Speaker Biographies

Confirmed Speakers

Roberto Viola

Deputy Director General, DG CONNECT, European Commission

Roberto Viola holds a Doctor degree in Electronic Engineering (Dr. Eng.) and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA).
He is Deputy Director General of DG CONNECT, in the European Commission, with responsibilities for Electronic Communications Networks and Services Directorate, Cooperation Directorate - International and Inter-institutional relations, Stakeholders cooperation, Digital Economy & Coordination Directorate – Digital Single Market, Copyright, Innovations and Knowledge Base, Media & Data Directorate.
From 2005 to 2012, he was the Secretary General in charge of managing AGCOM (Italian media and telecom regulator).
He was Chairman of the European Radio Spectrum Policy group (RSPG) from 2012 to 2013, and Deputy Chairman in 2011 and Chairman in 2010.
He was member of the BEREC Board (Body of European Telecom Regulators).
He was Chairman of the European Regulatory Group (ERG) in 2007.
He served as Director of Regulation Department and Technical Director in AGCOM from 1999 to 2004, in charge of inter alia, regulation in terrestrial, cable and satellite television, frequency planning, access and interconnection of communication services, cost accounting and tariff in telecommunication and broadcasting services.
From 1985-1999 he served in various positions as a staff member of the European Space Agency (ESA) in particular, he has been Head of Telecommunication and Broadcasting Satellite Services.

Antti Peltomäki

Deputy Director General, DG GROW, European Commission

Mr Antti Peltomäki is Deputy Director-General of the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Directorate-General since February 2012. In this function, Mr Peltomäki is responsible for regulatory policy including internal market, industrial property and standardisation, sustainable growth and EU 2020 which includes industrial innovation and mobility industries, textiles, chemicals, metals, mechanical, electrical industries, raw materials, tourism and key enabling technologies.

Before that, Mr Peltomäki was Deputy Director-General in the Information Society and Media Directorate General where he was firstly responsible for research cooperation in the context of the seventh research framework (2007-2013) and thereafter for regulatory policy in the telecommunications, media and internet fields.

Mr Peltomäki has also worked as Head of the Commission's representation in Helsinki in 2006 – 2007.

Prior to joining the Commission in 2006, Mr Peltomäki worked for almost ten years in the office of the Prime Minister of Finland, initially as State Under-Secretary, then State Secretary for EU affairs.

A lawyer by training, Mr Peltomäki began his career as a coordinator of international research and training courses at the Helsinki University of Technology.

Michal Boni

Member, European Parliament

Born in 1954 in Poznan, a graduate of the University of Warsaw, where for many years he lectured in the Department of Polish Culture. Involved in "Solidarity" underground movement since 1980, since 1987 its leader on University of Warsaw and from march 1983 till 1989 editor in chief of underground weekly newspaper "Wola". Since 1989 a member of the national authorities of "Solidarity", in 1990 – chairman of the "Mazowsze" Region Managing Board.
In 1991, the Minister of Labour and Social Policy, from 1992 to 1993 he held the position of the Secretary of State in the same ministry, where he was responsible, inter alia, for labor market policy. Member of Parliament of the first tenure. Since 1995, the director of the Social Policy Reform Program at the Stefan Batory Foundation. Councillor of Centrum Commune of the municipal city of Warsaw in 1994-1996. From 1996 to 1997 Director and Member of the Institute of Public Affairs. From 1998 to 2001, the chief advisor to the Minister of Labour and Social Policy. By 2007, Enterprise Investors consultant in the field of human resource. Key expert cooperating in shaping of the National Development Plan and the National Action Plan for 2007-2013. By 2007, Lewiatan (Polish Confederation of Private Employers) advisor. From 2003 till 2007 member of the Governing Board in Eurofund, where he represented Polish employers. Expert in a labour market policy, also cooperated with the World Bank and OECD.
Since January 2008, the Secretary of State in the Prime Minister's Office. In 2009 appointed to the office of the Minister – a member of the Council of Ministers and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers. Since 2008 he was the Head of Strategic Advisors to the Prime Minister . Under his leadership the team has conducted a socio-economic evaluation of Poland and has participated in the development of strategic plans of the government. Among some of the most important documents are: "Report on Polish Intellectual Capital", "Returner. Navigation for returning migrants", "Poland 2030. Development Challenges" and "Youth 2011".
The Minister of Administration and Digitization of Poland from 2011 till 2013. The host of the Congress of Freedom on the Internet, the organizer of the consultation on digital privacy and data protection, creator of the Governmental Operational Programme Digital Poland 2014-2020, which aims to foster internet development in Poland, author of the report "State 2.0 - a new start for e-administration" and many other government strategic documents. Successfully carried out in Poland digitization of public television, changed the law on public collections of money and goods more accessible and useful for citizens. Supported the acquisition of digital skills in the elderly and the introduction of science programming for children, as well as the creation of open public data register
Former Chairman of Council on the Prevention of Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, which was created in 2012 as a response to the problem visible in the public space – hate speech and actions motivated by intolerance targeting the representatives of minorities.

