European Cyber Agora

Nanna–Louise Linde is Microsoft’s Vice President of European Government Affairs with responsibility for Microsoft’s government affairs and public policy work across Europe since September2022. Nanna–Louise leads a team of government affairs professionals tasked with strengthening Microsoft’s external relations with the EU institutions and governments across Europe and ensuring the company is a constructive partner in supporting policy makers in Europe achieve their goals and adapt smart legislation. A competition lawyer by training, Nanna–Louise brings with her almost two decades of experience at Microsoft. Most recently, she has been leading Microsoft’s Corporate External & Legal Affairs team in 32 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, responsible for legal matters and relations with governments and other authorities. Prior to that, she was leading Government Affairs for Microsoft in Western Europe.

Dr. Nad’a Kovalčíková is a Senior Analyst in charge of the Transnational Security portfolio at the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) and a project Director of the multi-million, EU-funded initiative “Countering Foreign Interference (CFI). A project to strengthen EU CSDP capacities against foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI)”. She is a member of the ESPAS foresight Steering Group; a member of the Advisory Board for the TEPSA project Raising Awareness on Disinformation, Achieving Resilience (RADAR); a mentor within the innovative network of Harvard Women in Defense, Diplomacy, and Development; an expert collaborator for Minsait’s Ideas for Democracy; and a 2019 awardee and currently also a member of the Steering Committee of Women In International Security. Dr. Kovalčíková was formerly a Program manager and Fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy in the German Marshall Fund of the United States. She previously worked at NATO, the European Parliament, the French and Canadian embassies, and several NGO and think tank projects across Europe and the Atlantic.

Ms. Heli Tiirmaa-Klaar is Director of the Digital Society Institute, European School of Management and Technology (ESMT) in Berlin. She was previously Estonia’s Ambassador at Large for Cyber Diplomacy, and Director of the Cyber Diplomacy Department at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After holding several senior roles at the MOD, she led the restructuring of the Estonia’s cyber system and built national public-private partnerships for cyber resilience. She prepared a comprehensive NATO cyber defense policy and was responsible for developing European Union’s external cyber relations and global capacity building programs at the European External Action Service.

Ambassador Tiirmaa-Klaar is a graduate of the University of Tartu, and earned a master’s degree in International Relations and National Security from the George Washington University as a Fulbright Fellow.

Jakob Bund is an Associate at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), where he serves as threat intelligence liaison in the build-up of the European Repository of Cyber Incidents (EuRepoC). Jakob is also a Senior Researcher for Cyber Conflict and Statecraft at the European Cyber Conflict Research Initiative (ECCRI). His research focuses on evolutions in state responses to malicious cyber activity.

Until 2022, he headed the Cyberdefense Project at the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich, advising the Office of Cyberdefense Policy in the Swiss Department of Defense. Previously, Jakob worked as researcher at Oxford University and the EU Institute for Security Studies, assessing the inclusive development of cybersecurity strategies for the British Foreign Office and the World Bank and supporting the EU’s track-two dialogues with strategic partners.

Christian is Head of the Cyber Coordination Task Force in the Directorate-General for Communications, Content and Technology in the European Commission. He is responsible for supporting the coordination of situational awareness and response to cyber crises among relevant Commission services and EU institutions bodies and agencies, as well as cooperation with Member States. Previously he oversaw a study into the future of digital advertising and its impact on privacy, drafted the Data Act proposal, the EU cybersecurity strategy and the roll out of interoperable contact tracing apps during the COVID pandemic. He was head of the Private Office of the European Data Protection Supervisor from 2015-2020 advising on privacy-related legal and policy developments in the EU, including online manipulation, digital monopolies, digital ethics and scientific research. He moved to Brussels in 2008, after several years of advising the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales on senior judicial appointments, discipline and complaints handling, succession planning and constitutional reform matters. He also served for several years as private secretary to the Chairman of the UK Labour Party.

Manon Le Blanc is Coordinator for Cyber Issues and Deputy Head of Hybrid Threats and Cyber Division at the European External Action Service (EEAS) and recognized as one of Europe's top 100 cyber women by the Women4Cyber foundation. Over last years, Manon has shaped the EU's international cyber policies, notably through the development of the EU's Cybersecurity Strategies as well as the EU's framework for a joint diplomatic response ("cyber diplomacy toolbox"). Prior to her posting at the EEAS, Manon held various positions in the Netherlands government. She holds an MsC in Business Administration from the University of Amsterdam.

Nikolas Ott is a Government Affairs Manager for Cybersecurity Policy and Digital Diplomacy at Microsoft European Government Affairs. His portfolio includes cyber diplomacy, cyber threat intelligence, cyber defense policy, foreign and security policy and cyber capacity building. Previously, he worked in the cyber/ICT security team of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). He is an alumnus of the Mercator Fellowship of International Affairs and the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. He holds a M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts University) and B.A. in Political Science from the Freie Universität Berlin.

Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl is Director-General of DIGITALEUROPE, the leading digital technology industry association representing over 45,000 digital companies in Europe.

She is a member of the European Commission’s Industrial Forum and High-Level Forum on European Standardisation. She is also a member of the Stakeholder Cybersecurity Certification Group of ENISA (the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity). She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Gaia-X.

Formerly, Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl served as a member of the Advisory Group to the Secretary General of NATO on Emerging and Disruptive Technologies. She was also a member of the European Commission’s High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, as well as a member of the B20 Digital Transformation Taskforce, a board member of the European Commission’s Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition and the European Parliament-led European Internet Forum.

In March 2023, Cecilia received the Ukraine Peace Prize on behalf of DIGITALEUROPE for its work supporting Ukraine during the war.

Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl has more than 25 years of experience in the ICT industry. She previously held international positions at IBM and Oracle as well as with SMEs, building businesses across Europe and China and founding the global SAP implementation company and cloud provider GlobeIT. She served as Board Member of the Danish Chamber of Commerce and was President of the Board of the Danish ICT association (ITB).

Nicolas Moës is an economist by training focused on the impact of General-Purpose Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) on geopolitics, the economy and industry. He is the Executive Director at The Future Society, where he works on the management, strategy and stakeholder engagement for the organization. He previously studied and monitored European developments in the legislative framework surrounding AI, and was active on the EU AI Act drafting and on building its enforcement mechanisms.

Nicolas is also involved in AI standardisation efforts, as a member of the International Standardisation Organization’s SC42 and CEN-CENELEC JTC 21 committees on Artificial Intelligence, as a Belgian representative. Nicolas is an expert at the OECD.AI Policy Observatory in the Working Groups on AI Incidents and on Risk & Accountability. Prior to The Future Society, he worked at the Brussels-based economic policy think-tank Bruegel on EU technology, AI and innovation strategies. His publications have focused on the impact of AI & automation, though he has carried out research on global trade & investments, EU-China relations and transatlantic partnerships.

Nicolas completed his Masters degree (M.Phil.) in Economics at the University of Oxford with a thesis on institutional engineering for resolving the tragedy of the commons in global contexts. He is a native French-speaker fluent in English and persists in learning Dutch and Mandarin.

