Henna Virkkunen
Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, European Commission
Henna Virkkunen
Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, European Commission
Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy
As Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen is tasked with combatting the increasingly complex security threats facing the EU, whilst at the same time strengthening our external borders and our internal security. This goes hand in hand with her responsibility to ensure our freedoms, justice and democracy are strengthened too.
Digital and frontier technologies
Henna Virkkunen is also responsible for the Digital and Frontier Technologies portfolio. This entails leading Europe’s efforts in shaping a competitive, resilient and inclusive digital future and maintaining or attaining leadership in strategic digital technologies.
To achieve this, she is:
- overseeing our path towards reaching Europe's 2030 Digital Decade targets, which will include reviewing the implementation strategy and digital targets in 2026
- leading work on boosting Artificial Intelligence innovation, working with Member States, industry and civil society to develop an Apply AI Strategy (to boost new industrial uses of AI and improve delivery of public services) and helping to set up a European AI Research Council
- developing an EU Cloud and AI Development Act and a single EU-wide cloud policy to boost high performance computing and quantum. When it comes to quantum, she is also responsible for developing a long-term EU Quantum Chips plan
- working on a new Digital Networks Act to help boost secure high-speed broadband, both fixed and wireless
- ensuring the Commission takes rapid and effective enforcement actions under the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act whenever necessary
- deploying digital public infrastructure, notably by making the most of the EU wallet
- presenting a European Data Union Strategy
- ensuring an approach to the media which recognises its unique place in our democracies and culture
- focusing on making online more secure by leading the work to tackle challenges with e-commerce platforms, helping combat unethical techniques online and contributing to the EU-wide enquiry on the impact of social media and the action plan against cyber bullying
Lucilla Sioli
Director for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Industry, DG CNECT European Commission
Lucilla Sioli
Director for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Industry, DG CNECT European Commission
Dr Lucilla Sioli is the Director of the "EU AI Office" within Directorate-General CONNECT at the European Commission.
She is responsible for the coordination of the European AI strategy and its governance, including the AI Continent Action Plan, the Apply AI strategy, the implementation of the AI Act and international collaboration in AI and AI for good. She is also responsible for the coordination of the R&D&I activities in the field of AI and for the implementation of innovation activities in key strategic sectors such as healthcare, robotics and advanced manufacturing.
Lucilla holds a PhD in economics from the University of Southampton (UK) and one from the Catholic University of Milan (Italy) and has been a civil servant with the European Commission since 1997.
Christel Schaldemose
Member of European Parliament
Christel Schaldemose
Member of European Parliament
Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament
Denmark - Socialdemokratiet
Chair, Delegation for relations with Japan
Member, CPDE Conference of Delegation Chairs and Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection
Substitute, Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and Delegation for Northern cooperation and for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area (EEA) Joint Parliamentary Committee
Aleida Alcaide García
Director General of Artificial Intelligence, Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Service, Spain
Aleida Alcaide García
Director General of Artificial Intelligence, Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Service, Spain
Aleida Alcaide García assumed the position of Director General of Artificial Intelligence at the
Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Service. She leads Spain's representation on AIrelated
matters and is responsible for proposing and implementing public policies in Spain
related to AI and other digital technologies, as quantum technologies. Her responsibilities
encompass the AI promotion adoption in productive sectors and public administrations, the
innovative research on AI and other digital technologies, the development and coordination of
regulations, the protection of rights in this field, as well as creating spaces for public debate on
the risks and benefits of these technologies. She is also a board member of the Spanish Agency
for the Supervision of AI.
In the public sector, she held roles such as Chief of Cabinet at the State Secretariat for
Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, was a board member of different public entities as
related to digitalization, innovation and cybersecurity and served as Deputy Director-General for
Coordination of European Funds at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation,
overseeing the execution of funds allocated to digitalization under the Recovery,
Transformation, and Resilience Plan.
Aleida holds the degree of Telecommunications Engineer from the Valladolid University, she
completed the Leadership Program for Public Management at IESE Business School, and she is
member of the Superior Body of Information Systems and Technologies and the Computer
Management of the General State Administration.
Anu Talus
Chair, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
Anu Talus
Chair, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
Anu Talus has served as the Finnish Information Commissioner since autumn 2020. She is the Head of the Office of the Information Commissioner (TSV) and the Chair of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB). Before holding these positions, she worked as Deputy Information Commissioner from August 2019 until November 2020.
