This summer is a pivotal moment for Europe’s digital decade strategy. The AI and Data Acts are likely to be concluded soon, setting up the policy framework that could make or break Europe’s competitiveness and resilience for the next ten years. Small changes now will have a huge impact years down the line. Meanwhile, 2023 is the year of skills and the 30th anniversary of the Single Market – the twin transition cannot succeed if we don’t get this right. As the Swedes prepare to pass the Council Presidency baton to the Spanish, this is crunch time for the digital decade. We gather top policymakers and industry experts to discuss these topics and more.
As well as focusing on the key elements of these proposals, the summit will also look forward at our policymaking itself. DIGITALEUROPE will share insights from its regulatory sandbox on the AI act, which has been tested on 10 of Europe’s fastest growing scale-ups. You don’t want to miss it.
Didier Reynders has been EU Commissioner for Justice since 2019. Previously, he was Deputy Prime Minister for Belgium, having been Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Minister of Defence, and Minister of Finance prior to this.
His responsibilities include contributing to legislation towards a coordinated approach on the human and ethical implications of artificial intelligence; leading on consumer empowerment and protection and protecting citizens’ rights; and maximising the potential of new digital technologies to improve the EU’s justice systems, amongst others.
He is a graduate in Law from the University of Liège and a Lecturer/Visiting Professor (Liège, Louvain, Bruxelles).
Didier Reynders
European Commissioner
for Justice
Minister van Huffelen’s CV can be viewed here.
Alexandra van Huffelen
Minister for Digitalisation, Netherlands
Ms. Carme Artigas Brugal Artigas Brugal is a Spanish businesswoman and a recognized expert in Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and technological innovation, with more than 25 years of experience in the technology sector. She was appointed as Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence in January 2020. In 2006, she co-founded and served as the CEO at Synergic Partners, a pioneer company in Europe specialized in Big Data/ AI that was acquired by Telefónica in 2015 where she kept serving as CEO until end of 2018. Since January 2019 she has been providing high level strategic advice and has become a board advisor for several international companies and institutions. Artigas Brugal is a member of the Data Innovation Network of the Data Science Institute at Columbia University NYC and of the Board of Directors at the Spanish Association of Directors (AED). She has been appointed by the University of Stanford (California) as ambassador in Madrid of the Conference “Women in Data Science” (WIDS).
Carme Artigas
Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence, Spain
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).
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl
Director General, DIGITALEUROPE
Vinton G. Cerf has served as vice president and chief Internet evangelist for Google since October 2005. In this role, he is responsible for identifying new enabling technologies to support the development of advanced, Internet-based products and services from Google. He is also an active public face for Google in the Internet world.
Cerf is the former senior vice president of Technology Strategy for MCI. In this role, Cerf was responsible for helping to guide corporate strategy development from the technical perspective. Previously, Cerf served as MCI’s senior vice president of Architecture and Technology, leading a team of architects and engineers to design advanced networking frameworks including Internet-based solutions for delivering a combination of data, information, voice and video services for business and consumer use.
Widely known as one of the “Fathers of the Internet,” Cerf is the co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols and the architecture of the Internet. In December 1997, President Clinton presented the U.S. National Medal of Technology to Cerf and his colleague, Robert E. Kahn, for founding and developing the Internet. Kahn and Cerf were named the recipients of the ACM Alan M. Turing award in 2004 for their work on the Internet protocols. The Turing award is sometimes called the “Nobel Prize of Computer Science.” In November 2005, President George Bush awarded Cerf and Kahn the Presidential Medal of Freedom for their work. The medal is the highest civilian award given by the United States to its citizens. In April 2008, Cerf and Kahn received the prestigious Japan Prize.
Prior to rejoining MCI in 1994, Cerf was vice president of the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI). As vice president of MCI Digital Information Services from 1982-1986, he led the engineering of MCI Mail, the first commercial email service to be connected to the Internet. During his tenure from 1976-1982 with the U.S. Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Cerf played a key role leading the development of Internet and Internet-related packet data and security technologies.
