Speaker Biographies

Speakers

Moderators

Roberto Viola

Director General of 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.

Eva Kaili

Member, European Parliament

Eva Kaili is a Member of the European Parliament, elected in 2014.

In her capacity as the Chair of the European Parliament's Science and Technology Options Assessment body (STOA) she has, been working intensively on promoting innovation as a driving force of the establishment of the European Digital Single Market. She has been particularly active in the fields of blockchain technology, m/eHealth, big data, fintech, AI and cybersecurity.

Since her election, she has also been very active in the field of taxation, where she has been the Rapporteur of the ECON committee's annual tax report. As a member of the ECON committee, she has been focusing on EU's financial integration and the management of the financial crisis in the Eurozone.

Prior to her position in the European Parliament, she has been elected two times in the Greek Parliament (serving between 2007-2012), with the PanHellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). She holds a Bachelor degree in Architecture and Civil Engineering, and Postgraduate degree in European Politics. Currently, she is conducting her PhD in International Political Economy.

Matthew Berry

Chief of Staff , FCC

Mr. Berry has served as the Commission’s chief of staff since January 2017. Before that, he served as chief of staff to then-Commissioner Pai. He previously served as the Commission's general counsel and deputy general counsel. Prior to joining then-Commissioner Pai's office, he was a partner at Patton Boggs LLP. Mr. Berry has also worked at the United States Department of Justice, serving as counselor to the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy and an attorney-adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel. Earlier in his career, Mr. Berry clerked for United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas and Judge Laurence Silberman of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Additionally, he worked as a staff attorney at the Institute for Justice. Mr. Berry received his J.D. from Yale Law School and graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College.

Johannes Gungl

CEO, RTR, Chair, BEREC

Mr Johannes Gungl is CEO for Telecommunications and Postal Services of the Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications (RTR).

Johannes Gungl looks back on more than 15 years of experience in the Austrian Telecommunication Industry working in the field of legal and regulatory affairs for several fixed-line and mobile operators.

Prior to his appointment as CEO of RTR in February 2014, he served as General Counsel and Head of Legal & Regulatory Affairs for Orange Austria. In this role he was directly involved in the precedent-setting merger of Orange Austria with Hutchison, which was cleared by the European Commission (EC) following a phase II investigation and the Austrian Competition Authority. Between 2006 and 2008 Johannes was General Counsel and Compliance Officer for Competition Law to Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Corporation in Vienna. Before that he worked for the Austrian mobile operator tele.ring as Head of Legal & Regulatory Affairs until the merger with T-Mobile Austria in 2006, which was also cleared by the EC in a phase II review.

Johannes Gungl holds a law degree from the University Graz and a post-graduate degree for European Law from the University of Innsbruck.

Jonas Wessel

Chair, RSPG

Jonas Wessel is Director of the Spectrum Department at the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (PTS). He is also Chair of the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) for the 2018-2019 period. The RSPG is a high-level advisory group that assists the European Commission in the development of radio spectrum policy. Jonas holds a MSC from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Industrial Engineering and Management. Jonas started his professional career as a strategy consultant, working mainly with business development in the telecoms and IT-sector.
 
In 2003, he joined the PTS as advisor on radio spectrum policy issues. After several positions within the Agency, including responsibility for auctions, he was assigned Director of the Spectrum Department in 2014. Jonas has been one of the driving forces behind the transformation of spectrum management in Sweden and has also been working with these issues internationally, mainly through the RSPG where he has been a delegate since 2004. He was Vice Chairman of the RSPG for the 2016-2017 period.

Lise Fuhr

Director General, European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association (ETNO)

Lise is ETNO’s Director General since January 2016. At ETNO, she leads and oversees all the activities and she is the main external representative of the Association. On behalf of the Association, she is also a Board and an Administrative Committee member in ECSO, the European Cybersecurity Organisation. Lise has also been appointed to the Internet Society Public Interest Registry Board of Directors for a three year term as of July 2016.

Prior to joining ETNO, she was Chief Operating Officer of DK Hostmaster and DIFO, the company managing the .dk domain name. In the period between September 2014 and December 2015 she also chaired the Cross Community Working Group for the IANA Stewardship Transition, building on her strong network within the internet community. Lise has 10+ years of experience in the telecoms industry. She started her career at the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation (1996-2000) where she wrote and implemented regulation for the telecommunication markets. After that, she worked for the telecoms operator Telia Networks (2000-2009), where she led various teams dealing with issues as diverse as interconnection agreements, mobile services and industry cooperation.

Andreas Geiss

Head of Unit, Spectrum Policy, DG CONNECT, European Commission

Andreas Geiss is currently Head of Unit for Radio Spectrum Policy in DG INFSO of the European Commission. His responsibilities include the implementation of the inventory in accordance with the Radio Spectrum Policy Programme.

Andreas has been working for the European Commission since 2002. He started his professional career in 1991 at the German Regulatory Authority in the area of telecommunications. From 1994 until 2002 he worked for the European Radiocommunications Office (ERO), where he was project leader for many projects dealing with terrestrial and satellite mobile communications. He has been involved in the European preparations for World Radiocommunications Conferences since 1995. Andreas is a telecommunications engineer by profession and enjoys all sorts of sports in his spare time.

Peter Stuckmann

Head of Unit, Future Connectivity Systems, DG CONNECT, European Commission

Peter is managing the Commission's policy on 5G communication systems and the related research and innovation programme.

