Sebastião Barros Vale

Legal Officer, Policy & Consultation Unit, European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)

Sebastião Barros Vale is a Legal Officer at the Policy & Consultation Unit of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS). Previously he was Senior Counsel at the Future of Privacy Forum think tank, privacy specialist at Johnson & Johnson and an ICT lawyer at the Communications & Digital practice area of Vieira de Almeida e Associados (VdA).

Barros Vale has published various reports and academic papers in the field of privacy and data protection, notably in the context of online price personalisation and digital payments services. An article he co-wrote on automated decision-making case law under the GDPR was awarded the Stefano Rodotá award from the Council of Europe in June 2023. At the EDPS he has been focusing on the interplay between data protection law and the new EU Digital Rulebook, such as the DSA, the DMA, and the AI Act. He has been advocating for fostering cross-regulatory cooperation to ensure that the growing EU digital framework is applied in a consistent manner, while keeping fundamental rights at the centre.

Fabiana Da Pieve

Team Lead for Post-Quantum Cryptography and Manager for Quantum Networks, DG Connect, European Commission

Fabiana Da Pieve, PhD, is Team Leader in post-quantum cryptography and Program Manager for quantum networks in the Unit “Emerging and Disruptive Technology” in DG CONNECT, European Commission. She has a double profile – a quantum physicist for many years in academia and a side education and professional experience in cryptography. She designs EU activities and policies for post-quantum cryptography and quantum technologies, supported by in-depth analysis work on cryptanalysis advances, hacking, progress through the whole quantum stack, emerging quantum+AI applications and on surveillance. Her main objective is to push for framing and implementing the transition to post-quantum cryptography as an opportunity to design the EU we want in the next decades, by trying to align initiatives in areas such as cybersecurity, countering surveillance and communication scanning from state actors and other actors, data privacy, and law enforcement access to encrypted communications and to emerging quantum technologies.

Gary Davis

Senior Director, Regulatory Legal EMEA, Apple

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.

Itxaso Domínguez de Olazábal

Policy Advisor, EDRi

I​​txaso Domínguez de Olazábal (she/her), PhD, is a Policy Advisor at European Digital Rights (EDRi), specialising in data protection with a focus on commercial surveillance. Her work examines the intersection of technology, surveillance, and content governance, highlighting the need to protect both individual and collective rights, particularly for vulnerable communities within and beyond Europe. She has extensive experience in digital rights, including at 7amleh, where she addressed the extraterritorial impact of EU digital laws and corporate responsibility in violating rights across the Global Majority. In addition to her role at EDRi, Dr Domínguez de Olazábal is a professor of international relations and geopolitics.

Carolina Foglia

Head of Sector, Legal Affairs - Cooperation & Enforcement, European Data Protection Board - Secretariat

Carolina Foglia works at the Secretariat of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) where she is Head of Sector for Legal Affairs – Cooperation & Enforcement. She has extensive experience in data protection law, focusing on the application and interpretation of the GDPR and cooperation between data protection authorities. Prior to joining the EU institutions, she worked in private practice and she is admitted to the New York Bar and qualified to practice law in Italy. She holds a law degree from the University of Trento and an LL.M. from Washington University in St. Louis (USA).

Stacey Gray

Senior Director for Artificial Intelligence , FPF

Stacey Gray is the Senior Director for Future of Privacy Forum’s Center for Artificial Intelligence and supports FPF’s U.S. engagement for consumer privacy research, analysis, and policymaker education. At FPF, she has spent many years focusing on the privacy implications of data collection in online and mobile advertising, platform regulation, cross-device tracking, Smart Homes, and the Internet of Things, including publishing extensive work and providing Congressional testimony on the intersection of emerging technologies and federal privacy regulation and enforcement. Stacey graduated from the University of Florida in 2010, and cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2015, during which she worked in privacy-related civil rights litigation as a law clerk for Victor M. Glasberg & Associates, and as a member of the civil rights division of the Institute for Public Representation.

Daniel Gueorguiev

Head of Global Institutional Affairs, Domyn

Daniel Gueorguiev is the Head of Global Institutional Affairs at Domyn, a European chip-to-frontend AI scale-up. He previously worked At Ericsson, Vodafone and GSMA where he led engagements in Europe and globally on key connectivity, digital, infrastructure, and AI topics. Daniel holds an Advanced Master’s in EU Diplomacy from the College of Europe and a dual degree in International Relations and Psychology from McGill University.