Randolf Carr is a Senior Policy Advisor at the Munich Security Conference (MSC). At the MSC, he is responsible for its Global Order and Technology Programs and works on security in East Asia, focusing on China and Japan. From July to December 2023, he was also a Visiting Fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) in Tokyo. Randolf Carr studied Political Communication and International Relations in Glasgow, Dresden, and Saint Petersburg. During this time, he worked at the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and the American-German Institute (AGI), among others. His recent published work for the MSC deals with the Indo-Pacific region as well as economic security and technology policy.

Allison Pytlak is the Program Lead of the Cyber Program at the Stimson Center. Her work in this area has examined inter-state cyber operations and international governance structures with a focus on United Nations (UN) processes and frameworks. In this context Pytlak has leveraged her significant experience in multilateral arms control and disarmament policy to identify opportunities to effectively advance law and norms for the prevention of cyber harm. At Stimson, Pytlak is leading research on cyber accountability, the role of the UN Security Council, and gendered disinformation, among other topics. In her prior role with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Pytlak monitored and reported on the UN’s working group on state behavior on cyber space and played an important role as a liaison and advocate for civil society participation. She has researched, published, and provided numerous trainings about the gendered and human rights-based dimensions of cyber security and diplomacy.

Joyce Hakmeh is a policy expert in international security focusing on cyber policy. She is the Deputy Director of the International Security Programme at Chatham House and the Co-Editor of the Journal of Cyber Policy. In her role, Joyce oversees the research agenda of the programme and leads the work of Chatham House on cyber policy issues.

Michael Docherty has worked for the Commission since 1990! Most recently he was Head of Section for Social and Economic Development in the EU Programme Support Office for Turkish Cypriot community in Nicosia, prior to that Head of Section dealing with Institutional Relations and Civil Society in DG NEAR’s regional unit covering the Southern Neighbourhood after being Head of Section for Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and a long period as Head of Section for Palestine. He also spent four years in the EU Delegation in Sarajevo many years ago as Head of Section dealing with Democratic Stabilisation and Social Development. He has also held research and fellowship positions at New America, Columbia University SIPA, Sciences Po CERI, and NATO CCD COE. Before his academic career, Max worked in finance in London and Amsterdam.

Bojana Zorić is an Associate Analyst at the EUISS where she works on the Western Balkans. In this capacity, she covers the analysis of policy and security developments in the Western Balkans, particularly in the context of EU enlargement, transatlantic relations and third-party influence. Previously she held the position of Senior Policy Analyst at the Regional Cooperation Council in Sarajevo. Prior to that, she was stationed in Brussels with the European Committee of the Regions and in Sweden with the Swedish International Liberal Centre, where she worked on democracy building and promotion in Eastern Partnership countries.

A 20-years long Belgian diplomat. Previously exposed to special scenes such as Kuala Lumpur, Jerusalem and Mexico. And also deeply involved with Europe and the Benelux countries. Currently enjoying cyber-space in all its facets. Multilingual, keen and curious.

Ian leads GI-TOC’s engagement with the UN and the wider multilateral community. He joined the GI-TOC in 2019, and then spent several years managing the GI-TOC Resilience Fund and leading the organization’s multilateral engagement in Vienna. Before joining GI-TOC, Ian spent five years at the UK’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Vienna, where he led UK engagement with the UNODC and represented the UK in several prominent UN negotiations on organised crime and related issues. Ian has previous experience working in British politics, political consultancy and corporate communications. He has an MA in British Politics, and a BA in French and Hispanic Studies. Ian is currently the Chair of the Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

Nemanja Malisevic joined Microsoft in 2014. He leads the company’s efforts related to multistakeholder digital diplomacy – with a particular focus on cybersecurity norms as well as, currently, on negotiations of a new cybercrime treaty at the United Nations.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Mr. Malisevic worked more than 10 years for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) where, he was the Organization’s first Cyber Security Officer. In this capacity he was deeply involved in the elaboration and negotiation of the first set of OSCE cyber/ICT security related confidence building measures (CBMs), adopted in December 2013. Before that, he led the Organization’s efforts dealing with combating terrorist use of the Internet.

Mr. Malisevic holds a Bachelor degree (B.A) from the University of Wales (Cardiff, UK) and a Masters degree (M.Litt.) from the University of St. Andrews (St. Andrews, UK).

Nick Ashton-Hart is a senior director for digital economy policy for APCO Worldwide and is based in New York. He currently covers the UN General Assembly’s global cybersecurity and cybercrime convention negotiations and has been on the delegation of the United Kingdom to the International Telecommunications Union for more than a decade where he is a lead negotiator for the European region’s 36 member-states on various Internet-related economic policy issues. 

He also heads the Digital Trade Network (DTN) where he is global industry’s only dedicated voice in the Geneva international community for digital economic policy and is respected as a leading expert in the application of trade policy and law to the knowledge economy. He attends the 89 country trade negotiations on the digital economy at the World Trade Organisation as an advisor to a WTO Member state.

Tanja Fachathaler studied law as well as human rights and democratization in Vienna, Venice and Seville. She has several years of experience in different positions in the legal sector, both in Austria - for example in administrative justice or in a law firm - and in Brussels for human rights organizations and a consulting firm working for the EU institutions. Since August 2021, she has been bringing her experience to epicenter.works as a Policy Advisor.

Timea Suto is Global Digital Policy Lead at the International Chamber of Commerce. In her role she leads ICC’s policy development and advocacy work on digital policy and Internet governance issues and works with global business experts to bring private sector views into international multilateral and multistakeholder conversations on digital policy matters. She also heads ICC’s delegation to the UN Ad Hoc Committee to Elaborate a Comprehensive International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes.

Prior to her role at ICC she served as policy analyst for various social policy and open governance projects in the Visegrad countries and in evolving research and teaching roles in Budapest and Paris.

ICC is the largest, most representative global business organization and only private sector body to have official Observer status to the United Nations General Assembly.

Mauro has 20 years of experience in several cyber security and cyber threat intelligence positions, he analysed cybersecurity issues from different angles. Since two years he joined the ICRC, focusing on aspects such as the militarization of the digital domain, the cyber cognitive warfare, the role of digital technologies in the total defense approach, assessing risks and impacts for civilians, critical civilian infrastructure and the society as a whole.

Samit D’Cunha is a Legal Advisor at the ICRC headquarters in Geneva. He has spent several years working for the ICRC on the field as a Legal Advisor and as a Delegate, including in Colombia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Today, Samit leads the legal aspects of the Digital Emblem project, and covers the cyber and information operations files within the ICRC’s legal division.

Christiane Kirketerp de Viron has been the Head of Unit for Cybersecurity and Digital Privacy policies in the European Commission’s DG CONNECT since July 2022. Prior to this she was Member of Cabinet for the European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Johannes Hahn, where parts of her responsibilities concerned the digital transformation of the European Commission as well as the cybersecurity of EU Institutions, Bodies and Agencies. During the Juncker Commission, Christiane served as Member of Cabinet for the European Commissioner for Research Innovation and Science, Carlos Moedas.