Before his appointment as Head of Unit he was managing the office of the Director General of DG CONNECT, Roberto Viola, coordinating the Commission's digital policy initiatives. The portfolio included Digital Single Market, Broadband Policy, Telecoms, Media and Online Policy, the Copyright Reform as well as the EU ICT Research and Innovation Programme.

Between 2010 and 2014 he had different roles in the Commission's telecoms policy Directorate. These included Head of Sector "Spectrum Policy", penholder of main elements of the Commission proposal on the Telecom Single Market and the Roaming regulation, and the implementation of the EU telecom rules in Germany and Austria.

Between 2005 and 2010 he coordinated the EU R&D programme leading to the 4G mobile communications standards.

Before joining the European Commission in 2004 he has occupied several engineering and management positions in industry, academia and start-ups. He holds engineering and doctoral degrees from RWTH Aachen University, Germany.

Patrick van Niftrik

Chair, ITU Working Group, ESOA

Mr. Van Niftrik is Vice President Spectrum Management & Development, EMEA. In this role he is responsible for spectrum management and ITU related activities with focus on orbital assignment and spectrum utilization issues and proceedings for the EMEA region. He currently also acts as Chairman of ESOA's ITU Working Group.

Mr. Van Niftrik has also worked in a number of other roles such as Sales- and Capacity Management engineering. He joined SES in The Hague, The Netherlands, in August 2000 after having worked for three years in Madrid, Spain, on the precursor of the European satellite navigation system GALILEO.

He holds a Masters degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands, and is currently working from the SES Office in The Hague.

Catherine Bohill

Director Spectrum Strategy, Telefonica

As Director of Spectrum at Telefonica, Catherine works to pursue efficient and innovative approaches to Spectrum assignment and use. Working within the Corporate Strategy team and supported by regulatory, network and local teams, Catherine’s mandate is to optimize the management of current spectrum and contribute to defining the future pipeline across Telefonica’s footprint. Over the last 5 years Catherine’s team has valued spectrum in Telefonica’s 17 countries of operation, participating in primary and secondary market transactions both in auction and beauty contest scenarios. The spectrum team also leads Telefonica’s spectrum strategy towards WRC preparation and works closely with the GSMA in the pursuit of ever more efficient use of the radio-frequencies that are essential to improving the service we provide to over 300 million customers worldwide.

With over 22 years of experience in the Telco World, Catherine has spent 17 of those with Telefonica working on mobile transactions in M&A, Wholesale and most recently Spectrum. Before joining Telefonica, Catherine worked for Daimler Chrysler in Germany and Holland and with the World Bank in Washington DC. She also spent a year lecturing in the University of Havana and writing for Timeout. Catherine has a BA in European Business and a Diplom Betriebswirt (ESB Reutlingen FH) and a Masters in Finance from the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid. Catherine speaks English, German and Spanish - all with an Irish accent!

Adrian Scrase

Chief Technology Officer , ETSI

Adrian Scrase is CTO within ETSI with operational responsibility for all of ETSI’s standards production activities. He has more than 30 years of experience in the telecommunications field, which includes 25 years of experience in standardization.

He played a central role in the creation of the “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP) and is responsible for the operations of the 3GPP Project Co-ordination Group. He heads 3GPPs’ Mobile Competence Centre (MCC) which is an International team of 20 experts who provide comprehensive support to the Project.

He was also principally involved in the formation of the “oneM2M” Partnership Project and oversees ETSI’s support to that initiative.

Eric Fournier

Chairman, ECC, CEPT

Graduated from Ecole Supérieure d’Electricité (SUPELEC) in 1991, Eric Fournier is currently Director for Spectrum Planning and International Affairs in the Agence Nationale des Fréquences (ANFR), the French public agency in charge of spectrum management. In his position, he is directly responsible for preparing the revisions of the French national table of allocation and for the coordination of French positions in international meetings on spectrum within ITU, CEPT and EU. He was Chairman of the CEPT Conference Preparatory Group for the World Radiocommunications Conference 2012 (CPG-12) and, as French representative in RSPG, has chaired several RSPG working groups dealing with EU interests in international meetings and cross-border issues.

Philip Marnick

Group Director, Spectrum, Ofcom

Philip is Group Director, Spectrum at Ofcom, where he is responsible for setting and implementing the strategy for managing spectrum including clearing, awarding, licensing, monitoring and enforcement.

Philip is also Chairman of the EU’s Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) bringing together all the EU’s national spectrum authorities and the Commission.

Philip has over 30 years’ experience within the wireless communications industry. He has held senior executive positions covering technology, operations and strategy in both. Philip has worked in both start-up (from initial concept to sale) and large corporates in companies ranging from UK Broadband, O2, Orange, BT, J-Phone in Japan (now Softbank Mobile), Extreme Mobile and SpinVox (now Nuance).

Leen Segers

Co-Founder and CEO, LucidWeb

Leen has been building startups in technology and media for almost ten years. From evangelising social media to monetising online video, she has experienced the front lines of the startup world. In 2014 she joined Tech.eu, the premier publication covering the European technology industry in depth as a COO. Convinced that the future of mobile video will be immersive, she founded LucidWeb, a VR and WebVR consulting and software development company. LucidWeb is research partner and co-publisher of "The VR Fund European Industry Landscape" and Tech.eu's investment analysis "State of the European VR Industry". Leen is co-founder of the Women in XR Europe initiative, counting more than 500 female members across Europe.

