the International Competition Network (ICN) for the report on telecommunications sector. From 2006-07 he was an economic adviser to the Italian Minister of Communications and member of the Governmental Unit for the Improvement of Regulation. He was Economic Adviser for the 2009 OECD Regulatory Report on Italy.

Professor Nicita is a member of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board, European Commission, as well as the Board of Directors of the Italian Society of Law and Economics, European Association of Law and Economics and of the International Society for New Institutional Economics (ISNIE).

He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Siena, Italy. His research interests cover industrial organisation, law and economics, competition economics and regulation.

Camilo Alberto Jiménez Santofimio is Commissioner, Commission for Communications Regulation of Colombia (CRC).

Mr Jiménez has worked for various private and public telecommunication companies, such as Leading Projects Engineer for the National Television Commission (CNTV), Engineer, Spectrum Management and Planning Section at the National Spectrum Agency (ANE), Senior Consultant at Commission for Communications Regulation (CRC), and the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications (MinTIC), where he led the Infrastructure Division.

Mr Jiménez is an Electronic Engineer from the National University of Colombia and a specialist in Projects Management from EAN University. He holds a Master’s degree in Administration from Javeriana University.

Catalina Parot was appointed President of Consejo Nacional de Televisión (CNTV), Chile for a 4-year Tenure from 2018 – 2022.

From 2010 to 2012, for the first term of Sebastian Piñera, President of Chile, Mrs Parot served as Minister of Public Real Estates. In addition, she has worked as President of the Fundación Fecunda (Fecunda Foundation)(2015- ) , General Manager of Viña Corral Victoria (Corral Victoria Vineyard) (2002-2009) and panelist of political TV shows.

Mrs Parot has a Bachelor in Law from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Pontifical Catholic University of Chile). She also has a Masters degree in Political Science from the Universidad de Chile (University of Chile) and in Classic Philology from the Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (Catholic University of Valparaiso).

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.

Celene Craig is also an Advisory Council member at the International Institute of Communications.

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 a member of the IIC Advisory Council and Former 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.

Cordel Green is Executive Director of the Broadcasting Commission, which regulates radio, television and cable in Jamaica, and he is helping to lead Jamaica’s Digital Television Transition process.

Mr Green has been appointed to the Jamaica National Commission for UNESCO and represents Jamaica on UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Council for the Information For All Programme (IFAP). He is also Vice-Chair of the International Bureau for IFAP and Chairman of the IFAP Working Group on Information Accessibility. His other affiliations include being a Vice-Chair (Caribbean), International Centre for Information Ethics (ICIE); Member of the Law Committee for the IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Consideration in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems; Member of the IEEE Working Group on Trustworthiness in News; Member of the IEEE Working Group on Recommended Practice for Organizational Governance of AI; Advisory Board member of the Society for Scientific Advancement (SOSA); and honorary member of the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (Washington DC).

Mr Green holds Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) and Bachelor of Laws (Hons.) degrees from the University of the West Indies, a Master of Laws Degree with distinction, from the University of Sheffield in England, a Master of Business Administration degree from the Mona School of Business, and is an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education Programme and a Chevening Scholar.

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.

Adv. Dimakatso Qocha’s role at ICASA is to ensure that while fulfilling the mandate of Regulating in the Public Interest, the regulations passed must enable South Africans to meaningfully participate in the ICT ecosystem.

Adv. Qocha is an ICT Policy and Regulatory Specialist. Her career in the ICT sector began in 2004 at Sentech. She was part of the regulatory team that contributed to the promulgation of the Electronic Communications Act and the ICASA amendment Act.

Adv. Qocha later joined the National Association of Broadcasters as Deputy Executive Director. During her tenure, she was involved in the formulation of broadcasting policy and regulatory submissions to the Regulator and Parliament, that changed the landscape of the broadcasting industry. She was further instrumental and party to negotiations on needletime royalties between broadcasters and collecting societies.

Adv. Qocha served on the board of the Road Accident Fund, as well as a member of the appeals committee of the Advertising Standards Authority of SA. Currently, she serves on the board of the National Film and Video Foundation and the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism. She is a member of the Institute of Directors of South Africa.