Prior to her work at the IMY, Talus served as Senior Adviser at the Ministry of Justice for over ten years. At the Ministry of Justice she led the implementation of the GDPR in Finland and acted as representative of the Finnish government in the EU GDPR negotiations. Talus has also worked at the European Commission, International Data Flows and Protection Unit (DG Justice and Consumers) as Seconded National Expert (SNE).
Talus holds a Doctor of Laws degree and a Master of Laws degree from the University of Helsinki and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Vaasa
Wojciech Wiewiorowski
European Data Protection Supervisor
Wojciech Wiewiorowski
European Data Protection Supervisor
European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) since December 2019.
Adjunct professor in the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdańsk. He was among others adviser in the field of e-government and information society for the Minister of Interior and Administration, the Director of the Informatisation Department at the Ministry of Interior and Administration. He also represented Poland in committee on Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations (the ISA Committee) assisting the European Commission.
The Inspector General for the Protection of Personal Data (Polish Data Protection Commissioner) 2010-2014 and the Vice Chair of the Working Party Art. 29 in 2014. In December 2014, he was appointed Assistant European Data Protection Supervisor. After the death of the Supervisor - Giovanni Buttarelli in August 2019 - he replaced Mr. Buttarelli as acting EDPS.
His areas of scientific activity include first of all Polish and European IT law, processing and security of information, legal information retrieval systems, informatisation of public administration, and application of new IT tools (semantic web, legal ontologies, cloud, blockchain) in legal information processing.
Lawrence Tallon
Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
Lawrence Tallon
Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
Lawrence Tallon is the Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). He was previously Deputy Chief Executive at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, where he led the Trust’s approach to strategy, technology, innovation and improvement. He has extensive experience across the healthcare sector in strategy and leadership roles, including within the Department of Health and Social Care alongside ministers and NHS leaders.
Lawrence is committed to patient safety and healthcare innovation, as well as life sciences and risk-proportionate regulation.
Tine A. Larsen
President, National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) – Luxembourg
Tine A. Larsen
President, National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) – Luxembourg
Tine A. Larsen was appointed one of four commissioners of Luxembourg’s Data Protection Authority as of 1st November 2014 and assumes the presidency of the collegiate body.
She holds a Master in Law with a specialisation in commercial law from the University Robert Schumann in Strasbourg, France, and an MA in International Peace and Security from King’s College London.
She took the bar exam in Luxembourg in 1999 and practised as a lawyer before joining the Luxembourg Government Administration in 2003. After two years as an attaché with the Luxembourg Army Headquarters, she joined the National Rescue Services Agency. As of 2008, she was the head of its administrative, technical and medical division.
Mrs Larsen represents Luxembourg DPA at the European Data Protection Board. She is also a member of the national “Judicial Oversight Authority” (Autorité de contrôle judiciaire), the national “Information Commission” (Commission d’Accès aux documents), as well as an advisory member of the Luxembourg Human Rights Consultative Commission.
Brando Benifei
MEP, Member and AI Act co-rapporteur, European Parliament
Brando Benifei
MEP, Member and AI Act co-rapporteur, European Parliament
Brando Benifei is an Italian MEP serving his second term and is the Head of Delegation of Partito Democratico in the European parliament. He is Rapporteur for the Artificial Intelligence Act, as a Member of the Committee for the Internal Market and Consumer Protection. He also works on Employment, Legal and Constitutional Affairs. He was also shadow Rapporteur of the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age. In 2016 he was included by Forbes in its 30 under 30 to watch list
Johann Carlos S. Barcena
Privacy Commissioner and Chairman, National Privacy Commission (Philippines)
Johann Carlos S. Barcena
Privacy Commissioner and Chairman, National Privacy Commission (Philippines)
Atty. Johann Carlos S. Barcena, CESO III is a career executive service officer with extensive experience in public policy and government administration.
Prior to his appointment as Privacy Commissioner, he served as Executive Director of the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations (GCG) and was its designated Data Privacy Officer. Before his stint as Executive Director, Atty. Barcena was the Director of the GCG’s Corporate Governance Office that oversaw GOCCs in the energy, agriculture, communications, utilities, transportation, and infrastructure sectors. He was with the GCG for close to fourteen (14) years and was among the pioneers that joined the agency shortly after its creation.