Victoria Espinel

President & CEO, BSA | The Software Alliance

Victoria A. Espinel is President and CEO of BSA | The Software Alliance, the leading advocate for the global software industry before governments and in the international marketplace. Prior to heading BSA, Espinel served in the White House as the first US Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator. She was charged with developing and implementing the Administration's overall strategy for enforcement of intellectual property. Espinel previously was a professor at the George Mason University School of Law, teaching intellectual property and international trade law. While at George Mason, she acted as an advisor on intellectual property issues to the staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senate Finance Committee, House Judiciary Committee and House Ways and Means Committee.

In 2009, Espinel founded Bridging the Innovation Divide, a not-for-profit foundation focused on addressing the "innovation divide" and empowering all Americans to obtain the full benefit of their creativity and ingenuity. In 2001, Espinel joined the Office of the US Trade Representative as the senior counsel for intellectual property issues. In 2005, Espinel was asked to serve as the first Assistant United States Trade Representative for Intellectual Property and Innovation at the Office of the US Trade Representative, creating the office of Intellectual Property and Innovation at USTR and serving as the chief US trade negotiator for intellectual property and innovation. While at USTR, she testified on numerous occasions before the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Espinel holds an LLM from the London School of Economics, a JD from Georgetown University Law School, and a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

Matt Wolken

VP & General Manager, Information Management Software , Dell

Matt Wolken is the VP & General Manager, Information Management Software. Dell Software’s Information Management suite, which now includes predictive and data mining analytics after the acquisition of the Statistical product family, makes it possible for mid-size firms to simplify complex data environments and unlock the power of information. Supported by several of the analytic industry’s largest user communities, Dell’s open, cross-platform and vendor agnostic approach enables organizations to more easily manage, integrate and analyze data to inform business decisions, increase innovation and drive new revenue streams.

Prior to the creation of the his current role, Matt led the Software strategy for Dell during the planning stages in the Corporate Strategy group as well as for the initial stages after the start of the Dell Software group. His previous positions include several of the industries bellwether companies including Intel, Sun Microsystems, NEC Corporation and BMC. Matt obtained his MBA at the University of Texas at Austin.

John Boswell

Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, SAS

John Boswell is responsible for legal services, public policy, compliance and contract administration worldwide for SAS. In that role he leads a group of over 90 attorneys and 220 staff members globally. As a member of the SAS Executive Committee, John helps set policy for the company generally and takes the lead role in setting SAS’ positions on privacy and intellectual property.

Before joining SAS, John was President of Vista Development Corp., a software consulting company. He has also served as General Counsel and Secretary for Raima Corp., another software company. Prior to that John was in private practice.

John holds a law degree and a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of South Carolina at Columbia. He is consistently chosen as one of the best corporate attorneys in North Carolina by his peers in the North Carolina Bar Association. He is a frequent speaker in the areas of privacy and patent reform. John’s philanthropic work includes helping AIDS orphans in Africa, establishing clinics to fight cervical cancer in Haiti and building homes with Habitat for Humanity. John is married with three sons and enjoys flying airplanes and playing Ultimate Frisbee.

