Rotimi is a Partner in, and heads the Telecommunications, Media and Technology (TMT) practice group of Advocaat Law Practice. He has worked as in-house legal counsel at managerial and departmental head levels with MTN Nigeria, MTN Iran and Etisalat Nigeria (now 9mobile) and possesses in-depth corporate experience acquired from supporting and leading direct and cross functional teams in Dispute Resolution, Property Acquisition, Ethics & Compliance, Government Relations, Financing Transactions and Contract Drafting and Negotiations for major and complex transactions and working on various business transformation projects. He was also the lead legal resource for the negotiation and acquisition of a telecommunications licence and deployment of telecoms infrastructure in the Middle East on behalf of a multinational telecommunications network operator.
Rotimi has been a regular speaker and panellist at various workshops and seminars including the yearly ‘’Judges Workshop on Telecommunications” organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission and the National Judicial Institute. He has facilitated several trainings and he is the lead facilitator of the firm’s yearly training on “Negotiating and Drafting Telecommunications Contracts’’.
Rotimi holds an LL. B degree from Lagos State University and an LL.M from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Rachael is a senior associate in Freshfields’s data practice in London. She has a broad range of experience with a particular focus on assisting international organisations on complex data strategies. Rachael has spent time as a legal advisor to the Cabinet Office and has experience in multinational deals, data crises, litigation and legislative drafting. She regularly advises on all aspects of data protection and takes a particular interest in the developing area of data ethics.
Jennifer is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Latham & Watkins. She has over a decade of investigations, litigation, and counselling experience advising clients across all market sectors in matters involving computer fraud and cybercrime, privacy/data security compliance and program management, advertising and marketing practices, information governance, consumer fraud, employment and trade secrets. She has particular expertise defending clients in FTC and state consumer protection investigations and preparing for and leading the response to complex and large-scale data breach incidents.
Jennifer regularly advises global enterprises on complex cross-border compliance and data transfer challenges, compliance with US privacy and data security requirements, and leads assessments of internal privacy or security management programs, under FTC, HIPAA, NIST, financial regulatory and governmental or private standards.
Jennifer was named, for the second year in a row in 2019, to Cybersecurity Docket’s “Incident Response 30” list and was also recently named a Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Trailblazer by The National Law Journal for her pioneering work on spam law, privacy and data security.
Peter’s practice encompasses a wide range of areas in which technology interfaces with the law including data privacy, ecommerce regulation and technology contracts. He has spent time on secondment at a number of global technology and communications companies. He is editor of Data Protected, a review of data protection laws across 52 jurisdictions around the world.
Rebecca is a partner in Slaughter and May’s corporate and commercial group in London, co-heads the firm’s global data protection and privacy practice and is a member of our cyber advisory unit. She advises on all aspects of data protection and privacy, including cyber or data breach preparation and incident response, challenges with new technologies, implications for contractual arrangements, privacy aspects of M&A and investigations, and on companies’ policies and procedures. Rebecca sits on the UK Information Commissioner’s Office’s Legal Reference Panel and is Vice-Chair of the City of London Law Society's Data Law Committee. She is also a frequent contributor to data protection journals and events.
Cameron Craig is deputy general counsel and group head of data privacy and digital at HSBC, a role which he took on in September 2013. In this role he has responsibility for advising the Bank on global data privacy risks and appropriate measures to address these risks. Before joining HSBC Cameron was a partner in DLA Piper's IP & Technology Team where he built and was the co-chair of DLA Piper's EU Data Protection and Privacy Team. He worked as an engineer before turning to the law and his practice retains a strong technology focus. He has extensive experience in advising on outsourcing transactions and in managing and implementing global data protection solutions for international businesses. Cameron has managed many multi-jurisdictional projects, co-ordinating advice on compliance with data protection legislation across the world and advising clients on strategies for cloud adoption. He is also a regular contributor to journals and is the author of the data protection chapter for the Communications Law Handbook published by Bloomsbury Professional.
