Speaker Biographies

Confirmed Speakers

Pat Rabbitte

Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources, Forthcoming Irish Presidency of the EU

Please view the speech Minister Pat Rabbitte delivered at the event by following this link:

http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/Corporate+Units/Press+Room/Speeches/2012/Minister+Rabbittes+Address+at+the+the+4th+Annual+European+E-Commerce+Conference.htm

Pat Rabbitte, was appointed Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources in March 2011.

He previously served as Minister of State to the Government 1994 -1997 and as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with responsibility for Commerce, Science and Technology.

Minister Rabbitte has served as a T.D. for the constituency of Dublin South West since he was elected to Dáil Eireann in 1989. He has served in a number of different portfolios in opposition and was Justice Spokesperson in the last Dáil. He was the Dáil’s longest serving member of the Public Accounts Committee.

He was Leader of the Labour Party from 2002 to 2007.

William E. Kennard

Ambassador to the European Union, United States Mission to the EU

William E. Kennard is the United States’ Ambassador to the European Union. Prior to assuming this position, Mr. Kennard was a Global Partner and Managing Director of The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm with approximately $90 billion under management. Mr. Kennard joined The Carlyle Group in May 2001. At The Carlyle Group, Mr. Kennard specialized in investments in the telecommunications and media sectors.

Before joining The Carlyle Group, Mr. Kennard served as chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission from November 1997 to January 2001. He presided over the agency at an historic time. During his tenure, he shaped policies that created an explosion of new wireless phones, brought the Internet to a majority of American households, and resulted in billions of dollars of investment in new broadband technologies. At the same time, he implemented bold new policies to bridge the digital divide in the United States and around the world.

Mr. Kennard is well known for his advocacy for people at risk of being stranded on the wrong side of the digital divide. He implemented the FCC’s e-rate program, which brought the Internet to almost every school and library in the United States. Under Mr. Kennard’s leadership, the FCC dramatically expanded access to communications technologies for people with disabilities. The FCC also adopted policies to increase telephone service to rural areas, especially to Native Americans living on tribal lands. He reached out to create more ownership and employment opportunities for women and minorities.

As FCC chairman, Mr. Kennard promoted the benefits of technology worldwide. He pioneered an innovative FCC Development Initiative to assist countries in the developing world to participate more fully in the global growth of digital technology. Through this initiative, Mr. Kennard signed the first partnership agreements on behalf of the FCC with ten countries on four continents to share U.S. regulatory experience with emerging regulatory authorities.

U.S. News and World Report dubbed Kennard a “consumer champion for the digital age.” He has received many honors and awards for his accomplishments, including awards from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the Easter Seals Foundation, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and honorary degrees from Howard University, Gallaudet University and Long Island University.

Mr. Kennard previously served on the boards of directors of The New York Times Company, Sprint Nextel Corporation (national US wireless carrier), Handspring, Inc. (manufacturer of the Treo and other wireless devices), eAccess Ltd. (national Japanese wireless carrier), as well as on the boards of several companies owned by The Carlyle Group. Mr. Kennard also served on several nonprofit boards including the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, One Economy Corporation, Common Sense Media, Year-Up Inc., the Yale University Council, Gallaudet University and Media Access Project.

Before his appointment as FCC Chairman, Mr. Kennard served as the FCC’s general counsel from 1993 until 1997. He joined the FCC from the law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand (now DLA Piper) where he was a partner and member of the firm’s board of directors.

Mr. Kennard is a graduate of Stanford University and Yale Law School. He resides in Brussels, Belgium with his wife, Deborah Kennedy Kennard, and their son, Robert.

Hein Pretorius

CEO, MIH Allegro

Mr. Pretorius has more than 18 years experience in the Internet, Technology and Telecommunications industries. He is widely recognized for his actions in furthering the MIH group’s investment activities in these industries, in particular investments in Mail.ru and the Tradus Group (Ricardo and Allegro). Mr. Pretorius currently holds the position of CEO of the Allegro Group (subsidiary of MIH/Naspers). He is a director of a number of companies in the MIH Group.

Mr. Pretorius joined the Naspers Group in 2000 as CEO of Kalahari.net, establishing the group’s first eCommerce platforms in Africa. In 2002 he became CEO of N-Direct and in 2004 he relocated to China in the role of Internet Business Development Director, first to Shanghai and then to Beijing. In 2007 Mr. Pretorius was relocated to the Netherlands taking up the position of Chief Operating Officer. In September 2008 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of MIH Internet Europe.