Jan Neutze

Director of Cybersecurity Policy EMEA, Microsoft

Jan Neutze is Director of Cybersecurity Policy at Microsoft responsible for cybersecurity policy matters in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Before taking on Microsoft's EMEA security portfolio, Jan worked in Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing (TwC) group at Microsoft Corp. leading TwC's engagements with governments and industry partners. Jan came to Microsoft from the United Nations Headquarters where he served for three years in the policy planning staff of the UN Secretary-General and the Department of Political Affairs, leading a range of cybersecurity and counterterrorism projects. Prior to his work at the UN, Jan led a range of transatlantic security policy projects at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Atlantic Council of the United States. Jan holds a J.D. from the University of Muenster, Germany and an M.A. in Security Studies from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

Walter Radermacher

Director General, Eurostat

- Born 1952 in Aachen, Germany.
- 1970 to 1975 Studies in business economics in Aachen and Münster
- 1975 to 1977 Member of academic staff at University of Münster (economic mathematics, operations research)
- 1978 to 2003 Various positions in the German Federal Statistical Office
- 2003 to 2006 Vice-President of the German Federal Statistical Office
- 2006 to 2008 President of the German Federal Statistical Office and Federal Returning Officer
- Since August 2008 Director General of Eurostat and Chief Statistician of the European Union
- 1982 to 1998 Teaching assignments in statistics and environmental economics at Fachhochschule (specialised college of higher education) of Wiesbaden and University of Lüneburg

Fedelma Good

Director of Information Strategy & Policy, Personal & Corporate Banking, Barclays

Director, Information Policy & Strategy, Personal & Corporate Banking, Barclays.

Fedelma joined Barclays in 2007 as Head of Marketing Privacy and Information Management. In 2013 she was appointed Director of Information Policy & Strategy, leading a team focused on ensuring colleagues understand the relevant privacy requirements and their responsibilities when it comes to gathering, managing and using personal data.

Prior to joining Barclays, Fedelma was MD of Good Consulting Ltd, which specialised in providing CRM, information management and privacy advice.

A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, Fedelma started her working life with the Bank of Ireland in Dublin before moving to London to join Deloitte.

Fedelma was recently named a Data Titan in the UK DataIQ Big Data 100, she is a board member at the UK DMA (Direct Marketing Association) and a frequent presenter at privacy and data conferences.

Pascal Brosset

Senior Vice President, Innovation and CTO, Schneider Electric

In charge of the technology strategy across all business units, Pascal Brosset joined Schneider Electric in 2010 to lead the technology side of the ambitious transformation of the company towards energy efficiency solutions. He is in charge of the corporate R&D and chairs the Innovation & Technology Council, gathering business units CTOs, with a particular focus on innovation.

Prior to joining Schneider electric, he was the Chief Strategy Officer of SAP AG, coming from a High Tech and Consulting background

Gery Pollet

CEO, ZapFi

Gery Pollet founded the company in 2010. In his role as Chief Executive Officer, Gery is responsible for the execution of ZapFi’s corporate strategy, market direction and day-to-day management. Gery’s prior experience spans numerous roles including Managing Director, founder and corporate executive. Gery has a successful track record for bringing technology advanced ideas to market. Gery’s latest business success was Aquanta, specialised in the development of internet telephony applications. Prior to that, Gery founded ITinera Services, an ISP with a focus on the SME market and the first ISP in Belgium to use satellite technology. Gery’s first start-up was Planet & Partners, the first consumer ISP in Belgium.

Nicolaus von Rintelen

Expert and Shareholder, virtual solutions AG - SecurePIM

Nicolaus von Rintelen is a shareholder at virtual solution AG with its product SecurePIM – German-made highly secure container solution featuring encrypted email usage. Company’s business and strategy development lie within Nicolaus’ remit.

Nicolaus started his career at Linde AG in Merges & Acquisitions and continued at a Munich based Venture Capital company as a senior investment manager, looking after international activities and managing the first German-Canadian share exchange at SMAX and Toronto Stock Exchange.
As a founder and a managing director of a Munich based private equity company, he has been an entrepreneur and investor with focus on “German Mittelstand” - German medium-sized companies.
In the last ten years, Nicolaus has been a trusted advisor to the founder and CEO of Novatek, the second largest gas producer in Russia. He enabled Novatek to enter the EU market and developed the Swiss based trading activities.

