Speakers | Spring Conference 2022

Wojciech Wiewiórowski

European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) since December 6th 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 in legal information processing.

Bruno Gencarelli

Mr Gencarelli is Deputy to the Director for Fundamentals Rights and the Rule of Law, and heads the International Data Flows and Protection unit at the European Commission (Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers). He was in charge of the Commission's work in the area of data protection in the decisive phases of the legislative reform of EU data protection law and the negotiations on transatlantic data flows in the commercial and law enforcement areas. This included leading the Commission's delegation in the interinstitutional negotiations with the European Parliament and the Council on the data protection reform (GDPR and "Law Enforcement Directive"). He also led the negotiations of several data transfer arrangements, including the EU-Japan mutual adequacy arrangement creating the world’s largest area of free and safe data flows. He recently co-led for the EU the negotiations with the UK on all aspects relating to justice and consumers in the context of Brexit. He is in currently in charge of the negotiations on a successor arrangement to the EU-US Privacy Shield.

Andrea Jelinek

Dr Jelinek has held the position of Chair of the European Data Protection Board since May 2018, and Head of the Austrian Data Protection Authority since 2014. Dr Jelinek previously was head of the Vienna Foreign Police, followed by a position as Head in the Regional Police Department. Before that, she worked in the Ministry of the Interior as head of department in the legal and legislative department, before being appointed head of a police commissioner's office. Jelinek started out her career as a consultant for the Austrian Science Fund, and a trainee legal officer at the Austrian Rectors' Conference.

Marko Bošnjak

Judge of the European Court of Human Rights since 30 May 2016, Vice-President of Section from 15 May 2019 to 17 May 2021, President of Section since 1 January 2022, Associate Professor of criminal law, Head of the Criminal Law Department, European Law Faculty in Nova Gorica, Slovenia, since 2012, Attorney specialised in criminal law, 2009-2016, Expert Member of the Council for Criminal Law, Ministry of Justice of Slovenia, 2008-2011, Lecturer, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, 2006-2012, Assistant Professor for criminal law and criminology, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Law, 2005-2015

Hielke Hijmans

Prof Dr Hielke Hijmans is President of the Litigation Chamber and Member Executive Board of the Belgian Data Protection Authority. On part time basis he is Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB, Institute European Studies), member of the Meijers Committee (ngo on EU fundamental rights) and lecturer at Luxembourg University. He is author of The European Union as Guardian of Internet Privacy: The Story of Art 16 TFEU (Springer 2016), based on his doctorate thesis. Before his appointment at the Belgian DPA, he worked: • as consultant on EU law and data protection, e.g. at the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (a think based in Washington, London and Brussels) and at Considerati (a consultancy based in Amsterdam) (2016-2019), • at the European Data Protection Supervisor EDPS, e.g. as head of unit Policy & Consultation policy unit (2004-2016), • at the Court of Justice of the European Union (Cabinet of Advocate General Geelhoed) (2000-2004). He holds a law degree at Leiden University and a doctorate in law at the University of Amsterdam and the Vrije Universiteit Brussels.

David Stevens

Before becoming the first chairman of the GBA, David Stevens was Data Protection Officer at Telenet and Nielsen. David has more than 20 years of expertise in law and IT. He started his career as a researcher of the "Center for Intellectual Property and ICT Law (CiTiP)" at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. He defended his thesis in 2009 on the subject of the independence of the regulatory authorities in the telecommunications and media sector.

Ginevra Cerrina Feroni

Ginevra Cerrina Feroni is the Vice President of the Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante per la Protezione dei Dati Personali). She is Full Professor of European and Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Florence. Prof. Cerrina Feroni is also a lawyer, member of the scientific board of several academic journals in the area of comparative public law, and a serial columnist of several national newspapers. She has been often nominated to hold posts in governative and parliamentary committees and working groups for constitutional and administrative matters.