Pierre Delsaux

Deputy Director General, DG MARKT, European Commission

Pierre Delsaux was born in Belgium in 1957. After studying Law at the University of Liège, he obtained his Master of Law at the Northwestern University, Illinois US, in 1983. He was Legal Secretary at the European Court of Justice from 1984 to 1987. His career within the European Commission has included working in the Directorate General Competitition (1991-1994). Currently he is Deputy Director General in charge of the Single Market at the Directorate General Internal Market and Services.
Recently Pierre Delsaux actively contributed to the European Commission reaction to the financial crisis in the areas of corporate reporting and governance, governance of supervisory and standard setting organisations, both at the EU and global level. His interests include also the application of community law across the EU, as well as the functioning of internal market.

Jan Philipp Albrecht MEP

Rapporteur, General Data Protection Regulation

Jan Philipp Albrecht is a Member of the European Parliament from the German Greens. Albrecht studied law in Bremen, Brussels and Berlin and worked for the Walter-Hallstein Institut in Berlin. He graduated in ICT-law at the Universities of Hanover and Oslo in 2009 and was spokesman of the Green Youth in Germany from 2006 to 2008. Jan Philipp Albrecht is specialized in the field of civil rights, data protection and democracy. In the European Parliament, he works especially on home affairs, data protection and police & justice cooperation. He is the European Parliament's chief negotiator ("rapporteur") for the transatlantic data protection framework agreement in the fields of justice and police cooperation.

Werner Stengg

Head of Unit Online and Postal Services, European Commission

Born 1968 in Friesach, Austria.

Studied at Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration (master's degree 1992, PhD 1995).

Professional experience:
• Assistant Professor at Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration (1992-1996);
• Administrator at the General Secretariat of the European Council of Ministers, Brussels; air and maritime transport (1996-1998);
• Administrator at the European Commission, DG Enterprise, in charge of negotiating bilateral textile agreements between the EU and third countries (1998-2001);
• Assistant to the Deputy Director General of DG Enterprise (2001-2002);
• Administrator at DG Budget, in charge of evaluation (2002-2006);
• Head of Unit in DG Internal Market and Services, in charge of "Impact Assessment, Evaluation and Economic Analysis" (2006-April 2011);
• Head of Unit in DG Internal Market and Services, in charge of "Online and Postal Services" (April 2011-present).

Peter Hustinx

Supervisor, European Data Protection Supervisor

Mr. Hustinx (1945) has been European Data Protection Supervisor since January 2004 and was re-appointed by the European Parliament and the Council in January 2009 for a second term of five years. He has been closely involved in the development of data protection legislation from the start, both at national and at international level. Before entering his office, Mr. Hustinx was President of the Dutch Data Protection Authority since 1991. From 1996 until 2000 he was Chairman of the Article 29 Working Party. He received law degrees in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and in Ann Arbor, USA. Since 1986 he has been deputy judge in the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam.

Róża Gräfin von Thun und Hohenstein

Member, European Parliament

In her capacity as the EP rapporteur Ms Thun is currently engaged in works on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on online dispute resolution for consumer disputes (Regulation on consumer ODR)

She has initiated the awareness raising campaigns concerning the values of the Single Market. In 2011 she organised in Krakow the first Single Market Forum (SIMFO) which second edition we could witness this year in a boosted EU-wide form - consisting of more than 100 events.

Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection
Delegation for relations with Israel
Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean

Substitute
Committee on Culture and Education
Delegation for relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council

- MA in English Philology, Jagiellonian University in Cracow (1979).
- Spokesperson for the Student Committee of Solidarity (SKS) and co-operator of Workers' Defence Committee (KOR) (1977 - 1980).
- General Director and Chairwoman of the Polish Robert Schuman Foundation (1992 - 2005).
- NGO's activist. During campaign before accession referendum in Poland she initiated and coorganized many events and public debates on Polish accession to the EU in 2004.
- Member of the Warsaw City Council (1998 - 2000).
- Head of the European Commission Representation to Poland (2005 - 2009).
- Member of the Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska).