Nicolaus von Rintelen holds a degree in Business Economics from the University St. Gallen.

Sebastien Deletaille

Founder & CEO, Real Impact Analytics

Sébastien is the co-founder and CEO at Real Impact Analytics. He drives the company’s vision, strategy and growth as it transforms telecom data into action. Sébastien’s leadership is taking a great team of 80+ exceptional achievers to 30+ countries implementing our analytics products.

Sébastien launched Real Impact Analytics with Loïc Jacobs van Merlen to meet the emerging need for “Big Data” analytics globally. With Real Impact Analytics, Sébastien has been developing analytics and business intelligence solutions as well as products for telecom operators since 2009. Sébastien and his Co-founder, Loic Jacobs van Merlen, both attended the same High School and University.


Sébastien has made 60+ implementations happen across Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Prior to launching Real Impact Analytics, Sébastien worked for McKinsey & Company. He still is a board member to McKinsey Alumni for Belgium and Luxembourg. He holds a Msc in Business Engineering from Solvay Business School (ULB) from which he graduated Summa cum Laude. He also supports entrepreneurship and education organisations.

Whenever he is not tapping into rich data flows and taking
Real Impact Analytics to another level, Sébastien enjoys classical music, squash and scuba diving.

Mischa Dohler

Professor, King's College London

Mischa Dohler is full Professor in Wireless Communications at King’s College London, Head of the Centre for Telecommunications Research, co-founder and member of the Board of Directors of the smart city pioneer Worldsensing, Fellow and Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE, and Editor-in-Chief of the Transactions on Emerging Telecommunications Technologies.

He is a frequent keynote, panel and tutorial speaker. He has pioneered several research fields, contributed to numerous wireless broadband, IoT/M2M and cyber security standards, holds a dozen patents, organized and chaired numerous conferences, has more than 200 publications, and authored several books. He has a citation h-index of 39 (top 1%).

He acts as policy, technology and entrepreneurship adviser, examples being Richard Branson’s Carbon War Room, House of Lords UK, UK Ministry BIS, EPSRC ICT Strategy Advisory Team, European Commission, ISO Smart City working group, and various start-ups.

He is also an entrepreneur, angel investor, passionate pianist and fluent in 6 languages. He has talked at TEDx. He had coverage by national and international TV & radio; and his contributions have featured on BBC News and the Wall Street Journal.

Luukas Kristjan Ilves

Counsellor for Digital Affairs, Permanent Representation of Estonia to the EU

Luukas is Counsellor for Digital Affairs at Estonia’s Permanent Representation to the EU, where he makes Europe a more connected and innovative continent by bringing Estonia's outcome-oriented experience in digital markets and government to bear on Brussels. He is responsible for preparing Estonia’s ICT agenda for its EU Presidency in 2018.

Luukas has previously served as Head of International relations for RIA (Estonia’s central agency for e-government and cybersecurity), where he lead Estonia’s push to integrate its e-government systems with neighbouring countries and the EU. He has also worked as a policy planner in the Estonian Ministry of Defence, and as a national expert at the European Commission (in the Cabinet of VP Neelie Kroes). Luukas is a graduate of Stanford University and a reserve officer in the Estonian Defence Forces

John Higgins

Director General, DIGITALEUROPE

John Higgins was appointed Director General of DIGITALEUROPE, the association for the digital technology industry in Europe, in November 2011 following nine years leading its UK member association, Intellect.

After graduating from the University of East Anglia with an honours degree in Mathematics and then gaining a post graduate Diploma in Accounting and Finance, John began a career in IT. He trained as a systems analyst with the London Brick Company, held senior positions with Ernst & Young and worked in Chicago with leading software company SSA. In 1995 he was appointed CEO of the Rocket Networks, a California based dot.com that provided the world’s first online recording studios. He returned to the UK in 1998 and became Director General of the Computing Services and Software Association, one of Intellect’s predecessors.

John is a member of the governing body of the University of Warwick and chair of its audit committee. John’s other recent committee chair roles include the cross industry association council of the CBI, a government/industry space committee and the global policy action committee of the World IT Services Association, WITSA. He is a board member of e-skills, the UK’s digital sector skills council and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He was presented with two personal awards for outstanding contributions; first to the association sector in 2004 and then to the IT industry in 2008. The Queen appointed him a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2005 for his services to the UK IT industry.

Rosa Barcelo

Head of Sector, Digital Privacy, DG CONNECT, European Commission

Rosa Barcelo works at the European Commission, in DG CONNECT (Unit H4 – Trust and Security Unit) where she leads the sector responsible for digital privacy. Tasks and responsibilities under this role include the ePrivacy Directive (2002/58) and related legislation such as the personal data breach notification (Commission Regulation 611/2013). Specific tasks include monitoring transposition into Member States and working on legislative/policy developments in this area. In addition, Rosa provides legal advice to DG CONNECT colleagues dealing with ICT policies that have a direct impact on privacy and data protection.

Prior to taking up this job, Rosa worked for the European Data Protection Supervisor (2006-2011) and in the Data Protection Unit of the European Commission (2004 and 2005). In both positions she worked on novel privacy issues related to new technologies as well as with aspects related the US Safe Harbour agreement. Rosa has worked as a private lawyer in the Brussels offices of Morrison and Foerster and DLA Piper where she advised clients on European privacy and data protection, electronic commerce and technology law.

She also worked for some years in the academia (University of Namur, in Belgium and University of Balearic Islands. She obtained her PhD in Law with a dissertation on electronic contracts and digital signatures

Paul Adamson

Chairman, Forum Europe

Paul Adamson joined Forum Europe as Partner and Chairman in 2014, bringing with him an unrivalled experience and in-depth knowledge of EU affairs spanning more than 30 years.

Paul works with the team on content, business development and strategy both through Forum Europe and the company's international subsidiary, Forum Global.

In addition to his role at Forum Europe, Paul is editor-in-chief and founding publisher of E!Sharp, an online magazine dedicated to covering the European Union and Europe's place in the world. Paul is a Visiting Professor at the Policy Institute, King’s College London and he is also a Senior European Policy Advisor at Covington & Burling.

Paul is a member of Rand Europe's Council of Advisors and sits on the advisory board of YouGov-Cambridge, a polling think-tank. In addition, he is a member of the advisory group of the Washington European Society, the American Security Project, and British Influence - an organisation that promotes the UK's role in the European Union.

Paul is a patron of the University Association of Contemporary European Studies (UACES), a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences, and a trustee of the Citizenship Foundation.

He founded the consulting firm Adamson Associates, which was sold to Weber Shandwick and The Centre, which was later sold to Edelman.

In 2012, Paul was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to promoting understanding of the European Union”, a part of the Queen's 2012 New Year Honours Diplomatic Service and Overseas List.

Ryan Heath

International Senior Advisor, Edelman

Mr Heath's biography will appear here shortly

Bart Rosseau

Head of Data and Information Unit, City of Ghent

Bart Rosseau is head of the Data and Information Unit of the City of Ghent (Belgium).
In a digital society data is key to tackle new urban challenges and become a networked city for smart citizens. Open Data is a new way to stimulate the interactions between policymakers, civil servants, citizens and stakeholders and co-create solutions. The ultimate goal: better information at the right time for better decisions.

Christian Reimsbach-Kounatze

Internet Economist and Policy Analyst, OECD

Christian Reimsbach-Kounatze is an Information Economist / Policy Analyst at the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI). Christian has been working at STI on issues related to the digital economy since 2008. This includes in particular work on the economic performance of the world largest ICT firms, the impact of ICTs on skills and employment, and recent work on the economics of “big data”. He currently coordinates the OECD project on “Data-Driven Innovation for Growth and Well-Being” (http://oe.cd/bigdata).

Before joining the OECD, Christian worked as a researcher at the Institute for Information and Market Engineering of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and at SAP Research (Germany) on issues related to cloud computing, decentralised incentives mechanisms, and the economic impact of ICTs on financial markets. He also worked as an IT consultant in a start-up (Acarda, Luxembourg) on business intelligence (BI) applications for the investment banking sector. Christian holds a Diploma (Master of Science) in Information Science, Engineering and Management and a Diploma in Economics, both granted by the KIT.