Vint Cerf served as chairman of the board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) from 2000-2007. Cerf also served as founding president of the Internet Society from 1992-1995 and in 1999 served a term as Chairman of the Board. In addition, Cerf is honorary chairman of the IPv6 Forum, dedicated to raising awareness and speeding introduction of the new Internet protocol. Cerf served as a member of the U.S. Presidential Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) from 1997 to 2001 and serves on several national, state and industry committees focused on cyber-security. Cerf sits on the Board of Directors for the Endowment for Excellence in Education, the Americas Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), CosmosID, StopBadWare, the Gorilla Foundation and the Intaba Institute (for the Deaf). Cerf also sits on the Board of Associates of Gallaudet University. He serves on the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Advisory Committee and serves as Chair of the Visitors Committee on Advanced Technology of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. He also serves as 1st Vice President and Treasurer of the National Science & Technology Medals Foundation. Cerf is a Fellow of the IEEE, ACM, and American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the International Engineering Consortium, the Computer History Museum, the Annenberg Center for Communications at USC, the Swedish Royal Academy of Engineering, the American Philosophical Society, the Hasso Platner Institute and is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering. In 2011, he was made Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society.
Cerf is a recipient of numerous awards and commendations in connection with his work on the Internet. These include the Marconi Fellowship, Charles Stark Draper award of the National Academy of Engineering, the Prince of Asturias award for science and technology, the National Medal of Science from Tunisia, the St. Cyril and St. Methodius Order (Grand Cross) of Bulgaria, the Alexander Graham Bell Award presented by the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf, the NEC Computer and Communications Prize, the Silver Medal of the International Telecommunications Union, the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal, the IEEE Koji Kobayashi Award, the ACM Software and Systems Award, the ACM SIGCOMM Award, the Computer and Communications Industries Association Industry Legend Award, installation in the Inventors Hall of Fame, the Yuri Rubinsky Web Award, the Kilby Award , the Rotary Club International Paul P. Harris Medal, the Joseph Priestley Award from Dickinson College, the Yankee Group/Interop/Network World Lifetime Achievement Award, the George R. Stibitz Award, the Werner Wolter Award, the Andrew Saks Engineering Award, the IEEE Third Millennium Medal, the Computerworld/Smithsonian Leadership Award, the J.D. Edwards Leadership Award for Collaboration, World Institute on Disability Annual Award and the Library of Congress Bicentennial Living Legend medal. Cerf was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in May 2006. He was made an Eminent Member of the IEEE Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) honor society in 2009. In 2010 he received a Lifetime Webby Award. In February 2011 he was named a Stanford Engineering School “Hero” for his work on the Internet and received a lifetime achievement award from the Oxford Internet Institute. In December 1994, People magazine identified Cerf as one of that year’s “25 Most Intriguing People.”
In addition to his work on behalf of Google and the Internet, Cerf has served as a technical advisor to production for “Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict” and made a special guest appearance on the program in May 1998. Cerf has appeared on television programs NextWave with Leonard Nimoy and often co-hosted World Business Review with Alexander Haig and Caspar Weinberger. Cerf also holds an appointment as distinguished visiting scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he is working on the design of an interplanetary Internet. Cerf holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Stanford University and Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from UCLA. He also holds honorary Doctorate degrees from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich; Lulea University of Technology, Sweden; University of the Balearic Islands, Palma; Capitol College, Maryland; Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania; George Mason University, Virginia; Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona, Spain; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York; the University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands; Brooklyn Polytechnic; Marymount University; the University of Pisa; the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications; Tschingua University, Beijing, China; the University of Zaragoza, Spain; the Technical University of Cartagena, Spain; the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain; Bethany College, Kansas; the Moscow State University of International Relations and the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology.
His personal interests include fine wine, gourmet cooking and science fiction. Cerf and his wife, