2026 speakers include:
More speakers announced every week
Henna Virkkunen
Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, European Commission
Henna Virkkunen
Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, European Commission
Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy
As Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen is tasked with combatting the increasingly complex security threats facing the EU, whilst at the same time strengthening our external borders and our internal security. This goes hand in hand with her responsibility to ensure our freedoms, justice and democracy are strengthened too.
Digital and frontier technologies
Henna Virkkunen is also responsible for the Digital and Frontier Technologies portfolio. This entails leading Europe’s efforts in shaping a competitive, resilient and inclusive digital future and maintaining or attaining leadership in strategic digital technologies.
To achieve this, she is:
- overseeing our path towards reaching Europe's 2030 Digital Decade targets, which will include reviewing the implementation strategy and digital targets in 2026
- leading work on boosting Artificial Intelligence innovation, working with Member States, industry and civil society to develop an Apply AI Strategy (to boost new industrial uses of AI and improve delivery of public services) and helping to set up a European AI Research Council
- developing an EU Cloud and AI Development Act and a single EU-wide cloud policy to boost high performance computing and quantum. When it comes to quantum, she is also responsible for developing a long-term EU Quantum Chips plan
- working on a new Digital Networks Act to help boost secure high-speed broadband, both fixed and wireless
- ensuring the Commission takes rapid and effective enforcement actions under the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act whenever necessary
- deploying digital public infrastructure, notably by making the most of the EU wallet
- presenting a European Data Union Strategy
- ensuring an approach to the media which recognises its unique place in our democracies and culture
- focusing on making online more secure by leading the work to tackle challenges with e-commerce platforms, helping combat unethical techniques online and contributing to the EU-wide enquiry on the impact of social media and the action plan against cyber bullying
Christel Schaldemose
Member of European Parliament
Christel Schaldemose
Member of European Parliament
Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament
Denmark - Socialdemokratiet
Chair, Delegation for relations with Japan
Member, CPDE Conference of Delegation Chairs and Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection
Substitute, Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and Delegation for Northern cooperation and for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area (EEA) Joint Parliamentary Committee
Axel Voss
Member of European Parliament
Axel Voss
Member of European Parliament
Axel Voss (CDU) - born in 1963 - studied law at the Universities of Trier, Freiburg and Munich. Since 1994, he is working as a lawyer. From 1994 to 2000, he was a civil advisor at the EU Commission's representation in Germany. Afterwards, he worked for nine years as lecturer for European Affairs at the RheinAhrCampus of the College of Koblenz.
He became a Member of the European Parliament in 2009, where he represents the Mittelrhein area, which includes the cities of Cologne, Bonn and Leverkusen and the districts Rhein-Sieg and Rhein-Erft. Axel Voss is EPP-coordinator for the Committee on Legal Affairs as well as deputy member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and from 2020 to 2022 member and rapporteur in the special Committee on Artificial Intelligence. Besides questions of European Law, his main area of expertise is the digitization of our daily life. For the European People’s Party group, he was among others (shadow-)rapporteur for the new Copyright Directive, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Passenger Name Record Directive (PNR) as well as for the updated Eurojust Regulation. At the moment, he is (shadow-)rapporteur for the AI Act and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.
Axel Voss is also CDU chair of the regional section Mittelrhein, regional chair of the Europe Union Bonn/Rhein-Sieg and Vice President of the Mérite Européen Friendship and Assistance Association, Germany.
Tine A. Larsen
President, National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) – Luxembourg
Tine A. Larsen
President, National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) – Luxembourg
Tine A. Larsen was appointed one of four commissioners of Luxembourg’s Data Protection Authority as of 1st November 2014 and assumes the presidency of the collegiate body.
She holds a Master in Law with a specialisation in commercial law from the University Robert Schumann in Strasbourg, France, and an MA in International Peace and Security from King’s College London.
She took the bar exam in Luxembourg in 1999 and practised as a lawyer before joining the Luxembourg Government Administration in 2003. After two years as an attaché with the Luxembourg Army Headquarters, she joined the National Rescue Services Agency. As of 2008, she was the head of its administrative, technical and medical division.
Mrs Larsen represents Luxembourg DPA at the European Data Protection Board. She is also a member of the national “Judicial Oversight Authority” (Autorité de contrôle judiciaire), the national “Information Commission” (Commission d’Accès aux documents), as well as an advisory member of the Luxembourg Human Rights Consultative Commission.