Christina Rupp is Project Manager for Cybersecurity Policy and Resilience. Her research focuses on issues of cyber diplomacy, especially with regard to international norms for responsible state behavior in cyberspace and EU cybersecurity policy. Previously, she worked on official public political attribution of cyber operations, software supply chain security, and Germany’s cybersecurity architecture.

Christina has spoken at national and international conferences and events, including the Annual Conference of the European Initiative for Security Studies (EISS) in Barcelona. For SNV, Christina follows the cybersecurity debate at the United Nations, including the Open-ended Working Group (UN OEWG). She wrote commentaries and blog posts for Directions Blog and Tagesspiegel Background Cybersecurity.

Christina holds an M.Sc. in Political Science from the University of Copenhagen and an LL.M. in Public International Law from the University of Amsterdam. Her master’s theses examined the engagement of German cyber foreign policy in promoting international cyber norms and the toolkit available to states under international law for responding to malicious cyber operations. During her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Public Law at the University of Bonn, she spent a semester abroad at the University of Geneva.

Before joining SNV, she gained practical insights into policy-making and processes of international relations at the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations in New York, the German Federal Ministry of Defense, the Aspen Institute Germany, and the German Federal Agency for Civic Education, among other institutions.

Florian Pennings works for Microsoft on EU Cybersecurity Policy. He believes collaboration and multi-stakeholder management is essential to ensure strong cybersecurity. This requires constant engagement and open discussions among peers. Before joining Microsoft, he worked in national and European government agencies responsible for cybersecurity. He coordinated strategic and tactical cooperation with industry and public stakeholders. At Microsoft, he contributes to public discussions concerning EU cybersecurity policies, like the Cyber Resilience Act, NIS2, and Cybersecurity Certification, leveraging his operational and strategic national and European experience. He strongly believes that cooperation is built on trust and common interests, not on differences.

Marta Przywała is Senior Manager in SAP Government Affairs and is a cybersecurity policy lead for the EU. Based in Brussels, Belgium, she is a specialist in European affairs and public policy with an excellent knowledge of the EU legislative process. She has 8 years of experience in a variety of cybersecurity policy, advisory and research roles in both the private and public sectors, as well as a non-governmental organization.

Marta joined SAP in 2020. Since then, she has worked on multiple tech and industry policy areas, including R&I and EU funding programmes, and has served in a business development support capacity. Prior to joining SAP, she worked in the European Commission’s DG CNECT in the cybersecurity policy unit and as a tech policy consultant. Marta gained first experience in cybersecurity as a research fellow of the Kosciuszko Institute in Krakow, Poland, when she authored publications and participated in projects on Polish, European and Central European cybersecurity and defence policy.

Marta is a graduate of the MA double-degree program in political science between the Jagiellonian University of Krakow and the University of Strasbourg taught in English and French. She was also awarded a scholarship of the French Government.

Currently working at the Belgian Permanent Representation to the European Union on cyber and digital affairs and chair of the Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues during the Belgian presidency. He is a diplomat with past diplomatic postings in Norway, Israel, Ireland and at the Permanent Representation to the European Union during the previous Belgian presidency. Having been in charge of the cyberdiplomacy portfolio at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between 2017 and 2020, he is keen to contribute again to building Europe’s cyberposture and negotiating relevant legislation.

Michael graduated in Political Sciences (Universiteit Gent) and European Politics (Université Libre de Bruxelles).

Amy Larsen is Director of Global Field Engagement and Strategic Projects on Microsoft’s Democracy Forward team, where she serves as chief liaison to the company's international field teams on priorities such as elections, the information environment, cybersecurity, digital literacy, and artificial intelligence and democracy. She also supports the company’s Tech Accord Team, Global Elections Team, and Ukraine Task Force, and has spearheaded the creation of strategic initiatives like the AI4Democracy partnership between IE University and Microsoft. Previously, Amy practiced law at Davis Polk and then within Morrison & Foerster’s National Security and Global Risk + Crisis Management groups, where she helped develop a tabletop exercise for election officials and served as lead associate in the pro bono representation of GIFCT. Amy previously interned in the Obama White House on then-Vice President Biden’s team, held a human rights fellowship in Congress, and served at the State Department’s U.S. Mission to the EU. She was awarded a Fulbright to South Korea, and is an Aspen Security Scholar and member of the Truman National Security Project. Amy holds a B.A. in Political Science from Yale, a J.D. from NYU Law, and an M.P.A. from the Harvard Kennedy School, and is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Alena Kudzko is Vice President for Policy and Programming at GLOBSEC, a policy organization originated in Bratislava with offices in Brussels, Washington D.C., Kyiv, Warsaw, and Vienna. She oversees policy development and programming, and her current research focus is concentrated on European and transatlantic relations and security, including the reform of security institutions and the EU, and impact of emerging technologies. Before joining GLOBSEC, she worked at various NGOs and academic institutions in Belarus, Estonia, and Hungary, specializing in the area of foreign relations, democratization, and community development.

Alexandre Alaphilippe is the Executive director and co-founder of the EU DisinfoLab. Since 2017, he has coordinated work on some of the organisation’s largest investigations into Information Operations linked to Russia, India and China. In 2022, he led the exposure of Doppelganger, which has been labeled as one of the largest information operation from Russia in the past years. He is a member of a number of working groups in Brussels and Washington DC linked to platform regulation, transatlantic relations, and hybrid threats, where he emphasises the role of civil society in maintaining democratic values. He has published papers for the Brookings Institution and his work has been featured on CNN, BBC, Le Monde and Politico.

Dr. Loraine de la Fe is a Senior Cyber Threat Context Analyst at Microsoft and previously served as a cyber threat analyst for the U.S. Department of Defense for over 6 years, covering high-profile cyber activity against government and defense networks. During her tenure with the Defense Department, she held multiple roles including as the Lead Intel Policy advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Max Smeets is the Co-Director of the European Cyber Conflict Research Initiative (ECCRI) and the European Cyber Conflict Research Incubator (ECCRI CIC). He is also a Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich. He is the author of ‘No Shortcuts: Why States Struggle to Develop a Military Cyber-Force’ (Oxford University Press & Hurst, 2022) and published widely on cyber statecraft, strategy and risk. Max was previously a postdoctoral fellow and lecturer at Stanford University CISAC and a College Lecturer at Keble College, University of Oxford.

Dr Sameer Patil is Senior Fellow, Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology and Deputy Director, ORF Mumbai. His work focuses on the intersection of technology and national security, including cybersecurity. Dr Patil also serves as India Commissioner for the Global Tech Security Commission, set up by the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue and the Atlantic Council. He has previously worked at the National Security Council Secretariat, Government of India and Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations. He is also the dissertation advisor at the Indian Naval War College.

Dr Patil is the author of Securing India in the Cyber Era (Routledge, 2022) and has co-edited Moving Forward EU-India Relations: The Significance of the Security Dialogues (Edizioni Nuova Cultura, 2017). He has PhD and MPhil in international politics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has participated in several Track 1 and Track 1.5 dialogues. He is the recipient of the Australian Government’s prestigious Canberra Fellowship.

Ms Ewelina Jelenkowska-Luca’ is a Deputy Director of the Policy Strategy and Outreach Directorate and the Head of Communication Unit at Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content & Technology (DG Connect) at the European Commission. She is a Polish advocate, with two university law degrees – in Poland and in Italy – and a master’s degree in EU law from the College of Europe. She has worked for EU institutions since 2003, starting at the Court of Justice and then, since 2008, at the European Commission: first as a lawyer in DG Competition, and later in DG Communication, initially as Deputy Head of the EC Representation in Poland, Warsaw and then as Spokesperson of the European Commission in Italy, before taking the responsibility for communication of digital, cyber, telecoms, media and technology topics in the Commission at DG Connect in 2017. She speaks 7 languages. Married, mother of three.

Silvia Lorenzo Pérez is CDT Europe’s Programme Director, Security, Surveillance and Human Rights. Her work focuses on the intersection of human rights, security, and surveillance. This includes working on issues such as spyware, law enforcement’s use of surveillance, and issues relating to the right to communicate securely, with a particular focus on journalists and human rights defenders.

Prior to joining CDT’s Brussels office, Silvia was Policy Advisor to MEP Lopez Aguilar, Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), where she led on coordination efforts within the LIBE Committee, overseeing areas related to rule of law, data protection, privacy, security, law enforcement, criminal justice, and judicial cooperation. She also took the lead in technical negotiations involving legislative proposals and coordinated the European parliament’s resolutions on issues related to the implementation of the GDPR and the personal data transfers to third-countries, including the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.

Silvia has a background in legal and policy work for both NGOs, such as Fair Trials and, more recently, a consultancy where she carried out research in the areas of privacy, data protection, ethics, and fundamental rights. Silvia has an academic background in law, with a law degree and a LLM in International Human Rights Law.

Léonard Rolland is the Head of International Cybersecurity Policy at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He started to work on cyberdiplomacy in 2013 and was a French Expert during the negotiations leading to the cyber GGE report of 2015. He has also been serving as a political adviser at the French Embassy in Moscow and then in Berlin, where he covered security-related issues, including cyber./.

Andy Garth is Director of Government Affairs at ESET. A former British Ambassador and diplomat with postings/assignments in Central/Eastern Europe, Middle East, South/South East Asia and Far East. Andy works with national and international bodies regarding cyber policy, regulation, cyber diplomacy and threat intelligence. Andy also acts as a gateway for those that would like to engage with ESET’s wider portfolio of cybersecurity services and technical capabilities.

Dimitra Liveri holds the role of the Team Leader for Awareness Raising and Education in ENISA, the European Union Cybersecurity Agency since 2020. Under her portfolio she is coordinating activities on cybersecurity awareness raising (campaigns and tools for improving knowledge), cybersecurity skills – namely the flagship activity of the European Cybersecurity Skills framework - and the CyberHEAD, cybersecurity in lower and higher levels of Education and the flagship campaign of the European Cybersecurity Month. Dimitra joined ENISA in March 2013 as a Cybersecurity expert, focusing on policy implementation, security for cloud computing and cybersecurity for critical information infrastructures. She supported the numerous sectors in implementing of policy requirements and has very good knowledge of the cybersecurity policy ecosystem in the EU. She holds a MSc in Information Systems and Cybersecurity and BSc on Computer Science, from the Athens University of Economics and Business. She is a certified CISSP ISC2 professional.

For over 20 years, Mathieu Giannecchini has been dedicated to leveraging technology for international solidarity, education, and culture. As a convinced agilist and a passionate believer in the power of individuals and their interactions, he possesses a strong expertise in systems engineering, data governance, project management, and team leadership.

Mathieu joined Simplon.co in 2018, where after founding the Pedagogical Studio, Simplon.co's R&D department, he currently holds the position of Deputy CEO to harness technology for the benefit of individuals and social impact.

Co-creator and then general director of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, since its inception in 2001 as Consorzio Gioventù Digitale, a non-profit organization founded by the Municipality of Rome, the Lazio Region, and six major IT and telecommunications companies.

She has been a consultant on innovation issues for the Municipality of Rome, the Municipality of Bologna, and the Municipality of Livorno, contributing to the development of the first civic networks promoted by local public administrations, including the civic network Iperbole.

In 1999 in Edinburgh, he founded Helios ICT Management Ltd, a spin-off of the University of Edinburgh engaged in Technological Research and Development projects. In 2000, he coordinated the process that led the City of Rome to take over the chairmanship of the European Telecities Network (which became the Eurocities Knowledge Society Forum), a network comprising over 120 partners, including capitals and large cities in the European Union. From 1998 to 2001, she then coordinated at the Brussels office the work of the technical group in charge of implementing the guidelines of the action plan of the Rome presidency of this association.

She has been a consultant and reviewer for the European Commission on various research and technological development projects.

Ph.D. in International Business Management, from the International School of Management in Paris, she attended successful post-graduate specialization courses (DBA courses) at Saint John University in New York on the topics of Social Venture Capital, Social Return on Investments, and Marketing for Non-profit Organisations.

She holds a degree in Computer Science from the University of Pisa.

She participates as a speaker at conferences and conventions on innovation and digital inclusion. Her contributions to social innovation and the digital transformation of organizations are published in specialized magazines and journals.

Honors-Awards
Global YouthSpark Advisor
Unstoppable Women, StartUp Italia
Fortune Italia Most Powerful Women 2023
WE Award – Women Excellence per for no profit

Oscar Pasquali is the CEO of Generation Italy, a non-profit foundation founded by McKinsey & Company. He focuses on topics such as education, training, the future of work, and social impact. He helped launch Generation in Italy, with the twofold mission of helping young people acquire skills useful for entering the world of work and supporting companies in identifying people with the preparation and motivation they need.

He served as Head of the Technical Secretariat of the Minister of Education, University and Research for two Governments, working on the School Reform, the National Research Plan, the Industry 4.0 Plan, and, as Co-Sherpa of the G20 Science & Technology in China and Sherpa on the Future of Production Committee of the World Economic Forum.

In the past, he also worked on business internationalization, international and institutional relations, and collaboration between public and private sectors at the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy, where he collaborated with the American Government for the participation of the United States in Expo Milano 2015.

Oscar began his career in strategic consulting, serving leading institutions, governments, and companies. He graduated in History from the University of Trento and obtained a Master's degree in Public Management from SDA Bocconi.

At the CyberPeace Institute, Charlotte is responsible for Public Policy, Research and Analysis and is the Senior Humanitarian Advisor. Charlotte is an experienced senior executive in digitalization of organizations, tech policy and diplomacy, multilateral engagement, data and digital risk, as well as in security and crisis management, and communication. Charlotte has spent 30 years in the humanitarian sector, including as Director of Communication and Information Management and Director of Digital Transformation and Data at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as well as a number of other positions in the Headquarters and in contexts of armed conflicts. Charlotte holds an MSc in Communication Management and a BA in Business Studies, and has studied both Digital Disruption and Digital Transformation.