Richard is Global Head of Linklaters’ TMT practice and has advised clients on privacy related issues for more than 20 years. He has worked on privacy projects across the globe including major data security incidents, large scale privacy litigation, appearances before regulators, contentious and large scale subject access issues, the privacy implications of new technology, online monitoring techniques (including by governments), cloud computing and “big data”. He has recently led teams advising Thomson Reuters, BlackRock, RBS, Hewlett Packard, News International, Disney, Live Nation, UBS, KPMG, Hyatt Hotels, AstraZeneca, Sainsburys, Deloitte and the administrators of Lehmans on domestic and international data protection and information governance projects. He is a past member of the IAPP editorial board, currently sits on Tech UK’s data advisory group and is a member of the ICC’s digital economy committee. He is listed by Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 as in the first rank of privacy and cybersecurity advisors in the UK.
Geoffrey Devin started his career as qualified attorney-at-law in Brussels from 2012 to 2016. He then joined the BEREC Office (EU Agency in the field of telecommunications) as the DPO. In 2019, he joined as the DPO the European Union Agency for Aviation Safety (EASA). And in 2020, he joined the EDPS as legal officer in the Policy & Consultation Unit where he focuses on data transfers.
Geoffrey has a legal background with a strong focus on EU law. He holds a Masters degree in EU litigation from University Paris II Panthéon-Assas complemented by an LLM from the College of Europe. He is also admitted to the Paris Bar.
Jane specialises in data protection and digital projects. She regularly advises on all aspects of data protection compliance, including contentious DSARs and data breaches regulatory investigations. She also advises clients on non-contentious aspects of compliance such as the implications of Schrems II, cross border data transfers, the use of data in the provision of consumer and business products involving technologies such as FRT and AI, joint controllers/co-controllers roles, transfers of data in outsourcing projects and M&A transactions, cloud computing, employee monitoring and website compliance issues.
Jane has been recognized as “Best in Privacy & Data Protection” at the 2020 European Women in Business Law Awards.
Joining the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada in 2012, Brent Homan is Deputy Commissioner at the OPC, responsible for enforcement oversight of Canada’s federal public and private sector privacy laws.
Mr. Homan’s accomplishments in Privacy include key investigations such as: Facebook/Cambridge Analytica and Aggregate IQ (2019), Statistics Canada (2019), Equifax (2018), the World Anti-Doping Association (2017), Ashley Madison (2016), the Bell Advertising Program (2015), and Google Behavioural Advertising (2014). With a rich background in International enforcement, Mr. Homan has joined forces with global partners, co-leading numerous international investigations including the Global Privacy Award winning Ashley Madison joint-investigation with Australia and the US FTC and the first ever international joint-investigation in the field of Privacy (against Whatsapp) with the Dutch. Mr. Homan also created and spearheaded the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN) Privacy Sweep, now in its seventh year and involving 28 Privacy Authorities from around the world.
A leader in digital economy innovation, Mr. Homan has been examining the growing intersection of privacy, consumer-protection and anti-trust issues, with a focus on advancing collaboration across these regulatory spheres.
Prior to his appointment at the OPC, Mr. Homan was Assistant Deputy Commissioner at the Competition Bureau of Canada where he led numerous high profile misleading advertising investigations in the areas of price representations, E-Commerce and Health Fraud. In the area of health, Mr. Homan led Canada’s Tobacco Inquiry into the use of Light and Mild descriptors, culminating in the removal of Light and Mild labelling from cigarette packaging across Canada.
Mr. Homan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Political Science from Carleton University, and a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Ottawa.
Georgie regularly advises household names in a wide range of sectors on all aspects of information governance and privacy.
She is a key member of Linklaters’ Global Data Protection Working Group and has advised extensively on recent developments, including GDPR and Brexit.
Fiona Maclean advises a diverse range of clients across industries on data privacy compliance and IT and business processing transactions, with a particular focus on cloud computing and data strategy.