Brando Benifei
MEP, Member and AI Act co-rapporteur, European Parliament
Brando Benifei
MEP, Member and AI Act co-rapporteur, European Parliament
Brando Benifei is an Italian MEP serving his second term and is the Head of Delegation of Partito Democratico in the European parliament. He is Rapporteur for the Artificial Intelligence Act, as a Member of the Committee for the Internal Market and Consumer Protection. He also works on Employment, Legal and Constitutional Affairs. He was also shadow Rapporteur of the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age. In 2016 he was included by Forbes in its 30 under 30 to watch list
Benjamin Hartmann
Cabinet Expert to Commissioner Andrius Kubilius (Defence and Space)
Benjamin Hartmann
Cabinet Expert to Commissioner Andrius Kubilius (Defence and Space)
Benjamin Hartmann is the Cabinet Expert to Commissioner Andrius Kubilius (Defence and Space). Before, he served on the advisory staffs of Commission Presidents Jean-Claude Juncker and Ursula von der Leyen, and advised former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö on legal and institutional matters during the drafting of his report on civil and military preparedness.
During the Brexit talks, he headed all trade and customs files for the Council’s Brexit Task Force. Earlier, he litigated WTO cases on behalf of the EU, contributed to the negotiation of Free Trade Agreements while working for the European Commission’s trade department, and clerked for one year with German Constitutional Court President Professor Andreas Voßkuhle.
Valerie Hoess
Head of European Affairs, Commerzbank
Valerie Hoess
Head of European Affairs, Commerzbank
Valérie has been Head of European Affairs for Commerzbank AG since January 2024. Before that, she held different roles in the Public Affairs team at Deutsche Bank AG, covering a variety of policy areas: from sustainability and retail financial services to innovation and anti-money laundering.
In 2021, she became Head of Digital & Anti-Money Laundering Policy for Deutsche Bank, responsible for the bank’s strategic positioning on issues including AI, cloud, data, and cybersecurity in a global capacity. Over the last years, she has been an active member of various industry associations and public-private fora on national and international level.
Before joining Deutsche Bank in 2016, Valérie was a member of the Internal Audit team at Gen Re working on German and international topics internally as well as with the External Auditors. This gave her the opportunity to develop a controls perspective with EU and U.S. focus. She holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in German and European Business Law, as well as a degree in Business Administration.
Nicolas de Bouville
Privacy Policy Manager, Meta
Nicolas de Bouville
Privacy Policy Manager, Meta
Nicolas de Bouville has a background in international and European law. He studied at the University of Amsterdam, from which he holds a Master's degree in international and European Law and at Nanterre University, from which he holds a Master's degree in technology and information society law.
Nicolas started his career at the French data protection authority, the CNIL, in the international and European affairs department. In this role, he dealt with a variety of topics related to data protection, including international data transfers and the negotiations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
In 2017, Nicolas joined Meta, where he is currently in the Privacy Policy team. He is actively following the developments of the EU AI Act.
Philipp Räther
Group Chief Privacy and AI Trust Officer at Allianz
Philipp Räther
Group Chief Privacy and AI Trust Officer at Allianz
Dr. Philipp Räther is Group Chief Privacy and AI Trust Officer at Allianz. In this role, he advises the Allianz Group, including top management, on all matters of data protection worldwide. Philipp and his team are responsible not only for the development and implementation of the global data protection program, but also for the responsible use of artificial intelligence at Allianz. Previously, Philipp was an Executive Director and the Global Lead for Data Protection & Management of UBS based in its London office for eight years. Before joining UBS, Dr. Raether had worked for seven years with the law firm Freshfields specializing in IP/IT/Data Protection. He has studied law in Germany, Switzerland and the US, and is admitted as a German Rechtsanwalt, as well as a Solicitor in England and Wales. Philipp also served for five years as a member of the global board of the IAPP and is a regular speaker at data protection events. He is currently a member of the Advisory Board of Privacy, InfoSec, Culture Change & Awareness Societal Organisation (PICCASO).
Christiane Wendehorst
Scientific Director, European Law Institute
Christiane Wendehorst
Scientific Director, European Law Institute
Christiane Wendehorst has been Professor of Civil Law at the University of Vienna since 2008. Amongst other functions, she is founding member, Immediate Past President (2017-2021) of the European Law Institute (ELI) and now Scientific Director, Chair of the Academy Council of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), Co-Head of the Department of Innovation and Digitalisation in Law, and member of the Managing Board of the Austrian Jurists' Association (ÖJT), as well as the Bioethics Committee at the Austrian Federal Chancellery. She is an elected member of the Academia Europea (AE), the International Academy for Comparative Law (IACL), and the American Law Institute (ALI). From 2018-2019 she co-chaired the Data Ethics Commission of the German Federal Government. Currently she is European leader of the transatlantic project "Principles for a Data Economy" and EU delegate to the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI). Prior to moving to Vienna, she was a professor in Göttingen (1999-2008) and Greifswald (1998-99) and Managing Director of the Sino-German Institute of Legal Studies (2000-2008).