Among his key roles in the GCG was ensuring the alignment of the policies governing the GOCC sector with international standards and best practices on corporate governance and competitive neutrality. On various occasions, he served as resource speaker for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Earlier in his legal career, Atty. Barcena was an Associate under the litigation department of one of the Philippines’ leading law firms, where he handled cases on corporate governance, telecommunications, competition, and corporation law.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the Ateneo de Manila University and obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Philippines - College of Law. In 2015, he earned his Master of the Science of Law degree from Stanford University, where he was a Fellow under the Stanford Program in International Legal Studies. While in Stanford Law School, he was legal assistant to Professor Jenny S. Martinez for business and human rights.
As Privacy Commissioner, he aims to advance a regulatory environment that ensures personal information is secured and protected, while also encouraging innovation and growth in information and communications technology.
Axel Voss
Member of European Parliament
Axel Voss
Member of European Parliament
Axel Voss (CDU) - born in 1963 - studied law at the Universities of Trier, Freiburg and Munich. Since 1994, he is working as a lawyer. From 1994 to 2000, he was a civil advisor at the EU Commission's representation in Germany. Afterwards, he worked for nine years as lecturer for European Affairs at the RheinAhrCampus of the College of Koblenz.
He became a Member of the European Parliament in 2009, where he represents the Mittelrhein area, which includes the cities of Cologne, Bonn and Leverkusen and the districts Rhein-Sieg and Rhein-Erft. Axel Voss is EPP-coordinator for the Committee on Legal Affairs as well as deputy member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and from 2020 to 2022 member and rapporteur in the special Committee on Artificial Intelligence. Besides questions of European Law, his main area of expertise is the digitization of our daily life. For the European People’s Party group, he was among others (shadow-)rapporteur for the new Copyright Directive, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Passenger Name Record Directive (PNR) as well as for the updated Eurojust Regulation. At the moment, he is (shadow-)rapporteur for the AI Act and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.
Axel Voss is also CDU chair of the regional section Mittelrhein, regional chair of the Europe Union Bonn/Rhein-Sieg and Vice President of the Mérite Européen Friendship and Assistance Association, Germany.
Valerie Hoess
Head of European Affairs, Commerzbank
Valerie Hoess
Head of European Affairs, Commerzbank
Valérie has been Head of European Affairs for Commerzbank AG since January 2024. Before that, she held different roles in the Public Affairs team at Deutsche Bank AG, covering a variety of policy areas: from sustainability and retail financial services to innovation and anti-money laundering.
In 2021, she became Head of Digital & Anti-Money Laundering Policy for Deutsche Bank, responsible for the bank’s strategic positioning on issues including AI, cloud, data, and cybersecurity in a global capacity. Over the last years, she has been an active member of various industry associations and public-private fora on national and international level.
Before joining Deutsche Bank in 2016, Valérie was a member of the Internal Audit team at Gen Re working on German and international topics internally as well as with the External Auditors. This gave her the opportunity to develop a controls perspective with EU and U.S. focus. She holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in German and European Business Law, as well as a degree in Business Administration.
Philipp Räther
Group Chief Privacy and AI Trust Officer at Allianz
Philipp Räther
Group Chief Privacy and AI Trust Officer at Allianz
Dr. Philipp Räther is Group Chief Privacy and AI Trust Officer at Allianz. In this role, he advises the Allianz Group, including top management, on all matters of data protection worldwide. Philipp and his team are responsible not only for the development and implementation of the global data protection program, but also for the responsible use of artificial intelligence at Allianz. Previously, Philipp was an Executive Director and the Global Lead for Data Protection & Management of UBS based in its London office for eight years. Before joining UBS, Dr. Raether had worked for seven years with the law firm Freshfields specializing in IP/IT/Data Protection. He has studied law in Germany, Switzerland and the US, and is admitted as a German Rechtsanwalt, as well as a Solicitor in England and Wales. Philipp also served for five years as a member of the global board of the IAPP and is a regular speaker at data protection events. He is currently a member of the Advisory Board of Privacy, InfoSec, Culture Change & Awareness Societal Organisation (PICCASO).