Sampo Terho MEP

Rapporteur “Towards an integrated European Market for card, internet & mobile payments, European Parliament

Member
ECON Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
SEDE Subcommittee on Security and Defence
D-CA Delegation for relations with Canada

Substitute
AFET Committee on Foreign Affairs
EMPL Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
DANZ Delegation for relations with Australia and New Zealand

Curriculum vitae (The MEP is solely responsible for the information published)
Master of Philosophy, 2003
Secretary, Information Service, Ministry of Defence, 2004-2005
Peace-keeper, Eufor, 2005
Strategy researcher, National Defence College, 2006-2008
Media researcher, National Defence College, 2009-2010
Chair, Kallio regional section, True Finns Party, 2008-2009
2nd vice-chair, Helsinki district, True Finns Party, 2009
Chair, Association of Finnish Culture and Identity, 2009-
Operation Althea Eufor medal

Dan Dionisie

Head of Unit, Consumer Markets, DG SANCO, European Commission

Dan Dionisie (1969) joined the European Commission in January 2012 as head of the Consumer Markets Unit at DG SANCO, which is monitoring consumer markets and is researching consumer behaviour with a view to produce evidence for policy making. Before the Commission, he had a 12-year progressive career with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at national and international level, during which he dealt among others with inter-agency coordination, ICT for development, democratic governance, policy development, institutional reform, public administration, anti-corruption. Before UNDP, Dan worked as a foreign affairs expert at the Presidency of Romania (1997-99) and teaching assistant in Political Science at the University of Bucharest (1995-97). His academic background is in computer engineering and political science.

Jean Gonié

Director of Privacy, EU Affairs, Microsoft Europe

Jean Gonié is the Director of Privacy Europe, Middle East and Africa for Microsoft. Based in Brussels, he was previously Government Affairs Manager in Microsoft France (from 2005 to 2010).

Prior to joining Microsoft, Mr. Gonié was a legal adviser to the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) and worked in the legal department of the Internet Rights Forum (a semi-government Internet regulatory body in France). He also served on the staff of a member of the French National Assembly and of a Senator.

He lectured on Internet law and data protection issues for many years at University of Paris I Sorbonne, Sciences Po Paris and the CNAM (Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers).
Jean is a graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Studies (“Sciences Po” Paris) and holds Master Degrees in Public Law and in History.

Mr. Gonié is also “Conseiller du Commerce Extérieur de la France” / “French Foreign Trade Advisor” (Nomination by French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry Journal Officiel de la République Française, March 3rd 2012). Advisory role for promoting France’s Trade and Innovation in the world.

Stefan Krawczyk

Senior Director and Counsel Government Relations Europe, eBay

Stefan Krawczyk, a French national born in the Netherlands, is a civil, media and copyright law graduate from Leiden and Amsterdam Universities and former research fellow of the Munich Max-Planck-Institute for foreign and international industrial and intellectual property law.

In June 2009, Stefan Krawczyk joined Internet market place eBay, where he now heads eBay’s European Government Relations team, covering all of eBay’s interests, including e-commerce, mobile commerce, distribution and sales, application development and financial services. Stefan currently also serves as Vice Chair of the Committee on Information, Computer and Communications Policy (ICCP) of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD. Before joining eBay,

Stefan first worked for over five years as trademark litigator and for almost 15 years as senior lobbyist for the international recording industry with a focus on IPR enforcement, licensing and industry organisation in the EU, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Marisa Jimenez

European Privacy Policy Counsel, Google

Spanish lawyer by the University of Zaragoza, Marisa Jimenez is specialized in EU law by the Europa Institut of Saarbrucken, Germany. Marisa has 14 years of public policy experience in Brussels. She worked for the EU Commission at the beginning of her career and before joining Google, she was Public Policy Director at GS1 and held various positions at Time Warner and Deutsche Post World Net Brussels Corporate public policy offices, dealing with a variety of public policy matters focusing on Privacy and Data Protection, Internet and RFID policy related issues leading the completion of the EU Privacy Impact Assessment Framework for RFID Applications. Marisa joined Google in November 2010 as European Privacy Policy Counsel.

Walter Devenuto

President, EMOTA

Walter Devenuto is the President of EMOTA (European Multi-channel and Online Trade Association), which represents the interests of more than 2.700 distance selling and e-commerce companies in 19 European countries, with its 20 member national associations.

He is also Managing Director Italy of Bakker, European leader in direct marketing of gardening products, since 2004.

He previously worked for 6 years for a primary American management consultancy, Booz-Allen & Hamilton, where he managed important strategy and reorganization projects in large multinational corporations, in Italy, UK, and USA. He then acquired a significant managerial experience at Mediaset and Wind-Infostrada, with P&L responsibility for online media and broadband internet.

He holds an MBA from INSEAD, France and a Degree in Business Administration from Bocconi University, Milan.

In addition to his native Italian, he is fluent in English and has a good working knowledge of French. He has a dual citizenship, Italian and American.

Kostas Rossoglou

Senior Legal Officer, BEUC

Kostas Rossoglou is a Greek qualified lawyer, member of the BAR of the Thessalonica, in Greece.