Adv. Qocha holds an LLB degree and Postgraduate Diploma in Interpretation and Drafting of Contracts. She was admitted as an Advocate in 2006.

Dion Smith, is a Bermudian entrepreneur and technology expert. As Managing Director of Smith Technologies Ltd. (STL), Mr Smith works with many other businesses on the island to service and manage their computer and technology needs.

In addition to managing STL, Mr Smith is also Managing Director of Bermuda Business Continuance, a business created for Disaster Recovery Planning and Managing Director of Limo Bermuda.

Mr Smith began his technical career at Gateway Systems, as a Systems Engineer. From 1993 – 2000, Dion has worked in several technical capacities with International Risk Management in Bermuda, Independent Consulting Services, and Overseas Partners before starting Quest Consulting Ltd.

Mr Smith is a Board Director of the Adult Education School (2006 to present) and Board of Commissioners for the Regulatory Authority of Bermuda (2018 to present); He has also been Board Member of the Bermuda Telecommunications Commission (2006- 2012) and Director of Emergence, a global provider of business consulting services, in Bermuda (2009-2012).

Mr Smith holds a BSc in Computer Technology Engineering, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass., USA (1993). Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) Novell Certified Network Engineer (CNE).

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.

Garrett Blaney joined the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) as Commissioner and Chairperson on 07 January 2019.

Mr Blaney was previously a member of the Commission at the Commission for Regulation of Utilities since February 2010 and Chairperson from February 2014 to February 2017. In 2017 Mr Blaney was elected the Chair of the ACER Board of Regulators (Agency for the Co-operation of Energy Regulators) and also the President of the Council of the European Energy Regulators (CEER).

Prior to becoming a Regulator Mr Blaney had over 20 years of experience working in the energy industry. He was previously Strategic Development Director for Viridian Power and Energy, Commercial Director for Huntstown Power, Ireland’s first independent power producer, and Asian regional director for ESB International.

George Michaelides has more than 20 years of experience in ICT, and currently heads the Cyprus national regulatory authority (OCECPR) for Electronic Communications and Postal Services as well as the regulatory authority for Network and Information Security (NIS) for Critical Information Infrastructures (CIIs). In addition, he is tasked to setup and operate the National CSIRT. His office is also the coordinating body for the implementation of Cyprus Cybersecurity Strategy.

As part of his regulatory duties Mr Michaelides is a Board member of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), the European Mediterranean Regulators Group (EMERG) and the European Regulators Group for Postal Services (ERGP). For more than 14 years he has been working for multinational organizations holding various regional senior ICT roles, accountable for the provision of impeccable service through reorganizations, outsourcing and the implementation/adoption of IT Best Practices.

Mr Michaelides holds a B.Eng in Computer Engineering and an MSc in Communications Systems.

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

Most recently, Mr. Scott served as the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Mr. Scott was appointed by the Governor-in-Council on July 14, 2017 and led the organization from September 2017 to January 2023.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Scott worked at the Competition Bureau in both the Regulated Industries Branch and the Mergers Branch. 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, the International Institute of Communications, Canadian Aerospace Association and Ski Quebec Alpin, and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from McGill University.

Mr. Scott is also an Advisory Council member at the International Institute of Communications.

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.

Mr Jeffrey Paul Morgan is a senior regulatory professional having engaged in regulatory practice since 1995, specifically in utility and telecommunications regulation. Prior to that he worked for 24 years at senior management levels in electric and water utility management and operations.

In 2017 Mr Morgan was appointed the first Chief Executive Officer of the Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg) of the Cayman Islands. His term ended in August 2018. He served as a founding Deputy Director General for two three year terms before being appointed as Director General of the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), Jamaica and was a key member of the team engaged by the Government of Jamaica to “create” the OUR.

Since 2009 he has been a non-executive director of the Utility Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) of the Bahamas, serving as the Deputy Chairperson between 2009 and 2017.

He practices as an independent consultant on regulatory policy and related issues in the Energy, Telecommunications and Water Sectors. He has advised clients such as the International Telecommunications Union and advised the Government of the Cayman Islands on regulatory reform issues related to the legal and institutional design for the merger of the existing single sector regulators into a multi sector regulatory organisation. During that tenure in the Cayman Islands he was appointed by the Cabinet as the Chair of National Energy Policy Review Committee.