Jakub Kalenský is the Deputy Director of the Centre’s Hybrid Influence COI focusing on safeguarding democratic processes. Jakub has specialised in disinformation and Russian hybrid activities since 2015 when he joined the newly created East StratCom Task Force in the European Union’s diplomatic service, the EEAS. In the team, Jakub was responsible for raising awareness about Russia’s disinformation campaigns, and he and his colleagues founded the EUvsDisinfo campaign. In 2018, Jakub joined the Atlantic Council, where he worked in the Ukrainian Election Task Force, and in the Digital Forensic Research Lab. He testified in the European Parliament, in the US Congress and in other legislative houses in Europe on Russian disinformation attacks and the countermeasures against it. Before specializing in countering disinformation, Jakub worked as a journalist in the Czech Republic.

Jonathan Nelson (MA, MSc) is currently Director of Risk Intelligence at Alto Intelligence, where he manages a diverse project portfolio of public, private, and civil society stakeholders, enabling an understanding of emerging risk vectors across the digital ecosystem. Over recent years, Jonathan has led numerous digital intelligence initiatives focused on understanding influence operations and hybrid threats in complex geopolitical contexts alongside global media partners like the Washington Post, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Reuters, multilateral institutions like the UNDP and the European Commission, and an exhaustive list of private and non-profit organizations. Jonathan is a Fulbright scholar and holds a BA in International Studies and Global Economic Development (University of Dayton, USA) where he also undertook studies in cultural anthropology, an MSc in International Management (University of Limerick, Ireland), and an MA in Visual & Digital Media (IE Business School, Spain). Jonathan is also a recent alumnus of the Aspen Institute’s Tech & Society program and the Fundación Rafael del Pino’s Workshop on the Future of Government at the University of Oxford. Jonathan is also a co-founder of CyberGuardians, a recently launched non-profit initiative focused on supporting parents, educators, researchers and policymakers to help youth lead healthier digital lives in the era of AI-intensive social and digital media.

Rachel Chernaskey is a Director at the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) and a former Director at Miburo, a digital analysis and consulting company acquired by Microsoft in 2022. Rachel, who helps lead MTAC’s Russia team, has worked on detecting and assessing foreign malign influence campaigns through several US election cycles, the lead-up to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and other major geopolitical events. She previously worked as an editor and journalist.

Erna Catic is a Policy Officer at the European External Action Service (EEAS) in the Hybrid Threats and Cyber Division. She is working on Cyber Capacity Building Policy and is the cyber focal point at the EEAS for the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership region (particularly Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine), as well as for Africa. Prior to her secondment to the EEAS she was the German Cyber Attaché to NATO and has worked in the International relations team of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) in Bonn. Erna holds a Master’s degree in European Studies from King’s College London.

James Shires is the Co-Director of the European Cyber Conflict Research Initiative (ECCRI) and the European Cyber Conflict Research Incubator (ECCRI CIC). He is also a Fellow with The Hague Program on International Cyber Security. He was previously a Senior Research Fellow in Cyber Policy at Chatham House, and before that an Assistant Professor in Cybersecurity Governance at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, University of Leiden.

He has written widely on issues of cybersecurity and international politics, including cybersecurity expertise, digital authoritarianism, spyware regulation, and hack-and-leak operations. He is the author of The Politics of Cybersecurity in the Middle East (Hurst/Oxford University Press, 2021), and co-editor of Cyberspace and Instability (Edinburgh University Press, 2023).

Peter Booms is the Chair of the EU Working Pary on Enhancing Resilience and Countering Hybrid Threats (ERCHT). He is a Counsellor at the Belgian Permanent Representation to the EU.

After a short teaching career as a university lecturer in Istanbul, he joined the Belgian diplomatic service in 2008 and had diplomatic postings in Turkey, Azerbaijan, and the Netherlands. As a Counsellor at the Belgian Embassy in the Hague, his work focused among other things on Benelux Police Cooperation, counterterrorism, cross-border drug crime and its destabilizing undermining effects on society.

He worked at the UN department of the Belgian Foreign Ministry, representing Belgium in the EU Working Party on United Nations (CONUN), as well as in the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna.

As Belgian delegate to the EU Working Party on Enhancing Resilience and Countering Hybrid Threats, he is responsible for coordinating and negotiating the Belgian position in the EU on Hybrid threats and he acts as the interface between national en EU policy making in this field. During the Belgian Presidency in the first half of 2024, Mr Booms is currently the Chair of the ERCHT Working party.

Mr Booms studied at Universities in Belgium, Spain and the UK and holds an Masters degree in International Business and Management and also a Masters in International and European Law.

Edoardo Ravaioli is an Associate Director at APCO Worldwide, a global strategic advisory firm based in Brussels. In this role, he acts as the Head of the Secretariat of the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, an initative launched in 2018 that represents the voice of 158 cybersecurity and technology companies from across the globe on all matters of peace and security in cyberspace. Additionally to this role, he coordinates Let'sTalkCyber, a multistakeholder initiative tracking UN discussions on cybercrime and cybersecurity.

Starting off his career in the Delegation of the EU to the UN in Vienna working on Export Controls, Mr. Ravaioli's subsequent private sector career has focused on the nexus of security and digital policy. Edoardo has worked in various roles advising technology companies on their government relations and public affairs strategies in policy areas including cyber diplomacy, cybersecurity, audiovisual, and internet governance. In his role as Head of the Secretariat of the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, Edoardo regularly takes part in international and multilateral fora advocating for wider multistakeholder involvement in cyber discussions.

Edoardo holds a Bachelor's Degree in International Relations from the University of East Anglia and a Masters of Science in European Union Politics, with a specialization in the International Relations of the EU from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He is Italian and Swiss.

Juuso Järviniemi is a Policy Officer in the Cybersecurity & Digital Privacy Policy Unit at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content ant Technology (DG CNECT). His main area of focus is the NIS2 Directive. Prior to joining the team in June 2023, Juuso worked at the Directorate-General for Digital Services (DG DIGIT) and at the Directorate-General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR).

Nebojša Jokić spent most of his career of over 30 years in the Ministry of Interior, working on tasks related to ICT and especially information security. He actively participated in the preparations for the establishment and was the first head of the CERT in the Ministry of Interior, which was the first public sector CERT in the Republic of Serbia. As part of his work, he was a representative of the Ministry in the working groups for the drafting of the most important legal acts in the field of information security - the Law on Information Security and its bylaws, the Strategy for the Development of Information Security and the Law on Critical Infrastructure and its bylaws. Nebojša was a member of the Body for Coordination of Information Security Affairs and Deputy Head of this Body. Also, from 2017 to 2021, he was the Serbian CBM 8 PoC and a representative in the IWG established under the OSCE PC Decision 1039.