Kostas holds the position of Senior Legal Officer at BEUC and is leading BEUC’ Digital Team. He has been working at BEUC’s Legal Department since January 2009 and his main areas of expertise are Intellectual Property Rights, e-commerce and data protection. He has been working on a number of EU policy issues, including enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights, collective management of copyright, audiovisual content and copyright levies.. Kostas has been representing consumers in a number of expert groups of the European Commission on IPR related issues, such copyright levies, multi-territory licensing of content online and online counterfeiting. Kostas is also a member of the Team on consumer redress and consumer contracts.

BEUC is a Brussels-based organisation representing forty three reputed independent consumer associations from some thirty European countries (EU, EEA and applicant countries). BEUC investigates EU decisions and developments likely to affect consumers, with a special focus on eight areas identified as priorities by our members: Energy & Sustainability, Financial Services, Food, Health, Safety, Consumer Contracts, Digital and Group Action.

Giulio Montemagno

General Manager for Western Europe, PayPal

• General Manager, Western Europe, PayPal, since April 2012

• Head of Strategy and Business Development Europe, Middle East and Africa, PayPal EMEA (November 2010 – April 2012)

• Managing Director, PayPal Italy (July 2004 – November 2010)
• Giulio held various management positions at iBazaar and eBay since 1999 (Founded iBazar Italy in 1999, iBazar Group’s Italian branch and first International Business unit. eBay Inc acquired iBazar Group in Q4 2001)

• Giulio holds an MBA from Columbia Business School - London Business School

Steven Pope

Vice President Customs & Regulatory Affairs, DHL Express

Steven’s background includes 25-years of public service at UK Customs undertaking a number of roles including customs compliance and policy development, where he worked closely with business on developing new legislation.

Whilst in Government Steven participated in a number of secondments to HM Treasury, the IMF and overseas as a Customs Attaché as well as 15 months with BMW in Munich as part of a study programme with Birmingham University and the UK National School of Government.

In May 2011 Steven took up the role of Head of Customs & Regulatory Affairs for Europe at DHL Express. His work includes advising and negotiating with national, European and international institutions on customs regulations and processes.

Steven is also the Chair of the Customs Committee of the European Express Association.

Danilo Labovic

Managing Director EMEA, TRUSTe

Danilo Labovic is TRUSTe's EMEA Managing Director with 12+ years of international sales and management experience in the online industry. Prior to joining TRUSTe, Danilo started his career at Reuters (now Thompson Reuters) playing a key role in building Reuters' e-commerce platform and strategy as well as setting up and running the sales organization supporting the sales of Reuters' web based financial services across the EMEA region.

Further on, Danilo moved to VeriSign initially managing VeriSign's UKI & Southern European SSL encryption & trust-mark business, to then take on a senior management position with EMEA sales responsibilities. Subsequently he became VeriSign's European Sales Director with full accountability across all products within VeriSign's authentication security services.

Over the last few years and prior to moving to TRUSTe, Danilo was Symantec's EMEA Enterprise Sales Director for their Trust Services business unit.

Joost Vantomme

Chair, European Union Affairs Committee, PostEurop

Joost is a lawyer with additional specialisation in regulatory law and economics. Besides his position of director regulatory affairs at bpost, he is chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee of PostEurop. Before his current regulatory function, he served bpost as deputy general counsel and senior counsel in competition law.

Previously, Joost has held legal positions in the electronic communications sector, whereunder legal director of Belgacom. He is also active on a more academical field where he is a frequent guestspeaker at university audiences as well as at policy conferences, complemented by writing of papers on regulation. Finally, Joost serves as Board member of FEDMA, the Federation of European Direct and interactive Marketing.

Katarzyna Lasota Heller

President, EDiMA

Katarzyna Lasota Heller has been dealing with legal issues connected with the Internet for more than 11 years. She is a qualified business oriented lawyer in Poland and in Switzerland. She wrote and defended her doctoral thesis on consumers on the Internet at the Max Planck Institute in Munich. She also completed postgraduate studies (LL.M.) in the United States, specializing in issues related to patenting computer programs and Internet business models.

Having worked for a number of international law firms and consulting companies in Germany, Austria and Poland, Dr. Lasota Heller currently drives the global Legal Compliance Programme at the MIH/Naspers Group, and is responsible for dozens of companies operating worldwide. From 2010-2012 Dr. Lasota Heller headed the regulatory affairs of the MIH/Naspers Group and represented MIH Napsers Group before the authorities of the European Union and the Member States, and entered into dialogue with other players on the e-commerce market.

As President of the European Digital Media Association (EDiMA), Dr. Lasota Heller is devoted to e-commerce in Central and Eastern Europe, in particular in Poland and actively promotes the removal of barriers in the European Internal Market, primarily in the areas of e-commerce, digitisation and innovation. Dr. Lasota Heller is also a lecturer in International Intellectual Property Law at the Kozminski University in Warsaw.