Mr Morgan served two terms (2006 – 2008) as Chairman of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO); he is a Founding Member and served two terms (2001 -2004) as Vice Chairman of Organization of Caribbean Utility Regulators (OOCUR) and subsequently as Chairman for two terms (2004 – 2006)). He again served as Chairman for one term 2013/2014. He has also served as Co – Vice Chair of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC’s) International Relations Committee and also as 2nd Vice President of OLADE’s “Forum of Supervisory Entities and Regulatory Agencies for Electric Power Activities”.

Mr Morgan, a PURC Senior Fellow, is a graduate of the University of Salford, England, is a Professional Engineer registered in Jamaica, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and a Chartered Engineer in the United Kingdom, Fellow of the Jamaica Institution of Engineers and Life Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers of the USA.

Jonathan Oxley joined Ofcom as Group Director, Competition in November 2014 and was appointed to the Ofcom Board in January 2015.

Prior to joining Ofcom, Mr Oxley was a Partner in PwC’s Strategy and Economics practice, specialising in telecoms, media and technology.

After graduating, Mr Oxley joined BT as a graduate trainee manager, where he stayed for eight years before moving to Metropolitan Fibre Systems (Verizon).

Mr Keng Thai Leong, the Deputy Chief Executive of the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, has more than 36 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry. He was previously Director-General of Telecommunications & Post at the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), which became part of the Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore on 1st October 2016.

In his previous position, Mr Leong played a key role in significant milestones of the industry, including the full liberalisation of the sector, the introduction of a competition regulatory framework, and the deployment of the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network.

Mr Leong concurrently holds the appointment of the Chairman of the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC), the statutory body set up to administer the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). In addition, he is a Commissioner to the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development and Senior Advisor, International Strategy Unit at the Ministry of Communications & Information.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) from the University of Singapore and obtained a Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California, USA. He also attended the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School.

Kevin Bakhurst has been Group Director, Content and Media Policy at Ofcom since October 2016. He oversees Ofcom’s broadcast regulation and policy. He is a member of Ofcom’s Executive Board (Policy and Management Board) and Ofcom’s Content Board.

From 2012 until 2016, Mr Bakhurst was Managing Director, News and Current Affairs and Deputy Director General at Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTÉ. During this period, he was also Acting Director General for several months.

From 1990 to 2012, Mr Bakhurst has had a long and distinguished career in BBC News, latterly as Deputy Head of the BBC Newsroom and Controller of the BBC News channel and BBC News at One O’clock. When he was Editor of the BBC Ten O’Clock News, the programme received a BAFTA for its coverage of the Madrid bombing, and a Royal Television Society Award for News Programme of the Year. This was the first of many awards, covering, among other areas, humanitarian crises and political issues.

After a brief spell with Price Waterhouse, he became a researcher, then assistant producer at the BBC Business and Economics Unit in 1989.

Mr Bakhurst served as a Magistrate from 2000 until 2006. He attended St John’s College, Cambridge, where he read French and German.

Kiat How Tan was appointed Chief Executive of the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Commissioner of the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) in Jan 2017.

Prior to joining IMDA, Mr Tan was the Deputy Secretary (Cyber and Technology) at the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI), where he was involved in refining the national cybersecurity strategy with the Cyber Security Agency (CSA).

Mr Tan was also previously from the former Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), where he helped to develop the Intelligent Nation 2015 plan and implemented the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network. He also served at the Ministry of Finance and the Pioneer Generation Office.

Mr Tan currently sits on the boards of Government Technology Agency (GovTech) and Land Transport Authority (LTA).

Mr Tan graduated from Stanford University with an MSc in Management and was a Mason Fellow at Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government. He also has a BA in Computer Engineering and a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois, where he graduated summa cum laude.

Kim Mallalieu is Deputy Chairman of the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, TATT, a Fulbright Fellow and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of the West Indies where she leads the academic, commercial and outreach programmes in Communication Systems.