Bernard Barani

Deputy Head of Unit, Future Connectivity Systems, European Commission

Bernard Barani graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Bretagne in 1982. He then worked as communications engineer in industry on military infrared systems and then with the European Space Agency on advanced satcom programmes.

In 1994, he joined the European Commission and was responsible for implementation of research and policy issues in wireless communication, Internet, audio visual systems, Software and Services. He has been Deputy head of unit for research and policy in the field of Internet of Things systems.

He is currently Acting head of unit in charge of research and innovation on Network Technologies in the CONNECT Directorate General of the European Commission. He is responsible for the definition and implementation of the research strategy related to future networks under the 5G Public Private Partnership and to systems based on connected objects (IoT) in support of EU industry competitiveness. He is also responsible for the 5G/IoT standardisation and IPR related work.

Alexander Kühn

Chairman, CEPT CPG19

After a state exam of law at the University of Osnabrück, Mr Kühn has been working since 1998 in the area of legal internship (e.g. at Regional Court) of the Federal Network Agency, Germany; changing to national and international spectrum regulation on different levels in 2005. Nowadays he is the deputy head of section for international affairs and utilization concepts. His responsibilities cover strategic frequency utilization concepts and the transposition of those to the international level of CEPT, EU and ITU. Doing this and having been active in the preparation of three WRC’s, national and on CEPT CPG level, Mr Kühn participated in a number of international Groups, also as Head of the German Delegation. He has also chaired several groups and subgroups in the ITU and CEPT. Since 2005 he is responsible for national preparation of the WRC’s and served as CPG Vice-Chairman from 2010 to 2013 and as CPG chairman from 2013 to 2015.
Mr Kühn has been appointed as Chairman of the CEPT CPG in March 2016.

Chris Woolford

Director of International Spectrum Policy, Ofcom

Chris Woolford is Ofcom’s Director of International Spectrum Policy where his responsibilities cover the UK’s international spectrum interests, especially in relation to the ITU, CEPT and EU. He is a member of Ofcom’s Spectrum Executive Team and Strategy Steering Group.

Chris is active in various European spectrum committees and currently represents the UK on the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG). He has closely engaged for the UK on a number of key European and international spectrum initiatives and led the UK delegations to WRC-15 and WRC-12.

Before joining Ofcom, Chris worked in various UK Government Departments, including 6 years at Oftel, where he worked on different aspects of telecommunications regulation. Chris has a degree in mathematics and statistics from Manchester University.

Branimir Stantchev

Head of Sector, Spectrum for Wireless Broadband, European Commission

Branimir is responsible for developing and implementing EU-level policy initiatives with focus on wireless broadband and broadcasting. These relate to harmonised and flexible use of spectrum, in particular for mobile broadband, as well as a long-term strategy for the future use of UHF broadcasting spectrum, including the 700 MHz band. He has coordinated the work of the Radio Spectrum Committee.

Branimir has been working with the European Commission since 2008.

He started his professional career in 1995 at the Vodafone Chair for Mobile Communications Systems at the Dresden University, Germany. From 2000 until 2008 he worked with the companies Philips, Qimonda and Signalion in Germany in the area of wireless equipment design, manufacturing and marketing.

Branimir has a PhD degree in mobile communications from the Dresden University. He has made contributions to Wi-Fi standardization.

Takehiro Nakamura

VP and Managing Director of 5G Laboratory, NTT DOCOMO, Inc

Takehiro Nakamura joined NTT Laboratories in 1990. He is now VP and General Manager of 5G Laboratory in NTT DOCOMO, INC.

Mr. Nakamura has been working for research and development of the W-CDMA, HSPA, LTE/LTE-Advanced, 5G and C-V2X/Connected Car technologies.

He has been engaged in the standardization activities at ARIB in Japan since 1997. He is currently the leader of 2020 and Beyond Ad Hoc(20B AH) in ARIB and Acting Chairman of the Strategy & Planning Committee in 5G Mobile Communication Promotion Forum(5GMF) in Japan.

He has been contributing to standardization activities in 3GPP since1999. He contributed to 3GPP TSG-RAN as a vice chairman from March 2005 to March 2009 and as a chairman from April 2009 to March 2013.

He is also very active in standardization of C-V2X/Connected Car in ARIB and ITS Info-communications Forum in Japan. He is now a leader of Cellular System Application Task Group of ITS Info-communications Forum.

He has been contributing to standardization activities in 3GPP since1999.　He had contributed to 3GPP TSG-RAN as a vice chairman during March 2005 to March 2009 and as a chairman during April 2009 to March 2013.

Bo Andersson

Rapporteur for 5G, RSPG

Bo Andersson has been the Chief Economist of the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) since 2006.

Mr Andersson has more than 20 years of experience from infrastructure industries. Bo Andersson has a Ph.D. in economics from Stockholm School of Economics and has a background as a researcher. He has written several papers and journal articles on price formation and competition in deregulated markets. Prior to his current position as Chief Economist he has worked as a market analyst in the power sector and as a consultant, working primarily with infrastructure issues, for different government agencies and industries.

Dr. Tobias Miethaner

Head of Digital Society, Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure

Dr Tobias Miethaner has been Head of the Digital Society Directorate-General at the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure since August 2014. Before that, he worked first as a legal advisor and head of the policy and party work unit of the Executive Committee of the Christian Social Union party (CSU). After graduating with a law degree from Regensburg and Aberdeen University in 2004, he completed a two-year practical legal training in Regensburg and Cape Town. From 2006 until 2008, Dr Miethaner then did a doctorate and worked as an academic assistant to Professor Dr Hand-Christoph Grigoleit. After completing his doctorate, he worked as a public prosecutor at the prosecutor's office München II from 2008 to 2011.

Darko Ratkaj

Senior Project Manager, Technology & Innovation, EBU

At the EBU's Technology & Innovation department I work on transmission technologies for audio-visual media content and services, the related regulation, and the market evolution.

In particular I am interested in wireless distribution platforms, including 4G/LTE and 5G, but also terrestrial radio and TV networks. The main objective is to ensure that public service content can be made universally available taking into account both the technological developments and the changing audience behaviour.

I maintain working relations with the broadcast and the telecommunications industries, market analysts, national regulators, and the European Commission.

I often contribute to regulatory and standardisation forums and trade events.

I hold a masters degree in electrical engineering from the university of Zagreb, Croatia.

Marc Eschenburg

Partner, Aetha Consulting

Marc Eschenburg is a Partner at Aetha Consulting, a specialist telecommunications strategy consultancy which advises players in the industry on major strategic and regulatory decisions.

For the last years, Marc has been very active in the area of spectrum management, advising operators and regulators on issues such as spectrum valuation, spectrum strategy, auction support and spectrum pricing. His particular area of expertise lies in overseeing the development of spectrum valuation models ahead of auctions and he has supported spectrum managers and bidders in preparations for over 30 award processes across the world.

Richard Womersley

Director of Spectrum Consulting, LS telcom

Richard is Director of Spectrum Services for LS telcom. He has 20 over years consulting and business experience working in the radio spectrum management, public telecommunications, digital broadcasting and satellite industries. He has worked for regulators, network operators, financiers, governments and end-users on issues covering national and international policy; regulation and its impact; pricing, auctions and licensing; cost modelling and tariff setting; planning and consultation; network specification and procurement; and digital switch-over. His work has been international in nature having taken him to every continent except Antarctica. Richard is also an experienced trainer having been running courses on spectrum management and policy for over 15 years.

In addition to providing consultancy advice and training, Richard’s career has embraced roles in a military communications company, as a transmission manager for BBC World Service and business manager for the UK’s largest broadcast infrastructure provider ntl: (now Arqiva) giving him a broad perspective on telecommunications and broadcast technologies and industries, their commercialisation and their regulation.

Lasse Wieweg

Global Coordinator, GSA Spectrum Group

Lasse Wieweg, Director, Government and industry relations at Ericsson, has worked with telecommunications his whole professional career, starting in 1973 with Ericsson. In 1986, following some over-seas assignments, he took up a position at the Frequency Management department within the Swedish Telecommunications Authority (now PTS).  In 1994, he took up a new position within the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), on Frequency Management for the Swedish Defence Forces. Since 1997, Lasse is back in Ericsson, particularly addressing international policies in the Radio Regulatory and Spectrum domains within the Ericsson Group Function in Stockholm, Sweden.

Gerry Collins

Global Network and Services Policy, ESOA

Gerry Collins is Director of Product Management at Intelsat with Global Responsibility for activities in the Cellular Market. Gerry’s focus in this role is introducing to the market products and solutions which combine the benefits of satellite and cellular technology to solve some of the biggest challenges facing the Telecoms industry such as connecting the unconnected, providing true global mobility for connected vehicles, and efficiently distributing IP content to cellular devices. Gerry’s career has spanned both Cellular and Satellite industries working with companies that have introduced 2G, 3G and 4G technologies globally, both terrestrially and via satellite. Gerry is a member of the IET and has an MBA from the Cranfield School of Management.

Pearse O'Donohue

Director, Future Networks, DG CONNECT, European Commission

Pearse O'Donohue is Director for the Future Networks Directorate of
DG CONNECT at the European Commission, dealing with policy development and research supporting the Digital Single Market as regards 5G networks, IoT, cloud and data flows and conceptualising new and innovative approaches towards service platforms and next generation Internet. Before becoming Director, Pearse was Head of the Cloud and Software Unit in DG CONNECT, dealing with the strategic development and implementation of policy on cloud computing and software.
Until October 2014, Pearse was Deputy Head of Cabinet of Vice-President Neelie Kroes, previous European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda. He was responsible for advising the Vice-President on the development and implementation of policy on electronic communications, networks and services, as well as broadband, spectrum and other related policies such as Internet governance.
Before that, Pearse was Head of the Radio Spectrum Policy Unit in the European Commission,
DG CONNECT.
Prior to joining the European Commission, Pearse held posts in the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the EU in Brussels, and as Assistant Director of the Brussels office of the Irish Business & Employers' Confederation.

Aurélio Blanquet

Vice-Chair, EUTC

Aurélio Blanquet has an MBA in Business Administration and is graduated in Electronics Engineering.
Since 1st January is Director of the Networks Digital Platform in EDP Distribuição, the Portuguese DSO, with the responsibility for Mission Critical ICS and SCADA, Digital Grid, Connectivity, OT Cybersecurity and the supervision and operation of Critical Services.
Previously, he was Director of Automation and Telecommunications since 2007.
He was Chair of the EE-ISAC (European Energy Information Sharing and Analysis Centre from 2015-2017, and is Vice-Chair of EUTC (European Utilities Telecommunications Council), Member of the Assembly Committee of ENCS (European Network for Cyber Security), Member of the Board of Directors of Prime Alliance and member of Eurelectric WG ADSM (Active Distribution System Management).

Wladimir Bocquet

Director Spectrum Management & Policy, Eutelsat

Wladimir Bocquet is the Director of Spectrum Management & Policy for Eutelsat. Previously at the GSMA, he was Head of Policy Planning for Government and Regulatory Affairs. In this role, he provided public policy analysis and recommendations to the GSMA executive team and offers a strategic view of global policy trends to GSMA members. He started at the GSMA as a Senior Director of Spectrum Policy, responsible for building consensus on spectrum policy positions and promoting best practice in spectrum management.

In October 2008, Mr Bocquet was appointed Deputy Director in charge of Spectrum Strategy and International Planning at Orange-France Telecom Group, and he led the Orange delegation at WRC-12. He worked in Japan for several years, first in mobile broadband communication for Fujitsu Laboratories and subsequently as senior manager of broadband access technologies for Orange Labs Tokyo-Seoul (formerly France Telecom R&D).

In addition to his GSMA responsibilities, Mr Bocquet also served as a lecturer for the US Telecom Training Institute (USTTI) and other international training bodies.

Mr Bocquet earned a degree in telecommunications from Telecom Bretagne (Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Bretagne, France) and a doctorate from the University of Kyoto, Japan.

Andy Hudson

Head of Policy, GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem. Andy has global responsibility for spectrum and regulatory modernisation, as well as the regulatory and policy aspects of the future networks, IoT and identity programmes.
Previously, he was Director of Spectrum Policy at Ofcom for three years, where he led the Mobile Data Strategy, including the release and sharing of public sector spectrum for civil use, and the 2.3/3.4 GHz auction team. Before that, Andy spent 12 years at Vodafone, where he held various senior product development, corporate strategy and public policy roles. As Head of Spectrum Policy, he was responsible for managing spectrum policy and auctions across the Vodafone Group. He was frequently in Brussels and further afield supporting Vodafone’s local operating companies, and over four years he managed the acquisition or renewal of spectrum in over 20 countries for a total of €9.5bn.
In 2000, he was part of the senior management team which spun an internet payments and encryption company out of NatWest. He was formerly a management consultant and a research scientist at Sharp Laboratories of Europe and Sony Corporation, based in Japan. He has a doctorate in Engineering Science from Oxford University and an MBA. He is married with two boys (17 and 13) and lives in a small village close to Oxford.

Kenneth Wallstedt

Director, Technology Strategy, Ericsson

Kenneth Wallstedt is Director, Technology Strategy, at Group Function Technology & Architecture, where he is focusing on Ericsson’s radio and spectrum management strategy.
Kenneth has 27 years of international experience in mobile communications from various leading positions in Ericsson’s research, development and market units in Canada, Sweden, and the US. He holds an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.

Luigi Ardito

Director Government Affairs EMENA, Qualcomm

Luigi Ardito is currently working as Director of government affairs for Europe, Middle East and North Africa at Qualcomm and drive Qualcomm spectrum and regulatory policy agenda in Europe and MENA dealing with various government entities and industry organizations. Prior to joining Qualcomm, Luigi worked for over a decade at Sony Corporation both in Japan and in the UK. Luigi gained also professional experience at France Telecom and at the Italian Public Broadcaster RAI.
Luigi has extensive experience in the Media and Telecom industry as well as the Semiconductor Industry gained through his assignments at Qualcomm, Sony, France Telecom and RAI. He holds an Electronic Engineering Degree gained at the Politecnico di Torino in Italy and a Master of Business Administration gained at the Henley Management College in the UK.

Thomas Sullivan

Chief, International Bureau, FCC

Thomas Sullivan is Chief of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) International Bureau.  The International Bureau represents the FCC in international conferences and meetings and also oversees the licensing and policy activities for international telecommunications services and satellite services. From March 2010 to January 2017, Mr. Sullivan served as the Chief of Staff for the International Bureau, where he coordinated International activities within the FCC and advanced the FCC’s international representation within the U.S. Government and at international events.  He has served in a variety of positions within the International Bureau and the FCC’s Office of Managing Director. He joined the FCC in 1991 after receiving his Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan. 

Stephen Pentland

Head of Spectrum, Vodafone Group

Stephen is Vodafone’s Group Public Policy Head of Spectrum and is responsible for managing the company’s spectrum and licensing policy across its 26 operating companies in Europe and AMAP. This includes setting the strategy for meeting the future needs of the business, engaging with national and regional regulators to shape policy, and managing spectrum licence valuation, acquisition and renewal activities. Stephen studied Engineering at Cambridge and worked previously in the Japanese technology sector and as a strategy consultant in the international telecommunications and media sector.

Goran Gotev

Senior Manager EU Government Affairs, Symantec

Goran has joined Symantec in 2018 as Senior Manager Government Affairs, where he supports the company’s engagement and outreach with the EU institutions and Member States. He has extensive experience in EU privacy and cybersecurity policy, having exercised similar roles in both the public and private sector.
 