Pablo Arias Echeverría

MEP, European Parliament

Since June 2009, Pablo Arias Echeverría serves as a Member of the European Parliament (Spanish EPP Delegation). Mr Arias is a member of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection as well as a member of the Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. Currently, he is the Rapporteur of the Own Initiative Report on "Completing the Internal Market for e-commerce".

Before serving as Assistant to the former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar López between 2002 to 2004 and as his Executive Adviser since 2004, he was Deputy Executive Secretary of the Brussels-based CDI (Centrist Democrat International) from 2000 to 2002.

Mr. Arias Echevarría holds a Diploma in Marketing, a Master's degree in Business Administration and Management and a Public Management Leadership Program (PLGP) from the IESE Business School (Madrid, 2008-2009).

Thomas Zerdick

Policy Officer - Data Protection, DG Justice, European Commission

Law degree, University of Passau (Bavaria, Germany) (1988-1994);

Postgraduate European law studies “Master in European Community Law (LL.M.)”, College of Europe in Bruges (Belgium) (1995);

Rechtsreferendar of the State of Berlin, Germany: et al. Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office), Berlin Data Protection Commissioner (1996-1998);

Rechtsanwalt (German Attorney) in Berlin and Brussels (1998-2002); specialisation in European Union law, IT and personal data protection law;

Director of the German Bar Association’s Brussels office (1998-2002);

European Commission:
- Directorate-General Enlargement (Legal officer; Justice and Home affairs) (2002-2004); EU legal expert to the UN in Cyprus (2004);
- Directorate-General Internal Market (Legal officer; unit “Protection of Personal Data”) (2004-2005);
- Directorate-General Justice, Freedom and Security (Legal officer; unit “Protection of Personal Data (2005-2010);
- Directorate-General Justice (Legal officer; unit “Protection of Personal Data”) (2010 to present);

He has published books and articles on European Union law.

James Roper FRSA

Vice President, EMOTA, CEO, IMRG

James Roper is Vice President of EMOTA (the European Multichannel and Online Trading Association – www.emota.eu ) and Chief Executive and Founder of IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group), the industry association for e-retailing, based in London, England.

IMRG (www.IMRG.org) is a membership organisation that takes responsibility for guiding, protecting and facilitating the advancement of electronic retailing via the internet, mobile, interactive TV, kiosks and other networked screens in the home, office and pocket. Founded in 1990 to represent the needs of pioneer interactive merchants, today IMRG serves some 4,000 individuals in the UK and across the world.

James has worked exclusively on interactive retail projects since the mid 1980s, and has been personally involved in the commercial development of hundreds of solutions using all forms of screen-based delivery channels.

James previously held Business Development Director positions with London-based application developers Convergent Communications and New Media Productions, where he managed work for retailers, financial institutions and manufacturers. In 1990, James managed the original IMR (Interactive Media in Retail) survey that led to the formation of IMRG later that year. Since that time, James has worked full time for the IMRG, developing and expanding its activities.

Acknowledged as having a unique and holistic insight into the evolution of the electronic commerce industry, James is a regular speaker on the subject at conferences worldwide. James is regularly called on to serve as an industry expert, and has served the European Commission in that capacity on a number of ESPRIT and other R&D programmes.

Yannis Kourniotis

Chairman, Telemarketing S.A.

Mr. Kourniotis played a leading part in the foundation of EPAM (Union of Hellenic Distance Selling and Direct Marketing Enterprises) and he is the Chairman since 2001.

Chairman of Telemarketing S.A.

Co-founder and shareholder in one of the biggest sales companies by distance in Greece.

Previous places:
General Director in United Distillers.
Director of Communication and subsidiaries companies of Group Interamerican.
Commercial Director in Axaia Clauss.
Commercial Director in Diners Club, where he developed the channel of sales from distance via credit cards.
Market Development Manager in Coca Cola.
Marketing analyst in APCO Industries.

Studies: Master in Business Administration in Long Island University N.Y.

Razvan Antemir

Legals Affairs Advisor, EMOTA

Razvan Antemir started working for EMOTA (the European Multi-channel and Online Trade Association) as Legal Affairs Adviser in February 2011 and is responsible for the coordination of the EMOTA Legal Affairs Committee. He previously worked for the Brussels based Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing (FEDMA, 2008-2011), after completing his education in European Public Affairs, in Maastricht (NL) in 2008. Razvan has gained experience in areas such as sales and promotion law, privacy, postal and environment.