Dr Mallalieu has previously held the position of Head of Department and led the development of the Master’s in Telecommunications Regulation and Policy, MRP (Telecommunications), coordinating its delivery to participants from over thirty developing countries around the world. She has led many institutional, national and regional initiatives designed to build capacity for ICT-enabled developmental interventions and innovation and was a founding member of Diálogo Regional sobre Sociedad de la Información (DIRSI). As Principal Investigator of the Caribbean ICT Research Programme, she is engaged in multidisciplinary action research revolving around regionally appropriate strategies and technologies in support of development, with an emphasis on longitudinal pathways for equity and inclusion.

Dr Mallalieu holds a BS Electrical Engineering from MIT; MS Optics from the University of Rochester (Institute of Optics) and a PhD in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from University College London. She is a licensed amateur radio operator and the recipient of local, regional and international teaching awards as well as several other awards of distinction.

Lindsey Fussell is Group Director for Networks and Communications. She leads Ofcom’s work in the telecoms, post and network sectors, where we aim to protect consumers’ interests and promote competition.

Before joining Ofcom in April 2016, Ms Fussell held a range of senior leadership roles at public bodies. She was Public Services Director at HM Treasury, where she led on devolution, education and culture, defence and criminal justice. Ms Fussell supported the Varney review for public service transformation, and led major aspects of the 2015 Spending Review.

Ms Fussell holds a degree in Modern History from Oxford University, and is a member of York University’s governing Council.

Luciano Charlita de Freitas is an economics and finance adviser to the Board of Commissioners of Anatel. He has over 16 years’ experience in the telecommunications sector working in Brazil, the United States and Japan. Mr Charlita de Freitas has recently been involved in studies for approaching the liberalization of the telecommunications sector in Brazil and initiatives towards the reduction of competition barriers and to leverage investment flow in the sector.

Mr Charlita de Freitas holds a PhD in Economics-development Policy from the University of Hiroshima and contributes as author and reviewer of several academic journals.

Dr Luisa Affuso is Chief Economist and Group Director Economics and Analytics at Ofcom. She is a member of the Senior Management Team at Ofcom and of the Policy and Management Board, its Executive Board.

Dr Affuso joined Ofcom in October 2018 from PwC where she headed the Competition Economics advisory practice. She has over twenty years’ experience in the application of competition, regulatory, and industrial economics and has advised on a large number of cases including mergers, abuse of dominance and restrictive horizontal and vertical agreements, as well as damages litigation from antitrust infringements, market studies and market investigations, and State aid. She has given expert evidence on a number of high-profile cases before several antitrust authorities including the European Commission, the Italian, UK, South African, Indian, and Singaporean authorities, as well as Courts and specialised Tribunals.

Prior to becoming an economic consultant Dr Affuso was an academic, initially at the University of Cambridge where she was Director of Studies and Fellow in Economics at Robinson College, and a Research Associate of the Department of Applied Economics, and subsequently at the London Business School. She is currently a Senior Member of Robinson College.

Dr Affuso was educated at the University of Warwick, where she obtained an MSc and PhD in Economics. She holds BSc and Doctorate in Economics from the University of Naples (Federico II), Italy.

Mansoor Hanif was appointed Chief Technology Office, Ofcom, in September 2018. As CTO he is head of the technology profession across the organisation, ensuring that the technology aspects of all Ofcom’s policy work are informed and robust, and is a member of the Policy and Management Board. He also leads Ofcom’s activities in network security & resilience as well as engagement with CTOs at our stakeholders, industry bodies and with Government. Outside of Ofcom, Mansoor is patron of the ITP, a member of the Steering Board of the UK5G Innovation Network, and on the Advisory Boards of the Satellite Applications Catapult and UCL Electrical and Electronic Engineering Dept.

Mr Hanif has 25 years experience of planning, building, optimising and operating mobile networks around the world.

In 2011 he joined EE and was accountable for the technical launch of 4G as well as the Integration of the 2G/3G Orange and T-Mobile networks. Mansoor was Director of Radio Networks and a board member of MBNL (the joint venture of EE with H3G) until 2016. At BT he was Director of the Converged Networks Research Lab from 2016 to 2018.

Marcin Cichy was appointed as President of the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE) in 2016.