Yordanka Ivanova

Head of Sector, Legal Oversight of the AI Act Implementation, EU AI Office

Yordanka Ivanova is Head of Sector for ‘Legal Oversight of the AI Act Implementation’ in the EU AI Office, DG CNECT, European Commission. She is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the legal implementation of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, including the development of guidance and supporting compliance materials for obligations applicable to AI systems and general-purpose AI models, related enforcement activities and the cooperation with Member States and stakeholders. Yordanka has more than 15 years of professional legal experience with a particular focus on digital and AI regulation, being a key member of the legal team involved in drafting the Commission’s proposal for the AI Act and managing the legislative negotiations for its successful adoption. She is also responsible for cooperation with other institutions and areas of law with which the AI Act intersects (e.g. data protection, consumer protection, digital services act, copyright etc.) and is involved in related international cooperation on AI in the context of the Council of Europe, the United Nations, the OECD and AI Safety Institutes.

Alex Kessler

Director of Policy & Practice, Office of Responsible AI, Microsoft

Alex Kessler is a Director of Policy & Practice in Microsoft’s Office of Responsible AI, where she aligns product execution with AI regulations and technical best practices for AI safety and security. Her work involves designing governance frameworks and setting baseline safety requirements for AI model and system deployments through Microsoft’s Responsible AI Standard, with expertise in AI fairness, memory, and data governance. Previously, she led AI fairness policy at Meta and advised on responsible AI and privacy for AI research and product launches. Prior to tech policy, Alex was a Research Manager at the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion International focused on inclusive digital finance and consumer protection and worked as journalist in Beirut, Lebanon. Alex holds a master’s degree from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Tufts.

Barbara Lazarotto

Co-Director, Brussels Privacy Hub

Barbara Lazarotto is a Postdoctoral researcher at the Law, Science, Technology and Society Research Group (LSTS) of Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), and the Co-Director of the Brussels Privacy Hub. Her research centres on the intersection of data protection and data governance, particularly the secondary use of personal and non-personal data within the EU regulatory framework. She lectures on “Data et Digital: Digital legal matters and perspectives” at SciencesPo Paris. Barbara is also the Executive Director of the CPDP (“Computers, Privacy and Data Protection”) Conference.

Orla Lynskey

Chair of Law & Technology, UCL Laws

Orla Lynskey is Chair of Law and Technology and Vice Dean (EDI) at University College London Faculty of Laws. She is also a Global Distinguished Professor of Law on the Notre Dame Law School London Programme, where she teaches a seminar on EU Digital Regulation, and a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe (Bruges), where she teaches a seminar on Data Governance Dilemmas. She was previously an Associate Professor at LSE Law School (2012-2024) having spent a number of years in legal practice in Brussels (2007- 2009). Orla’s primary research interests are in EU Digital Regulation, with a particular focus on data protection, digital rights and regulatory theory. Orla is currently Editor-in-Chief of International Data Privacy Law, published by Oxford University Press, and a section editor for the Modern Law Review. She holds law degrees from Trinity College Dublin, the College of Europe (Bruges) and the University of Cambridge and she is called to the Bar of England and Wales.

Laura Lázaro Cabrera

Deputy Director and Counsel, Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) Europe

Laura Lazaro Cabrera is Counsel and Director of the Equity and Data Programme at the Centre for Democracy and Technology Europe Office in Brussels, where she leads the work promoting the effective protection of fundamental human rights in the implementation of European Union legislation regulating new technologies, notably the AI Act. Laura has a background in data protection, and previously worked in an international privacy NGO focussing on surveillance and harmful uses of automation by governments.

William Malcolm

Executive Director of Regulatory Risk & Innovation, UK ICO

William is Executive Director of Regulatory Risk & Innovation at the UK Information Commissioner’s Office. He leads the ICO’s teams focused on regulatory supervision of AI, technology and innovation across UK business, including technology policy, regulatory sandboxes, industry engagement, and strategic collaboration with the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum. William also provides Executive level leadership of the ICO’s regulatory cyber, audit and assurance teams.

William has over 25 years of senior executive experience, focusing on legal, policy and regulatory leadership and is a frequent speaker on data protection, privacy and AI issues. Prior to joining the ICO William spent 15 years as a global legal and regulatory leader with a major US tech company as an advisor to senior product and leadership teams on compliance design and data strategy.

William is qualified as a Solicitor in England and Wales and Scotland.

Gianclaudio Malgieri

Full Professor of AI, Data Governance and Fundamental Rights, Maastricht University

Prof Dr Gianclaudio Malgieri is a Full Professor of AI, Data Governance and Fundamental Rights at the ECPC centre of Maastricht University. Before joining the current University, he was Associate Professor of Law & Technology at Leiden University.