Christiane Wendehorst
Scientific Director, European Law Institute
Christiane Wendehorst
Scientific Director, European Law Institute
Christiane Wendehorst has been Professor of Civil Law at the University of Vienna since 2008. Amongst other functions, she is founding member, Immediate Past President (2017-2021) of the European Law Institute (ELI) and now Scientific Director, Chair of the Academy Council of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), Co-Head of the Department of Innovation and Digitalisation in Law, and member of the Managing Board of the Austrian Jurists' Association (ÖJT), as well as the Bioethics Committee at the Austrian Federal Chancellery. She is an elected member of the Academia Europea (AE), the International Academy for Comparative Law (IACL), and the American Law Institute (ALI). From 2018-2019 she co-chaired the Data Ethics Commission of the German Federal Government. Currently she is European leader of the transatlantic project "Principles for a Data Economy" and EU delegate to the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI). Prior to moving to Vienna, she was a professor in Göttingen (1999-2008) and Greifswald (1998-99) and Managing Director of the Sino-German Institute of Legal Studies (2000-2008).
Clarisse Girot
Head, Data Governance and Privacy (DGP) Unit, OECD
Clarisse Girot
Head, Data Governance and Privacy (DGP) Unit, OECD
Clarisse Girot is Head of the Data Policy, Privacy and Online Safety Division at the OECD. In this role, she leads the Organisation’s work on data policy and governance, Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT), responsible data use in innovation, and platform regulation, with a particular focus on online safety and the protection of children.
Before joining the OECD in 2022, Clarisse held several senior positions in the field of data protection and digital regulation. She was Head of European and International Affairs and Counselor to the President at the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL), where she led strategic files and represented the authority in European and global negotiations.
She in the Asia‑Pacific region as a Senior Fellow at the Asian Business Law Institute (ABLI) in Singapore, contributing to the development of regional frameworks, cross‑border data flow initiatives, and multistakeholder cooperation on emerging digital regulations. Her experience also includes working at Rajah & Tann LLP, one of Southeast Asia’s largest law firms, and founding the Asia‑Pacific office of the Future of Privacy Forum, expanding the think tank’s international footprint and influence across the region.
A well‑known figure in the global privacy community, she brings a unique blend of European and Asia‑Pacific expertise to today’s debates on data protection, digital governance, and responsible innovation.
Maarten Daman
Data Protection Officer, European Central Bank
Maarten Daman
Data Protection Officer, European Central Bank
Maarten Daman is Data Protection Officer (DPO) of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) since September 2020. Before joining the ECB in 2016, he has worked for the International Court of Justice, the principle judicial organ of the United Nations, the European Police Office (EUROPOL) and as genocide researcher in Rwanda. Maarten has lectured at the University of Copenhagen, was a speaker a various conferences and was a reservist Legal Advisor of the Belgian Armed Forces. Maarten holds a LL.M in international public law (cum laude) from the University of Edinburgh and a Master in Law (magna cum laude) from the University of Antwerp and Cape Town
Michael McNamara
Member, European Parliament
Michael McNamara
Member, European Parliament
Michael McNamara was elected to the European Parliament to represent the Ireland South constituency in June 2024.
Michael is Co-Chair of the European Parliament’s Working Group on the Implementation and Enforcement of the AI Act. He serves as a member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) and is Co-Rapporteur for the Digital Omnibus on AI. Michael is also a substitute member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) and Shadow Rapporteur for the Digital Omnibus.
He is also Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia (DSAS), and substitute member of the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly.
Before his election to the European Parliament, Michael represented the Clare constituency as a member of the Irish parliament from 2011 until 2016, and again from 2020 until 2024.
As a national politician, he was appointed Chair of the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Response in 2020 and Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Drug Use in 2024.
Michael is a barrister and a farmer.
Klaus Müller
President, Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway, Germany
Klaus Müller
President, Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway, Germany
Klaus Müller took office as President of the Bundesnetzagentur in Bonn in March 2022. Prior to that he had been the executive director of the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V.) in Berlin. He held the same position at the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer organisation (Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen e. V.) in Düsseldorf from 2006 to 2014. Klaus Müller was a member of the regional parliament of Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel for one year, where he also served as minister of the environment, nature conservation and agriculture from 2003 to 2005 and minister of the environment, nature and forestry from 2000 to 2003. He was a member of the German Bundestag in Bonn/Berlin for two years from 1998, having begun his professional career at the Schleswig-Holstein investment bank (IB.SH) in Kiel in the same year following a degree in economics.