Guido Scorza

Guido Scorza is member of the Board of the Italian Authority for the protection of personal data (“Il Garante”) lawyer and founding partner of the E-Lex Law Firm who left “Il Garante” when he took office. He was Legal Advisor to the Minister for Innovation and is the Representative of the Italian Government at the GAC - Government Advisory Board of ICANN as well as a member of the policy subgroup of the ad hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence regulation of the Council of Europe. He was a member of the mission structure for the digital agenda of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers [June 2013-February 2014] as well as responsible for national and European regulatory affairs of the Digital Team of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. He is in charge of the module on IT contracts and adjunct professor at the Master of legal informatics and IT law of the University of Bologna from the academic year 2001/2 and of the privacy module in electronic communications as well as adjunct professor at the Master in Privacy from the University of Roma Tre from the 2016/7 academic year.

Luigi Montuori

Luigi Montuori after qualifying for the Bar, joined the civil service with the Ministry of Economy. After moving to the Italian DPA (1997), he has been the head of the Legal Matters Department (Communications and IT Networks) 2004/2015 and was appointed deputy to the Secretary General in 2010/2012. Since January 2016 is Head of Service for EU and International Matters. He holds a specialization in Legal Interpretation and Computer Science at Rome’s La Sapienza University and a master’s degree based on a scholarship by the National Institute for Foreign Trade. He held courses at Rome’s La Sapienza University (Master II level in Computer law and legal drafting techniques) and at RomaTre University (Master di II level in “Data Protection Officer e privacy expert”). He has authored many scientific papers in particular concerning data protection.

Alessandra Pierucci

Alessandra Pierucci is a lawyer and has been working for several years at the Italian Data Protection Authority, in particular on EU-related and international matters. Since 2016 she is Chair of the Council of Europe Consultative Committee of Convention 108 in which she has been actively involved for many years by representing Italy. She worked at the “Media and Information Society Division” of the Council of Europe where she dealt with data protection and freedom of expression in respect of new media and Information Society, and gender equality in the media. At European Union level, she contributes regularly to the activity of the European Data Protection Board, in particular by coordinating the work of subgroup on data protection in the financial sector. She participated in several projects on data protection and gave legal advice in the field. As part of her research activity, she has published several papers concerning fundamental rights and data protection issues on juridical journals and books. She has taught data protection in post graduate courses in some European universities.

MB Donnelly

MB Donnelly is an Assistant Commissioner at the Irish Data Protection Commission. Having formerly led on the DPC’s GDPR Awareness and Training projects in the run up to 25 May 2018, she now has responsibility for Communications, Regulatory Strategy, DPO Networks and EU-funded projects. MB also works closely with colleagues from AZOP and Vrije University on the development and implementation of the ARC Project.

Bertrand du Marais

Born on 25 April 1964 in Lyon, Judge Bertrand du MARAIS is a graduate of ESSEC Graduate School of Management and an alumnus of the National Administration School (“Ecole Nationale d’Administration”, “Liberté Egalité Fraternité 1989” graduating class). Having joined the French Council of State (“Conseil d’Etat”) in 1989, he is State Counselor (“Conseiller d’Etat”) since 2006. In the Advisory branch of Conseil d’Etat, he is currently a member of the Public Management Section (Section de l’administration) and deals more specifically with e-Government, Public Procurement and Public Domain. He has joined CNIL, the French Data Protection Agency, in February 2019 and is more specifically in charge of International Affairs, e-Privacy and Competition Co-regulation. He is a member of the CNIL sanction board. In parallel to his career as a judge at the French Council of State or as a Senior Civil Servant within French and international administrations, he is the author of articles and books relating to public utility law, market regulation law as well as information and communication technologies, and more generally on interactions between Law and Economics.

Emilie Brunet

Emilie Brunet is a legal and policy officer in the European and International Affairs Department at the French data protection autority (CNIL) since February 2017. She has been involved in the work of the Working Party 29, and she has been contributing to the work of the EDPB different subgroups and taskforces. She holds an LLM degree in European Law from the Queen Mary University (UK) and a Master degree in European Union Law from Université Paris I – La Sorbonne (France). Between 2011 and 2016 she worked for the French Prime Minister services (SGAE) for the coordination of the positions of the French authorities in the negotiations of the GDPR and Law Enforcement Directive in the Council, as well as for the coordination of the positions to be defended by the French Government before the European Court of Justice in the field of Justice and Home Affaires, including for data protection cases.

Gwendal Le Grand

Dr. Gwendal Le Grand is the Head of activity for enforcement support and coordination at the European data protection board (EDPB) since October 2021. He is particularly involved in the Coordinated Enforcement Framework (CEF), and the Support Pool of Experts (SPE) which aims to assist national supervisory authorities in their investigations and enforcement activities of significant common interest. Before joining the EDPB, he was the Deputy Secretary-General of the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL). He received his PhD in computer science from the University of Paris 6 in July 2001.

Catherine Lennman

Catherine Lennman holds an LLM degree in European Integration from the Saarland University (Germany) and a lic. iur. from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland). She has been working for the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) since September 2010, covering legal aspects of data protection in various subject matters, such as writing of data protection opinions in legislative procedures, assisting data subjects as well as Swiss federal authorities in data protection issues and conducting data protection inspections. Since 2017, she is Delegate International Relations and Francophonie. She represents the FDPIC at several international working groups (e.g. GPA, AFAPDP). Since 2020, she is the president of the Working Group on the Role of Personal Data Protection in International Development Aid, International Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management set up by the Global Privacy Assembly.

Caroline Gloor Scheidegger

Head of the Department for International Relations, Cantons at the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC). Caroline is a lawyer and represents Switzerland in the Council of Europe Consultative Committee of Convention 108 and is a member of the bureau. She has been working at the FDPIC since May 2000, gaining a large data protection knowledge, namely in the areas police, migration, Schengen, transport (road, air and rail), certification and data transfers including privacy shield. She carried out different data protection inspections and participated as an expert in Schengen Evaluations.

Isabelle Vereecken

Isabelle Vereecken is head of Secretariat of the European Data Protection Board. The EDPB Secretariat is in charge of providing legal support for the drafting of EDPB documents, IT solutions to ensure transparent communications between all the European national data protection authorities, handling EDPB media relations, as well as organizing all EDPB meetings. She is leading the Secretariat from the beginning of its existence. Prior working for the EDPB, she was a legal advisor at the Belgian Data Protection Authority for 10 years. In this position, she was in charge of international data transfers matters and she regularly contributed to the work of the Article 29 Working Party. She started her career as a researcher and worked at the CRID (Computer and Law Research Centre – University of Namur) on data protection, intellectual property rights and e-commerce issues. She has a master degree in law from the University of Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium) and a postgraduate degree in ICT law from the University of Namur.

Eldor Budo

Currently Head of the Sector of International Relations & Projects at the Information at the Information and Data Protection Commissioner’s Office of Albania, he works since 2013 at the same authority. He is member of various working groups and networks in the field of personal data protection and the right to information. Prior to this, Eldor has served as Police officer in various assignments, including lecturer and trainer at the Police Academy of Albania. He is a graduate of Tirana University, Foreign Languages Faculty, the Police Academy of Albania, and currently studying law at Wisdom University College in Albania.

Massimo Attoresi

Massimo is the Acting Head of the Technology & Privacy unit of the EDPS, which he joined in 2012. From October 2014 to September 2020 he was also the Data Protection Officer of the EDPS. He provides advice on the impact of technology on privacy and other fundamental rights due to the processing of personal data. Among the topics he has focused on: cloud computing, online tracking and profiling, privacy of electronic communications, privacy and data protection by design and by default, data protection engineering, DPIAs. He graduated as an Electronic Engineer. After some years in the private ICT sector, he joined in 2002 the European Anti-fraud Office. From 2007 to 2012 he worked as Data Protection Coordinator and Local Informatics Security Officer in a Directorate General of the European Commission.