Before joining Symantec, Goran was a senior consultant on digital policy issues with high-ranking consultancies Hanover Communications (2016 – 2018) and FleishmanHillard (2014 – 2016). In these capacities, he was entrusted to provide tailored advice to a number of European and Fortune 500 companies on issues related to cybersecurity, data protection and privacy, telecommunications and online platforms, among others.
 
Goran’s public-sector background includes a short-term assignment as an advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria (2016), where he was in charge of European Affairs, including on the country’s preparation for the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU. Between 2007 and 2014, he worked for Bulgarian Social-Democrat Members of European Parliament (MEPs), including as digital policy adviser to MEP Ivailo Kalfin (2009 – 2014), who was notably the lead rapporteur on the own-initiative report on cybersecurity and critical information infrastructure protection and the ITRE shadow rapporteur for the NIS directive.
 
Goran holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from Lille 2 University (France) and besides his native Bulgarian, he is fluent in English and French and he operates in Spanish and Italian.

Kalpak Gude

President, Dynamic Spectrum Alliance (DSA)

Kalpak S. Gude is President of the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance, a global organization advocating for laws and regulations supporting more efficient and effective spectrum utilization through sharing. The DSA’s membership spans multinationals, SMEs, academic, research, and other organizations from around the world, all working to create innovative solutions to increase the amount of available spectrum to benefit consumers and businesses alike. Before joining the DSA, Mr. Gude was the Vice President Legal Regulatory at OneWeb, a low-earth-orbit satellite broadband provider seeking to bring internet connectivity to unserved and underserved regions of the world. Prior to this, Mr. Gude served in several senior positions at the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C., overseeing complex regulatory issues in the Media and Wireline Competition Bureaus. Mr. Gude also served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Intelsat, held various board positions in the satellite and telecommunications industry and was named a co-Satellite Executive of the Year 2007. He holds a J.D. from the Indiana University School of Law – Bloomington, and a B.S. Electrical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Luciana Camargos

Future Spectrum Director, GSMA

Luciana Camargos is a specialist with over a decade of experience in mobile telecommunications and spectrum policy. In 2012, Luciana joined GSMA Brazil, after having worked in the UK for consulting firm Access Partnership from 2009. There, Luciana was in charge of negotiating efficient use of spectrum, as well as the entrance of new services in the market, at international meetings at the ITU, CITEL, CEPT and other multilateral organisations.

Earlier, for six years, Luciana worked at the Anatel Technical Advisory Unit on strategic spectrum planning. Luciana previously worked in Brazil as a government affairs consultant, representing the telecoms industry in Brazil and internationally as part of the Brazilian delegation, shaping the future of mobile services at international fora.

Luciana earned an MBA in telecommunications from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, and a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Brasilia.

Marta Capelo

Director of Public Policy, ETNO

Marta Capelo is ETNO’s Director of Public Policy. She leads on core telecoms issues, including network access, spectrum and other core regulatory files. Marta also oversees engagement on 5G as well as connected and automated driving. Prior to joining ETNO, Marta worked as the Transport and Communications Counsellor for the Portuguese Permanent Representation to the European Union. Before that, she was a Member of the Cabinet of the Portuguese Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications.
Marta has extensive experience in telecoms regulation as well as intellectual property, data protection and e-Commerce services. In the early years of her career, she worked as a lawyer for leading Portuguese and international law firms in the technology, media & telecoms practice. 

Scott Blue

Senior Advisor, Spectrum Policy, Microsoft

Mr. Blue represents Microsoft within a number of international organizations including sub-groups of the ITU, CEPT, ETSI, IEEE, 3GPP and Wi-Fi Alliance. In 2004, at the IEEE 802, he proposed a real-time mapping based method for allowing license exempt devices to make use of unused television channels, which is now sometimes referred to as geolocation database driven dynamic spectrum access. Although based in the Seattle area, he spends almost half of his time in Europe and a significant amount of time in Washington DC.

Alessandro Casagni

Director, Wireless Regulatory Policy EMEA, Huawei

Director, Wireless Regulatory Policy EMEA, managing the wireless regulation issues within Huawei Wireless Strategies & Business Development Department.
Vice Chair of the Spectrum Group at the Global mobile Suppliers Association (http://gsacom.com/)

Alessandro holds a master degree in electronic engineering from Rome University.
During the period 2012 to 2015, Alessandro was in charge for the European Wireless Regulatory Policy.
During the period 2008 to 2011, Alessandro worked in Huawei LTE Product Line departments with special focus on the European regulation matters.
Prior to joining Huawei, Alessandro held several marketing and technical positions in Mediaset broadcasting company (2006 – 2007), Siemens mobile communications (2002 – 2006) and Accenture ICT consulting company (2000 – 2002).

Guillermo Beltrà

Director, Legal and Economic Affairs, BEUC

Guillermo Beltrà is BEUC’s Director of Legal and Economic Affairs.

BEUC represents 43 independent national consumer associations from 31 European countries. The primary task of BEUC is to act as a strong consumer voice in Brussels and to try to ensure that consumer interests are given their proper weight in the development of all EU policies.

Since 2011, Guillermo leads BEUC’s work related to telecommunications markets and Internet policy, including on issues such as net neutrality, roaming, and online platforms. Guillermo led BEUC’s energy team for about 2 years and currently leads BEUC’s digital policy team. Guillermo also provides strategic advice to our Communications Department on new technologies and social media.