Klaus Müller is a member of the Heinrich Böll Foundation and a German Marshall Fund fellow.
Benjamin Hartmann
Cabinet Expert to Commissioner Andrius Kubilius (Defence and Space)
Benjamin Hartmann
Cabinet Expert to Commissioner Andrius Kubilius (Defence and Space)
Benjamin Hartmann is the Cabinet Expert to Commissioner Andrius Kubilius (Defence and Space). Before, he served on the advisory staffs of Commission Presidents Jean-Claude Juncker and Ursula von der Leyen, and advised former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö on legal and institutional matters during the drafting of his report on civil and military preparedness.
During the Brexit talks, he headed all trade and customs files for the Council’s Brexit Task Force. Earlier, he litigated WTO cases on behalf of the EU, contributed to the negotiation of Free Trade Agreements while working for the European Commission’s trade department, and clerked for one year with German Constitutional Court President Professor Andreas Voßkuhle.
Mirosław Wróblewski
President, Personal Data Protection Office, Poland
Mirosław Wróblewski
President, Personal Data Protection Office, Poland
President of Personal Data Protection Office in Poland (Polish DPA; www.uodo.gov.pl). Attorney at law, expert on data protection, privacy, European law and human rights law; certain aspects of new technologies law like AI (i.a. being a co-founder of a Virtual Academy of Law and Ethics in Poland as a human rights expert on artificial intelligence). Formerly a radio and press journalist, from 2007 he worked as a Director of the Constitutional, International and European Law Department in the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (the Ombudsman) in Warsaw. He served actively in the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) between 2012 and 2017, being a member of the FRA Management Board, FRA Executive Committee (2015-2017) and a Chairman of the FRA Budget Committee. He was a member of EQUINET legal working group (2012-2014). Between March 2019 and January 2024 he was a member of the board of European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI). Certified tutor of the Council of Europe HELP Programme, certified internal auditor and nominated public servant. He is an author of nearly 100 academic publications, including legal commentaries and practical handbooks, and also expert opinions, especially in the filed of personal data protection. He worked for the Jagiellonian University and several other higher schools in Poland, including the Academy of Leon Koźmiński in Warsaw and Central European University in Budapest. He was lecturing on the protection of fundamental rights, data protection and new technologies law. He was training lawyers at the Academy of European Law (ERA) regularly since 2018. Expert in international research projects, i.a. research projects financed by the European Commission: “DIADSE” regarding social dialogue in employment (project coordinated by University Carlos III of Madrid) or “NEWEFIN” regarding atypical forms of employment (project coordinated by Amsterdam University). Between 2015 and 2018 he was a Junior Project Leader in the EU twinning project aiming at enhancing the Commissioner for Human Rights in Azerbaijan. He was also an expert of the Law and Society Foundation in the research and training projects concerning the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. From 2016 an active member of the Committee for Human Rights in the National Bar Association of Attorneys at Law. Chairman of the Committee for Human Rights (February 2022-January 2024). On 16th January 2024 elected by the Polish parliament for the position of the President of Personal Data Protection Office (4-year term).
Dr Sabine Seggelke
Head Public Affairs EU/EMEA, Zurich Insurance Company Ltd
Dr Sabine Seggelke
Head Public Affairs EU/EMEA, Zurich Insurance Company Ltd
Sabine Seggelke is Head of Public affairs EMEA with Zurich Insurance. Based in Brussels, she leads the company’s engagement with EU institutions and governments across EU27 on a broad range of topics, including innovation and digitalization. Prior to joining Zurich Insurance in 2021, she led global public affairs for the specialized nutrition portfolio of Danone and global nutrition policy and government relations for DSM (now DSM-Firmenich), running advocacy campaigns in various geographies.
She holds a PhD in political science (Franco-German dual PhD with Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes Paris and Technische Universität Dresden).
Marianne Jarlaud
Deputy Head of Innovation & Digital Finance, Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), France
Marianne Jarlaud
Deputy Head of Innovation & Digital Finance, Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), France
Marianne Jarlaud is currently Deputy Head of the Innovation and Digital Finance Division within the Regulation and International Affairs Department of the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF).
She joined the AMF in 2017.
She represents the AMF in European and international political forums dedicated to investor protection and the regulation of market intermediaries from 2017 to 2022 and, since 2022, to financial innovation.