Since 2022, Nebojša has been the executive director of the Cybersecurity Network Foundation. Thus, he is actively involved in numerous activities of the Foundation: thematic workshops, awareness campaigns, educational programs (such as Cyber Hero – national extracurricular program for university and high-school students), professional trainings, international cooperation, etc.

Ambassador Ernst Noorman has a long career within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as within other ministries. Before taking up his new position as Ambassador at Large for Cyber Affairs one and a half month ago, he has served the past 13 years as ambassador for the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Burkina Faso, Suriname, Afghanistan, and Colombia respectively.Before that he worked amongst others at the Ministry of Finance in the Euroteam, responsible for the introduction of the euro in the Netherlands, and for the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations, where he was responsible for the financial negotiations leading to the constitutional changes of the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.As a junior diplomat he has served in India and Tanzania.Ambassador Noorman obtained his master’s degree in economics at the University of Amsterdam, the city where he was born and presently is living with his wife.

Lucas Sy is a director at Strategy& and advises on strategic transformation projects with cyber security and cloud resilience as core enabling elements. He is well-experienced in management consulting with focus on cyber, cloud and sovereign digital transformation for the public sector. His aim is to “close the gap” between digital transformation initiatives and an according cyber strategy. Integrated in the PwC network he offers the cyber value chain end-to-end: “from cyber strategy to security controlling”. Lucas has worked for more than 8 years in various consulting positions and firms with clients in government, defense, cyber and intelligence organizations. Before his consulting career he has been with the German Armed Forces for 10 years where he served in the field of strategic communication. Lucas Sy holds a master’s degree in business administration and is an alumnus from the London School of Economics and from the University of New South Wales Canberra.

Dr. Knut Dörmann is the Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Delegation to the EU, NATO and the Kingdom of Belgium, since June 2020. Previously he had been ICRC’s Head of the Legal Division and Chief Legal Officer since December 2007, Deputy Head of the Legal Division between June 2004 and November 2007 and Legal Adviser at the Legal Division between December 1998 and May 2004 (in charge of among others the law applicable to the conduct of hostility, cyber warfare, the protection of the environment, international criminal law). He holds a Doctor of Laws (Dr. jur.) from the University of Bochum in Germany (2001). He was Managing Editor of Humanitäres Völkerrecht - Informationsschriften (1991-1997). Prior to joining the ICRC, he was Research Assistant (1988-1993) and Research Associate (1993-1997) at the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict, University of Bochum. Dr. Dörmann has been a member of several groups of experts working on the current challenges of international humanitarian law. He has extensively presented and published on international humanitarian law, international law of peace and international criminal law. He received the 2005 Certificate of Merit of the American Society of International Law for his book Elements of War Crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, published by Cambridge University Press.

Raquel Jorge works as Project Lead at the Global Initiative on the Future of the Internet (GIFI), the EU-funded project established to promote the EU’s technology diplomacy efforts through the Declaration for the Future of the Internet (DFI). Raquel also works as Policy Analyst at Elcano Royal Institute in the nexus between international affairs and technology policy, and is a Visiting Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

As one of the two Deputy Directors of the Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), Audrey Plonk is responsible for the OECD’s portfolio of work on digital policy that includes data governance and data flows, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, security and safety online, and connectivity and infrastructure. She plays a leading role in overseeing and advancing evidence-based policy analysis on the drivers, opportunities and challenges of digital transformation in collaboration with policy communities and stakeholders. She also supports and represents the OECD in related international initiatives.

From 2019 to 2023, Ms Plonk served as Head of STI’s Digital Economy Policy Division. She was responsible for leading two OECD committees and six working parties across digital and consumer policy. She has successfully grown the OECD’s digital portfolio delivering a key Ministerial meeting in 2022, the launch of the Global Forum on Technology, and the Declaration on Government Access to Personal Data Held by Private Sector Entities. Ms Plonk had previously worked on digital security issues in STI in 2007, including malicious software and the protection of critical information infrastructure.

Before returning to STI in 2019, Ms Plonk was Senior Director of Global Security Policy and Senior Director for Public Policy at Intel Corporation. During her more than 10 years at Intel, she led a global team of policy experts focusing on issues such as connectivity, data, artificial intelligence and autonomous driving policy issues. She also specialised in China cyber policy and advised Intel business and product teams on China strategy.

Ms Plonk, an American national, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University (Washington, DC, United States).

Anne-Marie Engtoft Meldgaard is the Tech Ambassador at the Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to her appointment, Anne Marie worked at World Economic Forum in Geneva (2017-2020) where she led the World Economic Forum's work on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Global Public Goods. Her focus was on mobilizing technology companies, governments and civil society to collaboratively tackle the barriers that prevent emerging technology from scaling responsibly to help solve society’s biggest challenges. Before joining the World Economic Forum, Anne Marie co-founded an innovation house for student entrepreneurship; co-founded Democratic Capital; worked as political advisor in the Danish Parliament; and served on the Board of Directors of Copenhagen Business School and The Danish Consumer Council. Anne Marie Engtoft Meldgaard holds a M.Sc. in International Development from The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in International Business & Politics from Copenhagen Business School and is a 2017 Global Leadership Fellow with the World Economic Forum.

Despina Spanou is the Head of the Cabinet of the Vice-President of the European Commission overseeing the European Union’s policies on security, migration and asylum, health, skills, education, culture and sports.

She coordinates the Vice-President’s EU Security Union work, ranging from counter-terrorism, organised crime and cybersecurity to hybrid threats.

Previously, she was Director for Digital Society, Trust and Cybersecurity at the Directorate-General for Communications Network, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT) of the European Commission. In this capacity, Ms Spanou was responsible for the European Union’s cybersecurity policy and law, served as a member of the management board of ENISA, and of the Steering Board of the Computer Emergency Response Team for the EU Institutions (CERT-EU). She is a founding member of the Women4Cyber initiative and advocate for the need for more cybersecurity experts in Europe.

In her 20 years in the European Commission, Ms Spanou has held a number of senior management positions in the areas of Health and Consumer Policy and served as Deputy Head of Cabinet for Commissioners Kyprianou and Vassiliou. Before joining the European Commission, she practised EU competition and trade law with a US law firm.

Despina Spanou is a member of the Athens Bar Association and holds a Ph.D. in European law from the University of Cambridge.

Julia Trehu is a Paris-based program manager and fellow with GMF Tech at the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMFUS). Her focus is on US and European digital and technology policy, including technology-related trade and investment policy, platform regulation, data governance, and artificial intelligence. Trehu holds master’s degrees in international political economy from the London School of Economics and in international security from Sciences Po Paris, and a bachelor’s degree in history from Princeton University.