Ms. Maclean brings a unique cross-section of knowledge and experience spanning data, technology, and commercial contracts to help clients navigate complex, multi-jurisdictional transactions within the broader framework of data privacy laws. She advises a broad base of clients ranging from start-ups to technology giants and leading financial institutions. Her work at the nexus of the commercial and data worlds includes advising on operational resiliency risks and regulatory requirements including some of the most transformational cloud deals in the global market.
Ms. Maclean writes extensively on technology and privacy law for prominent industry organizations, including the World Economic Forum, the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), and the Association of Foreign Banks.
Frank Madden is a Principal at Promontory, an IBM company, leading various international privacy assessment projects, including in APAC and Africa. He has also worked with IBM’s M&A team as privacy lead, including the acquisition of Red Hat – a $34Bn acquisition which is IBM’s largest to date.
Frank started his career managing privacy in the field of image and personality right, including for the late golfer Arnold Palmer, for whom he completed the first such deal for a westerner in mainland China, whilst living and working in Hong Kong. Frank was also previously the DPO for the Asian IT organisation, Fujitsu, for whom he managed privacy obligations for employees and clients in Europe and APAC.
Frank has been recognised as a Fellow of Information Privacy by IAPP. He also possesses CIPP/E and CIPM certification from IAPP. He has a Bachelor of Laws from BPP Law School (UK), a Master of Science from Trinity College Dublin (IE) and a Master of Laws from Notre Dame Law School (US).
Oliver is the Head of Data Adequacy (EU/EEA) at DCMS. He is part of the team developing the UK’s independent adequacy assessments process, and from 2021 onwards will lead assessments of EU/EEA Member States. He also leads on UK data sharing relationships with already adequate countries. Previously Oliver has worked in No10 Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, and prior to government was an academic at UCL and a specialist in digital technology at the think-tank Demos
The DCMS is the UK government department. responsible for data protection law policy.
Delegate international affairs, Swiss Data Protection and Information Commissioner, Bern, Switzerland (part time)
Swiss observer representative for the plenary sessions of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and the BTLE
Partner, Maurer Law Offices, Baar/Zug, Switzerland
Privacy Consultant for multinational companies and for special projects
More than two decades of experience as a Board Member and Chairman of listed and non-listed companies in Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Austria, in various fields from banking, finance, real estate, investment & private equity corporations to information technology and media corporations.
Lecturer of seminars on data protection and data security since 2000 and lecturer at the University of St. Gallen, Executive School of Management, Technology and Law at the Data Protection Officer Programme
Co-editor and co-author of the Basle Commentary on the Swiss Data Protection and Freedom of Information Law (from 1st edition to the current 3rd edition, 4th edition planned in connection with the revised Swiss data protection law)
Examination by the Austrian Financial Market Authority (Fit & Proper Test as Chairman of an Austrian Bank) (2013)
Member, Swiss Association for Quality Assurance of Financial Services (2000-2015)
Admittance to the New York State Bar (1992)
Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Duke University School of Law; Durham, North Carolina, USA
Admittance to the bar in Bern to practice in Switzerland (1989).
Simon joined the ICO in October 2018 as a member of the Executive Team. Simon is responsible for leading the work of the Regulatory Innovation and Technology Directorate, ensuring delivery of ICO strategic goals through stakeholder liaison, guidance, research and international activity.
His work includes helping the ICO identify, understand and address emerging technologies with privacy implications, supporting the ICO’s innovation agenda, and making the ICO itself more ‘tech savvy’.
Prior to this appointment, Simon led a global privacy consulting practice at Promontory, an IBM company, leading projects across Europe, the US and Asia. He previously led a similar team for Deloitte in the UK.
Simon is qualified as a Chartered Accountant, and a long time ago read English Literature at Somerville College, Oxford.
Masha is an associate in Clyde & Co's commercial, intellectual property and technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) group in the Middle East. She has been based in Dubai since 2019 after relocating from London, where she trained in-house at one of the largest global entertainment companies and later worked at a Magic Circle law firm. Masha advises on a range of transactional and advisory TMT matters, including data processing agreements and privacy compliance. She has been involved in the development of data protection policies and programmes, data protection impact assessments, in-house privacy training and advising on cross-border data transfers. Masha’s clients include both public and private sector entities in the healthcare, automotive, financial, education, media and entertainment sectors, as well as some of the world's largest technology companies. Masha was admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales in September 2016 and qualified to the State Bar of California in April 2016.