David Reichel

David Reichel, Project Manager – Social Research, Research & Data Unit, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) Dr David Reichel is a project manager in the Research & Data Unit at the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). He is responsible for managing FRA's research projects on artificial intelligence and on online content moderation. He has extensive experience in working with data and statistics in relation to fundamental rights topics. Prior to joining FRA in 2014, he worked for several years at the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). In addition, he has been teaching several courses on quantitative methodology, migration and human rights at Vienna University. He has published numerous articles, working papers and book chapters on issues related to human rights, migration and integration statistics, and citizenship.

Slobodanka Slavkovska

Has 16-year experience in the data protection field. She has been working in the Macedonian Data Protection Agency in the Supervision Department since its establishment. She was involved in the development of data protection by-laws and the internal policy and procedures of the Agency. She has been coordinating several projects dealing with data protection and modernization of the Data Protection Agency. She holds a Degree in Law.

Lela Janashvili

Since March 2022, Dr. Dr. Lela Janashvili has been the Head of Personal Data Protection Service in Georgia. She is a Professor of Legal Theories of Faculty of Law of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) and a Visiting Lecturer of Barcelona Autonomous University. Dr. Dr. Lela Janashvili holds a doctoral degree from the Faculty of Law of TSU, as well as, a doctoral degree in Human Security and Global Public Law and carries an Extraordinary Doctoral Degree for an outstanding doctoral career from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Since 2021, she has been a member of the Department of Human Security named after Prof. Manuel Ballbé of the Autonomous University Barcelona. Since 2011, she has been a researcher of the research group of the Institute of Social and Political Sciences of the Autonomous University of Barcelona - “Freedom, Democracy, and Transformation of States”. Since 2015, she has been coordinating the Inter-University network for the Study of the Constitutional Transformation of the States.

Paula Hothersall

As ICO’s Director of International Regulatory Cooperation since Sept 2019, Paula leads development and delivery of ICO’s strategic international engagement approach in support of our domestic regulatory role and UK Government international data and data protection policy approaches. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and three of its sub-Boards (Regulatory Delivery, Risk and Governance, and Equality Diversity and Inclusion) she also delivers strategic leadership and governance of ICO. Prior to working at ICO Paula spent 20 years working in the Ministry of Defence, and progressing to Director level. Across her MOD career Paula worked in roles in international security and military operational policy (including overseas deployments on military operations); strategic organisational change; and policy leadership, and delivery and risk oversight, of the MOD’s security and resilience and health and safety functions. Paula is MBA qualified and holds a MA in International Strategy and Security Studies.

Nena Dragičević

Nena Dragičević LL.M. is a Coordinator and Senior Inspector at the International Transfers team of the Dutch data protecton authority (AP), which is responsible for guidance on international data flows and the approval of different international transfer instruments. In addition, she participates in the International Transfers Expert Subgroup of the European Data Protection Board, where she contributes to its guidelines, recommendations and opinions. At the moment, she acts as lead rapporteur for the 4th update of the cooperation procedure for Binding Corporate Rules. She gained her academic knowledge in European Studies, European law, and Law and Technology was obtained at Maastricht University and Tilburg University (NL). Before joining the AP in December 2018, she worked as a privacy and data protection consultant at Cranium and Ernst&Young, where she advised several multinational companies on their global data protection compliance programs. Finally, she holds numerous certifications in different data protection laws, enterprise data management and proces optimalization.

Kari Laumann

Kari Laumann is Head of section for research, analysis and politics at the Norwegian Data Protection Authority (NDPA). She is also the project manager for NDPA Regulatory Sandbox for Privacy and Artificial Intelligence. The sandbox is one of several initiatives in the Norwegian Government’s National Strategy for AI where the aim is to stimulate innovative and responsible AI. Laumann has experience from the Norwegian telco Telenor Group where she had responsibility for privacy in Telenor’s Asian business units. She also has extensive experience from the Norwegian Board of Technology where she gave advice to Parliament on the impact and future potential of technology.