Nayia is an attorney-at-law and consultant on cyber policy, governance, and capacity building. She is currently advising a range of clients from the European Commission, the European Union Institute for Security Studies, the Estonian Information System Authority, and the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise, while she also serves as a mentor in several international cyber fellowships. Previously, she was the Head of Public Policy Initiatives at the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Cybersecurity where she established and led the Centre’s cyber policy and diplomacy work, and managed all relationships with the cyber leadership of governments, international organisations, academia and civil society. For five years after the adoption of the first EU Cybersecurity Strategy in 2013, she spearheaded the EU’s dialogue and cooperation on cyber capacity building with governments and organisations internationally and was in charge of designing and managing the EU’s global and trans-regional multi-million external assistance programmes on cybersecurity and cybercrime. In this role she worked to mainstream cybersecurity in the EU’s development cooperation, advised on the impact of evolving cybersecurity policies and regulatory developments to international cooperation, and represented the EU in relevant international negotiations. Prior to her focus on cybersecurity, she spent a decade working on human rights and justice/security sector reform in various positions at the EU headquarters and in the field.

Steven Everts joined the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) as Director in September 2023. Prior to joining the EUISS, Dr Everts was at the European External Action Service (EEAS) where he served as Senior Advisor to the HR/VP on Strategy and Communications. Previously, he was a Senior Advisor in the Asia-Pacific Department of the EEAS, acting as the Alternate EU SOM for the ASEM process. He was also a Member of the Cabinet of HR/VP Catherine Ashton with responsibility for Asia and the Pacific, Turkey, and the general issue of how to frame and strengthen the EU's relations with its strategic partners. Between 2005 and 2009, Steven Everts worked for SG/HR Javier Solana, both as his Personal Representative for Energy and Foreign Policy and as a Member of his Cabinet. Before his time at the EU, he was a Senior Research Fellow at the London-based Centre for European Reform and Director of the CER's transatlantic programme, which covered the full range of US-European relations. He holds a DPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford and an MA in Political Science from Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Anne-Marie Buzatu serves as the Executive Director of the ICT4Peace Foundation. In her role, she actively conducts policy research, offers strategic advice to governments and multilateral organizations, and spearheads a variety of capacity-building courses at the intersection of peace, security, and technology.

Before assuming her current position, Anne-Marie held the post of Deputy Head at the Public-Private Partnerships Division of DCAF in Geneva. There, she was instrumental in developing the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers (ICoC), a multistakeholder governance initiative that sets international standards aligned with human rights for the private security industry. This initiative also led to the establishment of the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA), which oversees private security industry compliance. In addition to her expertise in international law and security policy, Anne-Marie has a background in the ICT sector, having worked for several years as a web developer and database administrator.

Carme Artigas is the Co-Chair of the United Nations Artificial Intelligence High-Level Advisory Body since Otober 2023, reporting to the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. In her personal capacity, she is responsible to coordinate the Expert Group of 39 members and produce the reports and recommendations to create an International Governance Body to supervise the development of Artificial Intelligence globally, aligned with UN Permanent Member States.

From January 2020 to December 2023, Carme Artigas was the State Secretary for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence in the Government of Spain. In her recent role, she designed and implemented the Spain's Digital Agenda, in particular the first-ever National Strategy on Artificial Intelligence, the Modernization Plan for e-government, the National Plan for Cybersecurity, the Digitalization Plan for SMEs, the National Plan for Digital Skills, the Data Economy Strategy, among other responsibilities that include running the first-ever Chief Data Office. Main achievements include the launch of one of the first Charters of Digital Rights, the Start-Ups Law, and the launch of the Next Tech Fund with 8 billion euros addressed to invest in deep tech scale-ups, being the biggest fund of this kind in Europe.

Artigas has been the representative of Spain for digital matters in OECD, where she co-led the launch of the Global Forum on Technology, the D9+, G20 and in Telecom Ministerial Councils of the European Commission. She has had a leading role during Spain's Presidency of the Council of the European Union as the leading negotiator and responsible for the AI Act, a pioneer legislation in the world.

Sam van der Staak is the Director for Europe at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). His work focuses on supporting democratic developments in Europe, with a special emphasis on the topics of political parties, money in politics, and ICT in democracy. Van der Staak manages International IDEA's Regional Europe Programme, in which capacity he also leads International IDEA’s representation to the European Union in Brussels. Sam has been involved in International IDEA publications on Cybersecurity in elections, Citizen movements, Money in politics, and Political party dialogue. He makes regular media contributions on the state of democracy in Europe.

Lulëzon Jagxhiu serves as the Government CTO and Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosova on Information Technology. Within this role, his key tasks include coordination of the digital transformation in the Government of Kosova, leading the development of the national digital and cyber security policy and strategy, and overseeing the key digital transformation projects in the government. Lulëzon is a member of the Digital Transformation Commission and the Executive Commission on Health, which are high-level commissions chaired by the Prime Minister. He also serves as the chair of the Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Working Group. Prior to his work in the government, Lulëzon has worked for two decades in various executive and management roles in the ICT industry in Kosova. He has overseen the implementation of many complex digital transformation projects in Kosova and Switzerland. Lulëzon holds an MBA with concentrations in corporate financial analysis and planning, and strategic leadership from the Smeal College of Business of the Pennsylvania State University. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Prishtina. Lulëzon is a Kosova American Education Fund alumnus, and a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma international business honor society.

Tereza has had an international career in academia and the non-profit sector in the Czech Republic, the UAE, the USA, and Switzerland. Before joining the GFCE, she was director of partnerships at DiploFoundation.

She holds MA in International Studies and PhD in European Studies. Tereza has worked on several capacity building activities in the field of digital policy and is an advocate of bringing practical considerations of capacity building into the discussion. She is a former chair of the GFCE Working Group on Cyber Security Culture and Skills, and was a member of the Internet Governance Forum’s Multistakeholder Advisory Group. At the GFCE, she is responsible for regional activities and works on outreach and partnerships.

Irene Grohsmann is Political Affairs Officer at the International Security Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). She focuses on multilateral processes and initiatives in the fields of international cybersecurity, cybercrime and cyber capacity building, including the GC3B process.

Before joining the FDFA, she worked for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in New York, where she focused on conflict prevention and sustaining peace. She studied international law in Switzerland and France and holds a Master of Law from the University of Bern, Switzerland.

Galia Nurko is the Director of Strategy and Development at the Global Cyber Alliance (GCA). In this role, she leads GCA’s strategy with external stakeholders and maps the cybersecurity ecosystem to understand where GCA can contribute the most value. Prior to this role she served as a Senior Cybersecurity Specialist at DAI’s Center for Digital Acceleration where she led the cybersecurity for international development portfolio. This included conducting technical research, establishing strategic partnerships, and mapping the cybersecurity ecosystems of emerging economies to inform programming. Galia worked extensively to support Ukraine, as well as countries in the Western Balkans, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America to strengthen their cybersecurity through bottom-up and top-down approaches. In addition to this, she also designed and applied a research methodology to gather and analyze qualitative data on the interplay of digital access and perceptions of trust and privacy amongst urban youth in Ghana and India. The research findings, expanded upon in a published research paper, illuminated that perceptions of offline risk inform online behavior. Prior to joining DAI, Galia worked as a Graduate Policy Fellow with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and conducted research on emerging technology at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Preceding this, she served as the Director of Media Relations for the Embassy of Israel to the United States. Galia has a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts in History from The Ohio State University. She is fluent in Spanish and English and speaks Hebrew proficiently.