Clarisse Girot
Head, Data Governance and Privacy (DGP) Unit, OECD
Clarisse Girot
Head, Data Governance and Privacy (DGP) Unit, OECD
Clarisse Girot is Head of the Data Policy, Privacy and Online Safety Division at the OECD. In this role, she leads the Organisation’s work on data policy and governance, Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT), responsible data use in innovation, and platform regulation, with a particular focus on online safety and the protection of children.
Before joining the OECD in 2022, Clarisse held several senior positions in the field of data protection and digital regulation. She was Head of European and International Affairs and Counselor to the President at the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL), where she led strategic files and represented the authority in European and global negotiations.
She in the Asia‑Pacific region as a Senior Fellow at the Asian Business Law Institute (ABLI) in Singapore, contributing to the development of regional frameworks, cross‑border data flow initiatives, and multistakeholder cooperation on emerging digital regulations. Her experience also includes working at Rajah & Tann LLP, one of Southeast Asia’s largest law firms, and founding the Asia‑Pacific office of the Future of Privacy Forum, expanding the think tank’s international footprint and influence across the region.
A well‑known figure in the global privacy community, she brings a unique blend of European and Asia‑Pacific expertise to today’s debates on data protection, digital governance, and responsible innovation.
Maarten Daman
Data Protection Officer, European Central Bank
Maarten Daman
Data Protection Officer, European Central Bank
Maarten Daman is Data Protection Officer (DPO) of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) since September 2020. Before joining the ECB in 2016, he has worked for the International Court of Justice, the principle judicial organ of the United Nations, the European Police Office (EUROPOL) and as genocide researcher in Rwanda. Maarten has lectured at the University of Copenhagen, was a speaker a various conferences and was a reservist Legal Advisor of the Belgian Armed Forces. Maarten holds a LL.M in international public law (cum laude) from the University of Edinburgh and a Master in Law (magna cum laude) from the University of Antwerp and Cape Town
Klaus Müller
President, Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway, Germany
Klaus Müller
President, Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway, Germany
Klaus Müller took office as President of the Bundesnetzagentur in Bonn in March 2022. Prior to that he had been the executive director of the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V.) in Berlin. He held the same position at the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer organisation (Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen e. V.) in Düsseldorf from 2006 to 2014. Klaus Müller was a member of the regional parliament of Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel for one year, where he also served as minister of the environment, nature conservation and agriculture from 2003 to 2005 and minister of the environment, nature and forestry from 2000 to 2003. He was a member of the German Bundestag in Bonn/Berlin for two years from 1998, having begun his professional career at the Schleswig-Holstein investment bank (IB.SH) in Kiel in the same year following a degree in economics.
Klaus Müller is a member of the Heinrich Böll Foundation and a German Marshall Fund fellow.
Cecilia Alvarez Rigaudias
Director of Privacy Policy Engagement, EMEA at Meta
Cecilia Alvarez Rigaudias
Director of Privacy Policy Engagement, EMEA at Meta
Cecilia Aalvarez Rigaudias is the EMEA Privacy Policy Director at Facebook since March 2019. From 2015 to 2019, she served as European Privacy Officer Lead of Pzifer, Vice-Chair of the EFPIA Data Protection Group and Chairwoman of IPPC-Europe. For an interim period, she was also the Legal Lead of the Spanish Pfizer subsidiaries. She formerly worked 18 years in a reputed Spanish law firm, leading the data protection, IT and ecommerce areas of practice as well as the LATAM Data Protection Working Group.
Cecilia was the Chairwoman of APEP (Spanish Privacy Professional Association) until June and is currently in charge of its international affairs. She is also the Spanish member of CEDPO (Confederation of European Data Protection Organisations) and member of the Leadership Council of The Sedona Conference (W-6).
She is a member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation in the section of the Law on Technologies of the Information and the Knowledge as well as Arbitrator of the European Association of Arbitration (ITC Section).
She formed part of the Volunteer Group of Privacy Experts of the OECD (Working Party on information Security and Privacy; WPISP) in charge of the 2013 review of the OECD guidelines governing the protection of privacy and transborder data flows of personal data. She formerly participated in the Group of Experts selected by the Spanish DPA to prepare the Madrid Resolution on International Privacy Standards in 2009.
Cecilia has written numerous publications on data protection and regularly lectures on data protection, IT and ecommerce at different Masters Programs and seminars.