Since 2022, she has been closely involved in regulatory developments affecting the crypto-asset industry at European level, as well as in the preparation of new regulations concerning innovation in financial markets, such as the European open finance framework and the European regulation on artificial intelligence.
Before joining the AMF, Ms Jarlaud worked for eight years as a compliance officer covering the wealth management, private equity, market and investment banking activities of French and international financial institutions. She graduated from ESSEC in 2010 and holds a Master 2 degree in financial criminal law.
Marilin Pikaro
EBA Director of Innovation, Conduct and Consumers Department, European Banking Authority
Marilin Pikaro
EBA Director of Innovation, Conduct and Consumers Department, European Banking Authority
Marilin Pikaro, Director of Innovation, Conduct and Consumers, oversees thematic and policy work on digital finance, payments, innovation monitoring, ICT and security risks, MICA supervision and consumer protection areas. She is a seasoned executive leading large regulatory and compliance programs with a robust background spanning both the public and private sectors. Marilin has held positions such as a special advisor to the European Commission, Chief Compliance Officer, and a member of executive teams and management boards within the banking industry. Her experience also includes leading Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services at a prominent audit firm, as well as working as a Senior Investigator in criminal police, specialising in economic and cyber-crimes.
Marilin holds a postgraduate degree in Financial Strategy and has completed an EMBA program at Oxford University.
Agustin Reyna
Director General, BEUC, The European Consumer Organisation
Agustin Reyna
Director General, BEUC, The European Consumer Organisation
Agustín Reyna is the Director General of BEUC, The European Consumer Organisation, which serves as the umbrella group for 42 independent consumer organisations across 31 European countries. BEUC's primary mission is to act as a strong consumer voice in Brussels and to ensure that consumer interests are given their proper weight in all EU policies. Agustín joined BEUC in 2010 and has since held various positions, including Director of the Legal and Economic Department. Since 2018, he has served as a non-governmental advisor for the European Commission to the International Competition Network and represents BEUC in numerous European and international forums. Additionally, he is a member of ESMA’s Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group. Agustín holds a law degree from the National University of Córdoba in Argentina, an advanced master’s degree in ICT Law from the University of Namur in Belgium, and a PhD in Law from the University of Bremen in Germany.
Kai Zenner
Head of Office and Digital Policy Adviser for MEP Axel Voss
Kai Zenner
Head of Office and Digital Policy Adviser for MEP Axel Voss
Kai Zenner is Head of Office and Digital Policy Adviser for MEP Axel Voss (European People’s Party Group) in the European Parliament. Describing himself as a digital enthusiast, he focuses on AI, privacy and the EU’s digital transition. Currently, he is involved in the political negotiations on the AI Act, AI liability directive, eprivacy Regulation and GDPR revision. In his individual capacity, he is pushing for reforms within the European Parliament and for bringing back the Better Regulation agenda to EU policymaking.
Mr Zenner graduated in political science (M.Sc. at University of Edinburgh, B.A. at University of Bremen) and in law (State Exam at University of Munster). Before moving to the European Parliament, he worked as research associate at the European office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Brussels.
He is member of the OECD.AI Network of Experts and of an Expert Group that supports the 'High-Level Advisory Body on AI' of the United Nations. Zenner was awarded best MEP Assistant in 2023 ("APA who has gone above and beyond in his duties") and ranked Place #13 in Politico's Power 40 - class 2023 ("top influencers who are most effectively setting the agenda in politics, public policy and advocacy in Brussels").
Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell
Associate Professor of Commercial Law, University Carlos III of Madrid
Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell
Associate Professor of Commercial Law, University Carlos III of Madrid
Professor of Commercial Law, Carlos III University of Madrid. Currently, Sir Roy Goode Scholar at UNIDROIT, Rome, 2021-2022. Academic Visitor at University of Cambridge, Gonville & Caius College, 2022-2023. Chair of Excellence 2017-2018 at University of Oxford (Uc3m- Santander Program), affiliated to Harris Manchester College. Previously, James J. Coleman, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at Tulane Law School; Visiting Professor at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford; Stanford Law School Fellow, TTLF, and Marie Curie Fellow at the ZERP of the University of Bremen, among other visiting professor positions and fellowships, at Columbia Law School, University of Washington, University of Tokyo or University College London. Arbitrator of Madrid Court of Arbitration. Member of ELI (European Law Institute) Council and Executive Committee. Member of the Expert Group of the European Commission on Liability and New Technologies, member of the Expert Group of the European Observatory of Platform Economy, and member of the EU Commission Expert Group on B2B Data Sharing. Member of the International Academy of Commercial and Consumer Law. Member of the expert group of the Inclusive Global Legal Innovation Platform for Online Dispute Resolution - UNCITRAL and Hong Kong Department of Justice. Expert of the UNIDROIT Study Group on the MAC Protocol of the Cape Town Convention on International Interests. Delegate of Spain to UNIDROIT for the adoption of the Protocol, delegate of Spain in Working Group VI of UNCITRAL on secured transactions and in Working Group IV on Electronic Commerce. Member of UNIDROIT Working Groups on Enforcement and Warehouse Receipts.
Tom Reynolds
Chief Economist and Director of Economic Analysis, ICO
Tom Reynolds
Chief Economist and Director of Economic Analysis, ICO
Tom is an economist specialising in data protection and privacy issues. His background is in regulatory and competition economics, primarily in digital markets and telecommunications. Before joining the ICO in 2020 he worked for Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, and before this in economic consulting.
Based in London, he leads the ICO’s economic functions and oversees analysis across the full range of ICO activities, including the consideration of policy impacts, research into the value of data and of privacy and input to investigations, enforcement, and litigation.
Tom holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in economics from the London School of Economics, and postgraduate qualifications from King’s College London and the Harvard Kennedy School
Cecilia Alvarez Rigaudias
Director of Privacy Policy Engagement, EMEA at Meta
Cecilia Alvarez Rigaudias
Director of Privacy Policy Engagement, EMEA at Meta
Cecilia Aalvarez Rigaudias is the EMEA Privacy Policy Director at Facebook since March 2019. From 2015 to 2019, she served as European Privacy Officer Lead of Pzifer, Vice-Chair of the EFPIA Data Protection Group and Chairwoman of IPPC-Europe. For an interim period, she was also the Legal Lead of the Spanish Pfizer subsidiaries. She formerly worked 18 years in a reputed Spanish law firm, leading the data protection, IT and ecommerce areas of practice as well as the LATAM Data Protection Working Group.
Cecilia was the Chairwoman of APEP (Spanish Privacy Professional Association) until June and is currently in charge of its international affairs. She is also the Spanish member of CEDPO (Confederation of European Data Protection Organisations) and member of the Leadership Council of The Sedona Conference (W-6).
She is a member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation in the section of the Law on Technologies of the Information and the Knowledge as well as Arbitrator of the European Association of Arbitration (ITC Section).
She formed part of the Volunteer Group of Privacy Experts of the OECD (Working Party on information Security and Privacy; WPISP) in charge of the 2013 review of the OECD guidelines governing the protection of privacy and transborder data flows of personal data. She formerly participated in the Group of Experts selected by the Spanish DPA to prepare the Madrid Resolution on International Privacy Standards in 2009.
Cecilia has written numerous publications on data protection and regularly lectures on data protection, IT and ecommerce at different Masters Programs and seminars.
Tomas Jakimavicius
Director, European Government Affairs, Microsoft
Tomas Jakimavicius
Director, European Government Affairs, Microsoft
Tomas Jakimavicius is Director of European Government Affairs within Microsoft's Corporate, External and Legal Affairs (CELA) group. Based in Brussels, he focuses on Digital Infrastructure, Cloud, Tech Sovereignty and Industrial policies impacting Microsoft and its customers’ use of and access to Microsoft’s products and services. Tomas has over 15 years of a wide-ranging senior level experience in both private and public sectors. In his career, he held leadership and advisory positions in trade associations and private sector companies and served as a diplomat representing Lithuania on tech policy at the Council of the European Union. He holds an MSc in Leadership & International Relations from Boston University and an MSc in Enterprise Information Systems from the University of Westminster.
Gary Davis
Senior Director, Apple Legal
Gary Davis
Senior Director, Apple Legal
Gary Davis leads Apple’s regulatory legal work across the EMEIA region. He previously served as Ireland’s Deputy Data Protection Commissioner for seven years and, prior to that, spent a decade in the Irish Prime Minister’s Office