Ellis Parry was appointed in November 2019 as the Information Commissioner’s first Data Ethics Adviser, responsible for articulating the regulator’s view of the interplay between the inherently ethical principles of the GDPR and the DPA 2018 and the growing field of data ethics. Prior to this Ellis was the Global Lead for Data Privacy at BP, responsible for maintaining its Binding Corporate Rules and designing its GDPR global change programme, and before that Ellis was Global Privacy Counsel at the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca where negotiating the relationship between medical research ethics and the data protection principles was a regular and constant feature of his practice.
Giles heads the IP and technology group at Freshfields and leads its London data practice. He advises on the full range of legal issues relating to data and cyber security, including navigating data issues in M&A, data governance, crisis management and IP rights in data. Giles is a regular adviser on international data privacy breaches and investigations, and frequently speaks on data issues, including at Privacy Law & Business’ annual conferences and at various tech conferences. He is a member of the City of London Law Society Data Law Committee and edits the Global Data Review Handbook.
Michael is a partner in the San Francisco office of Latham & Watkins. Michael is a leading US practitioner with a unique combination of major privacy litigation and regulatory experience, sought out time and again by companies to help solve their most challenging problems.
For two decades, Michael has represented leading technology companies in their most high-stakes litigation and regulatory matters. From precedent-setting multi-district litigation to major roles in each of the record-setting FTC actions against Internet companies, Mr. Rubin has served as trusted outside counsel to Facebook, Google, LifeLock, LG Electronics, Lyft, Spotify, Symantec, Wix, and hundreds of other companies on their most sensitive and urgent matters. Michael’s cross-disciplinary practice regularly has him before regulators throughout the United States and around the world, in court, and in the boardroom.
Mr. Rubin has received awards throughout his career, most recently (in 2019) being honored as a “Top Cyber Lawyer in California” by California’s Daily Journal, and a “Client Service All Star” by BTI Consulting.
David retired from his role as Deputy Data Protection Commissioner in November 2015 and joined A&O as special adviser on data protection on 1 January 2016. David was instrumental in shaping the UK position on the General Data Protection Regulation. He was widely quoted giving the ICO view on regulatory developments – e.g. Safe harbour and the Google decision on the right to be forgotten. He also represented the ICO in the Article 29 Working Party of European Supervisory Authorities set up under the Data Protection Directive. The Article 29 Working Party is a highly influential group of national regulators across Europe who issue opinions on compliance. David was also involved at the highest level of the ICO’s enforcement regime. His wealth of experience and knowledge of data protection policy and enforcement bolsters Allen & Overy’s existing data protection team in London at a time of significant regulatory change and growing client demand for advice and support in this fast moving area. During his time as Deputy Commissioner, David saw first-hand how this area of law has evolved and the impact it can have on businesses and ordinary citizens.
Amy Smyth is a knowledge management lawyer for the Technology Transactions Practice of Latham & Watkins and is based in the London office.
Ms. Smyth has extensive experience in a broad range of technology, commercial law, data, and intellectual property matters, including complex data governance and technology licensing issues. She has a particular focus on data protection and cyber security.
Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Smyth spent five years as in-house legal counsel in a major global bank, where she advised on a wide range of technology, data, and intellectual property topics including on a significant number of fintech and innovation projects.
Previous to her in-house legal experience, Ms. Smyth practised as an associate in the Technology Transactions Practice of Latham & Watkins, during which time she undertook a secondment to the legal team of a major UK bank, before re-joining the firm and the Practice as a knowledge management lawyer.
Charles Taillefer holds the position of Director of the Privacy and Data Protection Directorate within the Marketplace Framework Policy Branch of Innovation, Science and Economic Development since October 2016.