He served as the Honorary Director of the Brussels Privacy Hub (VUB) and as the Managing Editor of Computer Law and Security Review. He lad the VaROS Project (funded by NWO and ZonMw), an interdisciplinary project on social media vulnerability and resilience.

His field of research and teaching is digital rights, digital vulnerability, digital wellbeing, data protection law, privacy, AI regulation, AI explainability rights, and consumer protection in the digital market.

Gianclaudio has authored more than 100 publications, including the book “Vulnerability and Data Protection Law” (Oxford University Press, 2023) and articles in leading international academic journals, and he is the Co-Rapporteur for the American Law Institute – European Law Institute Principles on Biometrics. His works have been cited by, inter alia, top international newspapers (The New York Times, The Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Le Monde, Politico, La Tribune, France Culture, ilSole24Ore, la Repubblica, il Corriere della Sera, Euractiv, the EU Observer) but also institutions, e.g. the European Commission and the Council of Europe, and the Advocate General of the EU Court of Justice. In 2020, he was the only EU scholar to receive the FPF Privacy for Policymaker Paper Award. He has published in English, Italian, Dutch, and French, and some of his works have been translated into Chinese. In 2024, he received the AI Policy Leader Award (scholar section).

He was awarded a PhD in Law at the Law, Science, Technology and Society (LSTS) Research Centre of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He got an LLM with honours from the University of Pisa (2016) and a JD with honours from the S.Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa (2017).

Bianca-Ioana Marcu

Managing Director for Europe, FPF

Bianca-Ioana Marcu is the Managing Director for Europe at the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), where she advances thought leadership on data protection, privacy, and AI regulation from a global perspective. Leading a team of legal and policy experts in Brussels, Bianca’s work at FPF focuses on finding pathways for continued cooperation and dialogue on digital regulation, ensuring that strong respect for fundamental rights coexists alongside technology development.

Prior to joining FPF, Bianca was the Managing Director of the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP) Conference, served as co-Director of the Belgian NGO Privacy Salon, as well as a Researcher in Law at the LSTS Research Group of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. With an LLM in International Law, Globalisation and Human Rights from Maastricht University, Bianca’s research and publications have previously focused on Data Protection as the Last Line of Defence (Springer Nature), the legal challenges of Biometrics, Facial Recognition and the Fundamental Rights of Minors (European Law Blog), and on AI regulation from the perspective of international law (FPF).

In addition to managing the Europe office, Bianca also coordinates FPF’s presence in Africa by centering African-led expertise, fostering inclusive collaboration, and advancing the global digital regulatory dialogue by connecting local priorities with global developments. Bianca also held roles in advocacy, with a focus on gender justice, and holds a Data Protection Officer (DPO) certification from the European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity.

Lokke Moerel

Professor of Global ICT Law, Tilburg University

Lokke Moerel is an internationally recognized advisor to boards, governments and regulators on the strategic, legal, and governance implications of emerging technologies, AI, cyber resilience, and digital transformation, and the geo-political implications of increasing global digital dependencies (i.e., digital sovereignty issues). Lokke has over 30 years of innovation experience translating complex technological, legal, operational, and geopolitical developments into practical governance frameworks and strategic oversight models for boards, institutions, and executive leadership teams operating in multijurisdictional, technology-dependent environments.

An early pioneer of Responsible AI, she is lead advisor to the Dutch sovereign AI initiative GPT-NL, developing Europe’s first sovereign large language model aligned with European legal standards, democratic safeguards, and public values. Her work in this sector has received multiple privacy and innovation awards.

Lokke is also a professor of global ICT law at Tilburg University and co-academic director of two Tilburg University professional learning programs, “AI & Law” and “Advanced Cyber Security and Governance.”

Lokke has extensive governance experience serving on boards across technology, cybersecurity, strategic investment, public policy, nonprofit, and cultural institutions.

Lokke has practiced law in the Netherlands, London, and Berlin, and is now resident in MoFo’s Amsterdam office. She is a member of MoFo’s global Data, Cyber + Privacy team and serves on its Responsible Tech Committee and the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Steering Committee.

Lukasz Olejnik

Founder, Stealth Venture

Lukasz Olejnik is an independent researcher and consultant. He is a visiting senior research fellow at Department of War Studies (King’s College London). He holds a PhD in Computer Science from INRIA (France) and an LLM in Information Technology Law from the University of Edinburgh. He has been involved with institutions such as CERN and University College London, and has been affiliated with Princeton’s Center for Information Technology Policy, Oxford’s Centre for Technology and Global Affairs. He has published in leading venues and authored scientific papers, policy reports, and books, including Philosophy of Cybersecurity and Propaganda: From Disinformation and Influence to Operations and Information Warfare (CRC, 2024). His projects and commentary have appeared in outlets such as the Guardian, BBC, Der Spiegel, The Telegraph, and Bloomberg. He contributed to W3C work and served on the W3C Technical Architecture Group. He was a cyberwarfare advisor at the International Committee of the Red Cross, and provided expertise at the European Data Protection Supervisor and the European Parliament.

Brian Quirk

Data Protection Officer, Microsoft

Brian Quirk is Microsoft’s Global Data Protection Officer, based in Dublin, where he independently advises on and monitors the company’s data protection compliance.

Before becoming DPO, he spent three years as in-house privacy counsel at Microsoft, translating new data protection laws into practical, company-wide guidance. He drafted the Microsoft Privacy Standard, the internal rules every Microsoft product and service must meet, and fielded the difficult privacy questions escalated by lawyers across the business.

He came to that work from inside the business. For six years he worked in Microsoft’s sales and marketing organization, establishing proficiency in the engineers’ and business leaders’ respective languages, building privacy into marketing motions, tooling, and databases, and managing a team of privacy managers.

Before Microsoft, he spent more than five years in public service: as General Counsel to the Judiciary of the Republic of Palau, where he led the attorneys who drafted the Supreme Court’s opinions; and as a law clerk in the U.S. federal courts, where he helped to resolve hundreds of criminal and civil cases and sat a dozen trials.

A trained mediator and former teacher, he holds a J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law and a master’s degree in American Studies from the University of Massachusetts Boston, graduated with highest thesis honors from Tufts University, and dropped out of the New England Conservatory of Music.

Friederike Schueuer

Head of EU and Global AI Governance, Ada Lovelace Institute

Friederike Schüür is the Head of EU and Global AI Governance at the Ada Lovelace Institute. In this role, she is responsible for informing research and influencing policy and practice to govern data and AI effectively at EU and global level to the benefit of people and society.

Before joining Ada, Friederike led data strategy and governance at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to protect and promote the organization’s use of data and to support governments and partners in the responsible handling of data from and about children through governance, policy, and good practice. Before joining the UN system, she held roles at technology startups as a data scientist and AI research engineer. She has degrees in Cognitive Science and Philosophy and earned a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience.

Marco Scialdone

Head of Litigation and Academic Outreach, Euroconsumers

Adjunct Professor of AI Law at the European University of Rome. Holding a PhD in Legal Categories and Technologies, he serves on the scientific committees of the Italian Institute for Privacy and Data Valorisation (IIP) and the Data Intermediaries Alliance. His work explores the legal frontiers of AI, copyright, and data privacy across various European advisory boards and research bodies. He is also the Director of the Consumer Empowerment Project (CEP), a collaborative initiative between Euroconsumers and Google designed to foster an inclusive forum for consumer organizations, industry leaders, and civil society to address key issues in consumer empowerment.

Sophie Stalla-Bourdillon

co-Director, Brussels Privacy Hub

Sophie Stalla-Bourdillon is co-Director of the Privacy Hub. She is also a visiting professor at the University of Southampton Law School of law, where she held the chair in IT law and Data Governance until 2022. She was Principal Legal Engineer at Immuta Research for six years. Sophie is the author and co-author of several legal articles, chapters and books on data protection and privacy. She is Editor-in-chief of the Computer Law and Security Review, a leading international journal of technology law, and has also served as a legal and data privacy expert for the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for the Cooperation and Security in Europe, and for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Vincenzo Tiani

EU Senior Policy Counsel, FPF

Vincenzo Tiani is an EU Senior Policy Counsel at the Future of Privacy Forum, based in Brussels, where he primarily focuses on the intersection of data protection and AI.

Vincenzo holds an LL.M in IP and ICT Law from KU Leuven. He is an Adjunct Professor at IULM University in Milan, Italy, where he teaches copyright and data protection, and at EDHEC Business School in Lille, France, where he instructs on Digital Law and Data Regulation. Since 2022, he has been a Ph.D. candidate at the VUB University of Brussels and serves as the Programme & Dissemination Coordinator of the Brussels Privacy Hub, researching topics related to artificial intelligence and personal data protection.

Since 2017, Vincenzo has been a regular contributor to various Italian media outlets, including Wired, Vice, Il Sole 24 Ore, La Repubblica, StartupItalia, and Domani, writing about European digital policies.

Prior to joining FPF, Vincenzo’s career included roles at the European Parliament, where he focused on European Copyright reform; EDRi, an NGO dedicated to protecting citizens’ fundamental rights online; and CDT, the Center for Democracy & Technology, an international organization that safeguards fundamental rights online and works to maintain a free and innovative Internet. From October 2020 to November 2024, he worked as the Resident Partner of PANETTA Law Firm in Brussels, representing the firm.

Vincenzo has been a member of the Hermes Center for Transparency and Digital Human Rights, an Italian NGO, since 2018, where he monitors European legislative developments and their impact on fundamental rights online. In spring 2020, he was appointed to the Italian Ministry of Innovation’s Data Task Force to assess the data protection impact of Covid-19 contact tracing apps. From 2022 to 2024, he served as an External Advisor on AI and Digital issues for the office of MEP Brando Benifei, co-rapporteur of the AI Act. In 2024, he joined the OECD expert group on Data Protection and AI.

Monika Tomczak-Górlikowska

Head of Privacy, Digital & AI Governance, Prosus Group

Monika Tomczak-Górlikowska is the Global Head of Privacy, Digital & AI Governance for the Prosus Group – a multinational consumer internet group with headquarters in Europe and one of the largest technology investors in the world. Monika also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). Monika began her career at the Legal Service of the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU in Brussels. She is now based in Amsterdam and previously was the Senior Data Privacy Legal Counsel at Shell International Limited in London. Monika is a licensed attorney (adwokat) with over 25-years in practice. Prior to her in-house tenures she was in private practice, including at the offices of Miller, Canfield in Poland. She holds a Master of European Law degree (LLM cum laude) from the Law Department of the College of Europe in Brugge (Belgium). Monika has also served as Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the Forum on International Privacy Law and a member of the IAPP European Advisory Board. Monika is also hexalingual: she speaks English, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish and Portuguese fluently.

Pablo Trigo Kramcsák

Researcher, LSTS – VUB

Pablo Trigo Kramcsák is a PhD researcher in the Law, Science, Technology and Society Research Group (LSTS) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). His PhD research explores the legitimate interest as a suitable legal ground for processing AI training datasets, considering the potential impacts on data subjects’ rights. He is also a researcher at the Centre for Information Technology Law Studies within the Faculty of Law at the University of Chile, delving into the dynamics of data protection laws, cross-border data flows, and digital trade. Pablo obtained his LLB degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and holds an LL.M. degree in International Law from the University of Heidelberg and the University of Chile.

Wojciech Wiewiórowski

European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)

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 as Assistant European Data Protection Supervisor while in December 2019 he became the new Supervisor.

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.

Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna

Vice President for Global Privacy, FPF

Dr. Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna is a globally recognized data protection law expert, with 15 years of experience in the field split between Europe and the U.S., spanning academia, public service, consulting and policy. She currently is Vice President for Global Privacy at the Future of Privacy Forum, a global non-profit headquartered in Washington DC, coordinating FPF’s offices and partners in Brussels, Singapore, Nairobi, and New Delhi, and leading the work on global privacy and data protection developments related to new technologies, including AI. She is also a founding Advisory Board Member of Women in AI Governance, and an affiliated researcher to the LSTS Center of Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Dr. Zanfir-Fortuna worked for the European Data Protection Supervisor and is a member of the Reference Panel of the Global Privacy Assembly – the international organization reuniting data protection authorities around the world, as well as a member of the T20 engagement group of the G20 under Brazil’s Presidency in 2024.

She was elected to be part of the Executive Committee of ACM’s Fairness, Accountability and Transparency (FaccT) Conference (2021-2022). Her scholarship on the GDPR is referenced by the Court of Justice of the EU, and in 2023 she won the Stefano Rodota Award of the Council of Europe for the paper “The Thin Red Line: Refocusing Data Protection Law on Automated-Decision-Making“, alongside her co-authors. Dr. Zanfir-Fortuna holds a PhD in Law with a thesis on the rights of the data subject under EU Data Protection Law, and an LLM in Human Rights (University of Craiova).

Joris van Hoboken

Full Professor of Information Law, University of Amsterdam

Joris van Hoboken is a Professor of Information Law at the Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam. Joris works on questions related to law and digital infrastructure, including at the intersection of fundamental rights protection and the governance of platforms and internet-based services. Previously, Joris worked at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB), and at the Information Law Institute (ILI) at New York University Law School, the NYU Stern Center for Business & Human Rights and CornellTech. He obtained his PhD from the University of Amsterdam on the topic of search engines and freedom of expression (2012) and has graduate degrees in Law and Theoretical Mathematics. He is the founding director of the DSA Observatory project, with a focus on upcoming implementation and enforcement of the DSA and questions of access to justice and content moderation, and the principal investigator of the Research Group for the Law and Governance of Quantum Technologies.