Before joining UKE, Mr Cichy held various positions as Director of the Analysis Bureau in the Ministry of Digital Affairs. From 2013 to 2016, he was a regulatory expert at UPC Polska, responsible for regulated access to property and telecommunications infrastructure for investment purposes. He was in charge of projects on security and electromagnetic compatibility of the HFC network.

From 2005 to 2013, Mr Cichy worked for the NRA and held a number of leading roles in projects related to mobile services. In 2011, he took over as Director of the Department of Strategy and Telecommunications Market Analysis with responsibility for ICT analytics and regulatory strategies of the former NRA heads.

Between 2016-2018 Mr Cichy was a member of the Council of the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR). Since 2016 he has been a representative of the Polish government on the Board of the International Organisation of Space Communications “Intersputnik”. In the years 2016-2018 he represented the Polish government in the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD). Since 2018, he has been a member of the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, operating within the UN framework. In 2019, Vice-Chair of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).

Mr Cichy has an MS degree in engineering and completed post-graduate studies in economics. He cooperates with the Centre for Antitrust and Regulatory Studies (CARS) of the University of Warsaw.

Mark Basile is a Director at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Up until June 2019 Mr Basile led the ACCC’s work on the competition aspects of the recently completed Digital Platforms Inquiry. Prior to this, Mr Basile was a Director in the ACCC’s Merger Investigations branch. Mr Basile is currently on leave from the ACCC and is working for the UK Competition and Markets Authority on its market study into digital advertising and online platforms.

Nerida O’Loughlin was appointed Chair and Agency Head of the Australian Communications and Media Authority from 14 October 2017, initially for five years. Nerida has since been reappointed until 13 October 2027.

Prior to joining the ACMA, Nerida was Deputy Secretary in the Australian Department of Communications and the Arts providing policy advice across telecommunications, broadcasting, online content and the arts. Nerida has also been responsible for major projects in the communications portfolio, including leading the Digital Television Switchover Program. Over her career, Nerida has also held senior positions in the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments, predominantly across the technology and cultural sectors.

Nerida is also an Associate Member of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and has been reappointed until 13 October 2027.

In 2019, Nerida was awarded an Australian Public Service Medal in the Queen’s Birthday honours for outstanding public service.

Paul Canessa was Chief Executive Officer of the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority (GRA) from October 2000 to October 2021.

Mr Canessa was responsible for regulating the electronic communications sector in Gibraltar, which includes the licensing of the radio spectrum, satellite communications and broadcasting.

Mr Canessa was also the Information Commissioner.

The GRA is governed by a Board made up of five members. Mr Canessa was Chairman of the Board during his term.

Mr Canessa’s background is in broadcasting, having been a television producer/journalist and then Head of News and Current Affairs with the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation.

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

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

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

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

Dr Rainer Schnepfleitner currently heads the Office for Communications in Liechtenstein, where he is responsible for the regulatory frameworks of Electronic Communications, Audio-Visual Media, Signature and Trust Services and Post.

Dr Schnepfleitner started his career in telecommunications with the Austrian Regulatory Authority. Later he gained expertise in European antitrust and state aid provisions while working with the European Commission in DG Competition. In 2003 he moved to Swisscom, where he was responsible for fixed and mobile regulatory accounting, before continuing his career as project and product manager where he introduced various mobile navigation solutions. From 2008 to 2018 Dr Schnepfleitner worked for the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) in Doha, Qatar, where he was responsible for the regulatory frameworks of Telecommunications, IT, Access to Digital Media and Post.

Dr Schnepfleitner received a Master of Business Administration and a PhD in Economics from Vienna Economic University. He also holds a post graduate degree in European Competition Law from King’s College in London.

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

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

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

Rebecca Kelly Slaughter was appointed Acting Chairwoman in January 2021.  She was previously sworn in as a Federal Trade Commissioner on May 2, 2018. Prior to joining the Commission, she served as Chief Counsel to Senator Charles Schumer of New York, the Democratic Leader.

Ms Slaughter has advised Leader Schumer on legal, competition, telecom, privacy, consumer protection, and intellectual property matters, among other issues. Prior to joining Senator Schumer’s office, Ms Slaughter was an associate in the DC office of Sidley Austin LLP.