Before joining BEUC Guillermo was a Public Affairs and Public Relations consultant advising international clients on numerous technology and telecom issues. Guillermo holds a Law degree and a Master’s degree in International Relations, and has also been an independent web developer and online services’ advisor.

Guillermo can be contacted on guillermo.beltra@beuc.eu and on twitter: @gbeltra.

Reza Karimi

Representative, 5G Automative Association (5GAA)

Reza Karimi is Director, Corporate Strategy – Huawei Technologies, with focus on technology standards and spectrum regulation. Prior to this, he was Technical Policy Director at the UK communications regulator, Ofcom, with responsibilities in a range of spectrum management initiatives, including a review of the UK’s licence exemption framework, the auction of spectrum for 4G mobile communications at 800 MHz/2.6 GHz, and database-assisted access to TV white space spectrum. Previously, he was with Bell Laboratories at Lucent Technologies, and Motorola GSM Products Division. He received a first class honours degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Surrey, UK. He also holds a MSc/DIC degree in Digital Communications, and a PhD in Adaptive Array Signal Processing, both from Imperial College, UK. He is the author of over sixty publications in international conferences and peer-reviewed journals, and is co-inventor in over thirty patents.

Burcu Kuzlak

Project Manager 5G, City of Amsterdam

Burcu Kuzlak is currently project manager of the 5G project at the City of Amsterdam. She is also part of Big Data Value Center. She is a member of the 5G PPP Trials Working Group. Within the 5G Trials Working Group she leads the 5G EURO 2020 Trial. Burcu also oversees engagement on 5G as multimedia, public security, and automated driving. Between 2014 and 2017 she was a project manager for research and innovation projects where she has been particularly active in the fields of Smart Cities, Data Protection, and Privacy. In May 2015, she received the award for the best woman in technology by The Ministry of Science and Technology in Turkey.

Olivier Blondeau

Director, Frequency Planning and Management, Orange

Olivier Blondeau, graduated from the “Institut National des Sciences Appliquées”, started his career at Siemens in 1980 and joined France Telecom R&D in 1983. He was first in charge of R&D projects addressing the operational and maintenance tools for the subscriber local loop. From the 90’s he took part in the technical development of new radio communications services. He led different projects such as designing public cordless Telepoint services (“BiBop”) and fixed/mobile convergence services, involving DECT/GSM technologies and Intelligent Network. In 1999, he moved to the French broadcaster TDF, as Frequency Department manager, in charge of DVB-T frequency planning and associated measurements. Then in 2003, he joined the « Autorité de Régulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes” ARCEP as Head of Frequency department where he particularly involved himself in the Digital Dividend issue. From the end of 2006, he moved back to France Telecom, as Head of Mobile TV Convergence & Standardisation within the Group Strategy Marketing, then in charge of spectrum strategy within Orange France. Since 2011 he is Director of Frequency Planning & Management at Orange Group level.

Christophe De Hauwer

Chief Development Officer, SES

Born on 15 April 1971, Mr Christophe De Hauwer was appointed Chief Development Officer of SES as of 1 August 2015.. He is a member of the Board of SES ASTRA. Mr De Hauwer joined SES in 2003, holding several positions of responsibility in the areas of Strategic Marketing, Strategic and Business Planning and Corporate Development, as well as Fleet Development and Yield Management. Mr De Hauwer played an instrumental role in many transactions, such as the acquisition of New Skies in 2005, the GE share redemption in 2006 and the investment in O3b in 2009. Prior to joining SES, Mr De Hauwer worked in the Strategy Consulting practice of the European Telecommunication and Media Industry with Arthur Andersen. He holds an Engineering and a PhD Degree from the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Mr De Hauwer is a Belgian national.

Karim Lesina

Vice President, International External Affairs, EU, Caribbean, Central and Latin America, AT&T

Karim Antonio Lesina is the Vice President of AT&T, covering International External Affairs for the European Union, Caribbean, Central and Latin America Regions and in charge of Trans-Atlantic Relations. In this role he leads AT&T's advocacy in those regions. AT&T is a premier global communications company, providing wholesale services and mobile roaming services to over 220 countries and territories, and providing business enterprise services to countries representing over 99 percent of the world’s economy.
In addition to developing and implementing market access strategies to enable AT&T’s global expansion to satisfy customer needs, other responsibilities for Mr. Lesina include ensuring compliance with international telecom regulations, and advocacy on a wide range policy matters related to the stable growth, innovation and investment by the information and communications technology sector.
Mr. Lesina is based in AT&T’s Brussels (Belgium) office. He is an active member in several industry and community organizations, including current service as: Vice Chair of the Board of of the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU and Chair of the Presidency Group of the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU. He is a Board Member of the European Internet Foundation, of the Transatlantic Business Council, of the EU Brazil Association, of AHCIET and member of the GSMA Chief Regulatory Officer Group for Central and Latin America. He also represents AT&T in different associations such as ETNO, TPN, WEF, etc.

Prior to joining AT&T, Mr. Lesina held senior positions with another leading US-headquartered ICT company (Intel Corporation), and a number of leading public affairs agencies in Brussels. Born in Dakar (Senegal) Mr. Lesina is an Italian-Tunisian national and has a Master Degree in Economics of development at the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium.
Mr. Lesina also recently joined the Advisory Council of the “Global Free Speech and the Internet” of the Media Institute.