Bradley Tosso

Bradley Tosso is the Director of Information Rights and Operations at the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority (“GRA”). Mr Tosso has 14 years experience in the field of compliance and regulation, working in different jurisdictions and in both the public and private sector. Mr Tosso’s credentials include a BSc (Hons) in Computing and Management and Masters of Law degrees in European Union Law and Information Rights Law and Practice. In his role Mr Tosso leads the GRA’s regulation, supervision and enforcement of data protection and other information rights laws in Gibraltar. Mr Tosso believes in cooperation, engagement and guidance as integral parts of a modern and effective supervisory regime.

Petra Lennhede

Petra Lennhede is an International Legal Advisor in the EU and International department at the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection (IMY). She has been involved in the work of various subgroups and taskforces of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), such as the International Transfers Expert Subgroup, in particular as lead rapporteur for the Guidelines (05/2021) on the Interplay between Article 3 and Chapter V of the GDPR. She holds an LL.M. degree from Uppsala University (Sweden). Before joining IMY in 2018, she was an associate at an international law firm, advising clients in relation to data protection matters and commercial law. She also has previous work experience from a Swedish district court and the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the EU.

Alexander Filip

Alexander Filip, Data Protection Authority of Bavaria for the Privacy Sector, Head of Department . Alexander Filip has graduated as a lawyer. Between 2002 and 2006 he has held various functions as a lawyer and head of department in the public administration of the state of Bavaria/Germany. Between 2006 and 2009 he acted as an advisor for a parliamentary group of the Federal Parliament in Germany (Bundestag). Back in the public administration of Bavaria, he was appointed Head of Department at the Bavarian Data Protection Authority for the Private Sector (Bayerisches Landesamt für Datenschutzaufsicht) in 2009. He is in this capacity leading the Authority’s department in charge with issues relating to the transfers of personal data to non-EU countries as well as e-privacy matters, and he is also the Head of Internal Organizational Matters at this Authority. As of 2011 he has been working in the Expert Subgroup on international data transfers of the Article 29 Working Party and, subsequently, of the European Data Protection Board. Being a frequent author in data protection issues, he has in particular focused on transfers of personal data from the EU to third countries.

Andrés Calvo Medina

For more than twenty-five years he has developed his professional career in the field of information technology at the National Institute of Aerospace Technology where, among other functions has worked as CISO and DPO. During the last fourteen years he has worked in the Spanish DPA where he has developed the following functions: inspector and area coordinator, CISO, head of the Informatics Unit, Coordinator of the Technological Assessment and Analysis Unit and now Chief Area on Technology within the Division of Technology and Innovation. During the last years, he has participated in the development of materials for both data controllers and citizens, materials that have been published at website of the Spanish DPA, such as guides, GDPR tools as well as the Certification Scheme for DPO.

Ahmet M. Sönmez

Ahmet M. Sönmez works as an expert in the Department of Data Management of KVKK (Turkish Personal Data Protection Authority) for the last three years.

Emma Bate

Emma is a Legal Director at the ICO. Her team provides legal advice on information and privacy law across the ICO, and Emma is leading the ICO’s work on international transfers. Before joining the ICO, Emma worked as a lawyer for 20 years specialising in contracts and data protection. So, she has experience of entering into SCCs, enforcing SCCs and now writing them!

Blandine Cassou-Mounat

Principal Policy Adviser – International Regulatory Cooperation Directorate (International), Information Commissioner’s Office

Anamarija Mladinić

Anamarija has been working in the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency for 8 years and currently acts as a Head of the Department for Legal Affairs, Cooperation and Projects. She is a project manager of the EU-funded project ARC - Awareness Raising Campaign for SMEs and a leader of the third component of the Twinning project "Support to the Implementation of the Modernised Data Protection Legal Framework" in North Macedonia.