Ms Slaughter received her BA in Anthropology magna cum laude from Yale University. She received her JD from Yale Law School, where she served as an editor on the Yale Law Journal.

Sandro Mendonça is a Member of the Board of ANACOM, the Portuguese national regulatory authority for electronic communications, postal affairs, spectrum management, and outer space-related economic activities.

Mr Mendonca is also Professor at the Department of Economics, ISCTE Business School. He is a German Marshall Fund Fellow since 2012 and in 2015 he was nominated “European Young Leader” by the Friends of Europe Foundation. Since 2012 he teaches doctoral programs at the Southern Medical University (Guanghzou) and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (Chengdu). He is faculty of SPRU, University of Sussex, since 2016.

Mr Mendonca held Science Officer duties for two terms at CYTED, the Ibero-American program for science and technology from 2014 to 2017. His research has been cited in the scientific literature and in a number of academic textbooks, professional handbooks and official reports by international organisations, including the European Commission, the OCDE, several UN agencies, etc. He has held opinion columns over the years in several Portuguese newspapers (Expresso, Público, Diário de Notícias) and currently features in UP, the on-board magazine on TAP airlines. His research and policy work have mostly focused on innovation, intellectual property and strategic foresight. He has consulted extensively and internationally.

Simon Thomson joined the Commerce Commission in 2011 and since 2012 has headed the business unit responsible to the Telecommunications Commissioner for the whole regulatory program for the Telecommunications sector. Mr Thomson has significant experience with both the New Zealand and European regulatory frameworks, which includes working at the Irish regulator. Although now focusing on strategy and leadership, Mr Thomson has a strong analytical background from previous statistical design work at the national statistical office and forensic services for the New Zealand Police.

Mr Thomson has an MSc (Hons) degree in Molecular Biology from Victoria University Wellington.

After completing an Economics degree from the University of Kingston, London in 2001, Stewart Brittenden embarked on his career in regulation with the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority in 2004. Specialising in communications regulation, Mr Brittenden has witnessed the full transition of a telecoms monopoly to full competition over the course of 15 years. He has extensive experience in dealing with the European Commission on matters relating to Market Reviews and on the specific issues relating to the smallest jurisdictions both in and out of the European Union. Mr Brittenden has also dealt with matters on competition law and broadcasting and, more recently, postal service regulation.

Bio coming soon …..

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

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

Dr Schmid holds a doctorate in law.

Wen-Chung Guo has been serving as a commissioner since August 2016 but has contributed significantly to deregulation and rate-rebalancing of telecommunications since 1994. More recently, his work has encompassed areas such as price regulation, pay TV network policies, the digital divide, and spectrum auctions in Taiwan. Besides his current position at NCC, Mr Guo is also a professor of economics at National Taipei University.

Mr Guo’s primary areas of research include Internet economics, telecommunications, media economics, and financial economics. His academic research has been published in various international economic journals, such as Journal of Industrial Economics, Economic Theory, and Journal of Media Economics, among others.

He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and PhD of Economics at National Taiwan University.

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.

Yih-Choung Teh is Group Director, Strategy and Research at Ofcom. The group leads on setting Ofcom’s overarching strategy, drawing on insights from our research and analysis of the sectors we regulate. He has previously been a Director in Ofcom’s Competition Group, working on issues including Ofcom’s strategy to encourage investment in telecoms infrastructure, and overseeing Ofcom’s broadcasting and media competition programme.

Before joining Ofcom, Mr Teh worked for a strategy consultancy in the telecoms sector, providing policy and strategy advice to public and private sector clients globally. Prior to this he held an academic research post in the University of Oxford.

Ľuboš Kukliš is Chief Executive at the Council for Broadcasting and Retransmission of Slovakia and Chair of the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA).

In 2018 and 2019, he was Chair of European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) and currently leads ERGA’s work on disinformation.

Mr Kukliš frequently speaks at public events and cooperates with international organizations on possible solutions on topics such as the spread of disinformation, protection of minors in the online space, or regulation of new media.

Mr Kukliš is a lawyer by training and holds PhD in Administrative law.