Prior to his current position, Mr. Taillefer was Director of Security Policy within the Chief Information Officer Branch of Treasury Board Secretariat and also occupied the role of Director of Access to Information and Privacy at Natural Resources Canada and Veterans Affairs Canada. Charles holds a Master’s Degree in Legal Studies from Carleton University and an Ontario Teaching Certificate as well as a Bachelor of Arts from Laurentian University.
Lucie is an associate in Slaughter and May’s data privacy practice. She advises clients on the full range of data privacy matters, both as stand-alone issues and in the broader setting of M&A and commercial transactions. She regularly advises clients on suspected and actual data breaches (including assisting and liaising with the regulator), the extraterritorial impact of privacy legislation, the privacy implications of pensions’ arrangements, and the challenges of new tech. In the context of M&A specifically, she advises on matters such as data transfer arrangements, issues surrounding data separation and marketing permissions, and compliance with transparency obligations.
Stewart graduated from the University of Lancaster in Politics and Marketing. In 1975 Stewart initiated research on Open Government at the UK Consumers’ Association. He then made an independent trip to the USA and Canada, meeting consumer advocates, politicians and journalists researching Freedom of Information (FoI) and privacy legislation. He had articles published in The Geographical Magazine, in 1977 on the use of the FoI Act by the Navajo Tribe of Arizona, and The Times in 1978 on the use of the FoI Act to improve car safety. In May 1980, the Outer Circle Policy Unit published his Open Government: Lessons from America. His career included consumer research and working for The Economist as a business journalist where he wrote occasionally on privacy laws and honed his skills as an investigator and writer.
He launched the Privacy Laws & Business Newsletter in February 1987. In October 1988 he organised PL&B’s first international conference. Stewart co-founded and chaired the UK’s Data Protection Forum, and has spoken at conferences around the world. He lives and works in Pinner, has a beautiful wife, who wrote this, and 3 adult sons.
Laura oversees the whole editorial process from researching, commissioning and managing freelancers to writing about a wide range of legislative and management issues within privacy, data protection and freedom of information. She also assists in conference planning marketing, public relations, and PL&B GDPR Roundtables. Laura joined PL&B as Associate Editor in 1997 for PL&B International Report, and launched the UK Report in 2000. Before joining PL&B, she worked at the UK Information Commissioner's Office as a European Secretariat Officer facilitating co-operation with European Union national Data Protection Commissioners. Laura has also worked as freelance business content writer for Thomson Reuters, and written for several publications in Finland. She is fluent in English and Finnish, and has a working knowledge of Swedish, Italian and German.
Valerie is a qualified solicitor and throughout her legal career has specialised in data protection matters as well as IT and intellectual property law. Having qualified as a solicitor at Clifford Chance, Valerie went on to work in the in-house legal department of the Royal Mail Group plc where she was the principal data protection adviser.
Valerie now works with Privacy Laws & Business in a wide range of roles: as a consultant advising large and small businesses in the public and private sector on data protection compliance - she advises on all aspects of data protection and freedom of information, including data related projects, internal business policies and procedures and advising on proposed new legislation; speaking at conferences; providing training; is available for assignments working in-house to cover for staff absences.
Helena is an experienced Lawyer, Data Protection Officer, Public Speaker and Coach. Having worked with over 150 businesses and other organisations through implementation of the GDPR, she has established a compliance framework and assists organisations with data mapping, Legitimate Interest Assessments, Data Protection Impact Assessments and Records of Processing Activities – all necessary to demonstrate accountability, and transparency as required by the Information Commissioner and other regulators. As well as advising major corporates and start-up businesses on how to comply with the law, Helena has a great deal of experience advising and defending clients who are being investigated by the Information Commissioner or who have suffered a data breach. Helena is bilingual in French and English and is experienced in discussing an organisation's data privacy and commercial issues in plain language relevant to each context - in short, she speaks your language, is engaged, builds connections and makes life easy. Her extensive background in commercial law, as a barrister, solicitor, in-house counsel and partner in a national top 20 law firm makes her a safe pair of hands and an exceptional advisor, coach and mentor.