Javier Espinoza is the FT’s EU correspondent covering digital policy from Brussels. Prior to that he was the paper's private equity correspondent in London.

He was the Daily Telegraph’s education editor prior to joining the FT. Before joining the Telegraph in 2015, he worked for the Wall Street Journal in London. He's done stints at Forbes, the Observer and other international media outlets. He studied journalism at City University. He is also a Political Economist having completed a second Master’s degree at King’s College London. He has an executive MBA at IE Business School.

Ms Ingrida Taurina is a Head of Executive Director’s office at the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) since January 2021. Previously she was an administrative officer at ENISA for eight years and the Deputy Director of the Department of Telecommunications and Post in the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Latvia. Ms Taurina specialises in administrative and policy aspects of cybersecurity, and an enterprise compliance with regulatory framework. She is certified expert in data protection area.

Helen Popp currently holds the position of Cyber Policy Officer at the European External Action Service. Previously, she served as the Head of Office at the European Parliament from October 2019 to October 2021. Prior to her time at the European Parliament, Helen served as the Digital Policy and Economic Counsellor at the Estonian Embassy in Washington, D.C. for three years. During her tenure in the United States capital, she worked extensively to foster bilateral cooperation on digital policy issues and economic partnerships between Estonia and the United States. Helen's journey in cyber diplomacy began at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she held the position of Cyber Coordinator from August 2013 to August 2016. In this capacity, she spearheaded efforts to enhance Estonia's cybersecurity posture. Prior to her work in cybersecurity, Helen served as the Deputy Head of Mission at the Estonian Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, from August 2010 to August 2013.

Lucas Kello is Associate Professor of International Relations at Oxford University. He serves as Senior Lecturer/Director of the Centre for Technology and Global Affairs, a major research initiative exploring the impact of modern technology on international relations, government, and society. He is also Co-Director of the interdisciplinary Centre for Doctoral Training in Cyber Security at the Department of Computer Science. His publications include The Virtual Weapon and International Order (Yale University Press), “The Meaning of the Cyber Revolution: Perils to Theory and Statecraft” in International Security, and “Security” in The Oxford Companion to International Relations (Oxford University Press).

Fabio Manca is Senior Labour Market Economist and co-ordinator of the work on Big Data at the OECD in the Directorate for Employment Labour and Social Affairs. His work focuses on the analysis of the drivers and consequences of skill mismatch and shortage in the labour market. He is the main author of several OECD publications looking at the role played by Skills Assessment and Anticipation Systems in tackling skills imbalances. Fabio has also been Head of the Skills Analysis team in the OECD leading the work on Life-Long Learning and worked on a wide range of areas from Science and Technology Policy, to Artificial Intelligence and the impact of automation on labour markets and education and training systems.

Prior to joining the OECD, Fabio worked as an economist in the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission and post-doc researcher at the University of Barcelona. He has published several articles in peer-reviewed international journals on skills, human capital and innovation.

Dries Augustyns is a Technical Architect at the Microsoft Technology Center in Brussels. With a keen focus on modern application strategies and artificial intelligence, Dries brings a wealth of experience to the table. His expertise lies in guiding organizations through complex digital transformation journeys.

Dries’s passion for technology and innovation has led him to explore cutting-edge solutions that empower businesses to thrive in the digital age. As a strategic thinker, he collaborates closely with stakeholders to design and implement robust architectures that drive efficiency, scalability, and agility.

Major General Michel Van Strythem, has a Master of Science in Engineering in Telecommunications from the Royal Military Academy, Brussels. After his studies, he joined the Belgian Forces in Germany where he served in a HAWK missile unit of the NATO Air Defense system. In 1994, he joined the Telecommunications division of the Army Technical Inspection and Quality Assurance Service where he performed i.a. AQAP-110 (ISO 9001) audits in industry. He graduated also as Safety Engineer at the University of Brussels (Vrije Universiteit Brussel - VUB) and as Master in Total Quality Management at the Facultés Polytechniques de Mons. In 1997, he was appointed as project officer for the acquisition of Unmanned Aerial Vehicules (UAV) to support Land Forces in operations. This acquisition process resulted in the introduction of the B-HUNTER UAV in Belgian Armed Forces and in Belgian airspace in particular as from 2001. After a staff course, he joined the 80th UAV Squadron as Operations & Training Officer, where he realized, in very close cooperation with the Belgian Air Force and Belgocontrol the introduction of the B-HUNTER in Belgian airspace. During the same period, he was qualified as a UAV Pilot and Mission Commander. Between 2003 and 2007, he was Section Chief at the Operations & Training Branch of the Defense Staff, for Military Doctrine and later, Management & Transformation. In 2005 he graduated from the Higher Staff course and participated in 2006 as Intelligence & UAV Tasking Officer in the EUFOR RD CONGO military operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2008, he was appointed as the Commanding Officer (CO) of the 80th UAV Squadron, of the Belgian Air Force. This unit was stationed at the Florennes Air Base, where UAV flights were combined on a daily basis with those of F-16 fighter jets. From the end of 2011 to mid-2013, Michel Van Strythem was working at the Particular Office of the Chief of Belgian Defense in the area of Governance, Internal Control and Information Management. Later on up to mid-2021, he was part of the team that prepared for the Chief of Defense his contribution to the new legislation and to the federal government agreement of 2014. He contributed also to the development of the Stategic Plan for Defense 2016 and its implementation. In 2017, he became chief of this team and developed for the Chief of Defense the contribution of Defense to the new legislation 2019-2024 that resulted into the federal government agreement of September 2020. He also initiated up to mid-2021 the actualization process of the Strategic Vision for Defense.

On June 26th 2021, Michel Van Strythem was appointed Brigadier General in order to fulfil the duty of Cyber & Influence Project Officer for Belgian Defense. On September 26th, 2022, he was appointed in the rank of Major General. Since October, 19th 2022 he has been trusted the command of the Belgian Cyber Command as its first Cyber Commander.

Anders Lindell currently serves as the Cyber Counsellor at the Swedish Representation to the European Union. In this position, he took served as the Chair of the Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues (Cyber) during the Swedish EU Presidency in 2023. Prior to his current role, he served as a Desk Officer in the Department of Infrastructure at the Swedish Government Offices, where he focused on policy formulation and implementation. From 2018 to 2021, Anders held the position of Policy Officer/Seconded National Expert at the European Commission. Before his venture into EU affairs, Anders served as a Jurist and Legal Adviser at the Post- och telestyrelsen (PTS), the Swedish NRA for electronic communications. Here, he specialized in legal matters pertaining to privacy, network security, and continuity, contributing significantly to the enhancement of regulatory frameworks in Sweden. Earlier in his career, Anders held legal advisor positions at Telekområdgivarna and The Swedish Consumer Bureau for Telecom, TV & Internet, focusing on consumer law within the telecom industry.