Janette Stewart

Principal, Analysys Mason

Janette Stewart is a Principal at Analysys Mason, who specialises in wireless technologies and radio spectrum issues. She has around 20 years’ experience in radio engineering, spectrum policy and spectrum management. She is based in Edinburgh. Janette began her career working for the UK spectrum regulator where she held various roles, latterly Senior Spectrum Engineer in the 3G Auction Team, where she was responsible for determining UK spectrum plans for the 3G licence award, interacting with CEPT and ITU working groups. Since joining Analysys Mason in 2001, her consulting experience includes researching market opportunities within the wireless sector, wireless network business planning, user requirement definition, spectrum strategy development and spectrum valuation. She has worked with a wide range of public and private sector clients including national regulators, fixed and mobile network operators, wireless industry trade associations and spectrum users. Recent projects have included advising on digital TV switchover strategy, award of digital dividend spectrum, technology co-existence in 800 MHz spectrum and 2.6 GHz spectrum valuation. She co-authors Analysys Mason’s Spectrum Quarterly, a quarterly newsletter on spectrum-related market developments.

Amit Nagpal

Partner, Aetha Consulting

Amit Nagpal is a Partner at, and one of the co-founders of, Aetha Consulting. Amit has over 20 years of experience on spectrum management issues having started his career with the Radiocommunications Agency (now part of Ofcom) in the UK. Amit advises regulators/government bodies, fixed and mobile operators, broadcasters, financial institutions and industry associations on a wide range of issues including spectrum policy development and spectrum valuation and auction support. Amit’s experience includes leading studies for the European Commission on the introduction of spectrum trading and a harmonised approach to the digital dividend. Amit has undertaken projects for clients in Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia and North America and is therefore able to bring a global perspective to his work.

Samer Mourad

Principal, Consulting, Analysys Mason

Samer Mourad is a Principal, Consulting, at Analysys Mason. He has over 15 years' experience in the telecoms industry and has managed a range of consulting projects, covering strategic, technical, financial, regulatory and operational issues. His clients include operators, vendors, governments, regulators and financial institutions in more than 20 countries across Africa, Asia and Europe.

Samer has detailed knowledge of the mobile, fixed broadband and satellite sectors. He is highly skilled in spectrum valuation and auction strategy, business planning and business modelling, technology assessment, market and commercial due diligence, service costing and litigation support.

Veronica Bocarova

Principal Analyst, Cullen International

Over 15 years of professional experience in the field of electronic communications and media regulation, monitoring and benchmarking regulatory practices at the EU and national level.
Currently responsible for developing Cullen International’s regulatory training portfolio. Has been actively engaged in capacity building initiatives for policymakers and regulators across a wide range of countries.
Contributed as one of the key experts in the consortium of Cullen International, WIK-Consult and the Research Centre for Information, Law and Society of the University of Namur in a study for the European Commission “Substantive issues of review in the areas of market entry, management of scarce resources and general consumer issues” (SMART 2015/0003).
Before joining Cullen International in 2002, Veronica worked for Ericsson business consulting practice in Stockholm.

Scott McKenzie

Director, Coleago Consulting

Scott McKenzie is an experienced consultant with over twenty years background in the telecoms and high technology industries. His areas of expertise span: general management, strategic planning, operations, finance and M&A.



Early in his career, he held a variety of engineering and marketing positions with Telstra and Ericsson. After business school, he worked as a management consultant with Arthur D. Little before spending six years as an equity analyst in the City of London with the investment banking divisions of SEB and Société Générale. Upon leaving the City he became Chief Strategy Officer for the international mobile division of the Dutch telecom operator Royal KPN, where he was also CEO of the mobile wholesale business unit. He joined Coleago Consulting in 2009.

Scott spent many of his formative years in Australia and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Melbourne University. He also holds an MBA degree from the Saïd Business School at Oxford University.

Stefan Zehle

CEO and Co-Founder, Coleago Consulting

Stefan Zehle has 29 years’ experience in telecoms gained as a Director of mobile operating company and telecoms management consultant. He gained his experience working in 56 countries in developed markets in Europe, Canada and the US and in emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa, and the Far East. As the 2nd person on the ground he played a pivotal role in launching Nedjma, the 3rd Algerian mobile operator where he held the combined the positions of Director of Strategy, Marketing and Regulatory Affairs. Stefan has delivered around 75 mobile licence bids and spectrum valuation projects and is a regulator contributor to spectrum conferences. Stefan delivers best practice spectrum assignment workshops and courses to regulators world-wide, including the European Commission. He is the co-author of the Guide to Business Planning, published be the Economist.

Gilles Brégant

CEO, ANFR

Gilles Brégant graduated from Ecole Polytechnique (1986) and from Telecom ParisTech (1988). Following a 8-year-career at France Telecom research center, Gilles Brégant was appointed technical adviser to the Minister in charge of Research (1996-1997). He had to coordinate international projects and themes in relation with Information Technology. He then worked for the department of Trade and Industry as deputy director in charge of Prospective. He was appointed secretary general of the ministerial task force “Digital Economy” (2001-2005). He was then appointed Technical Director of Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (the French Media Regulator) in 2005. Since 2011 Gilles Brégant is the CEO of ANFR. He was Chairman of the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) from November 2012 through 2015.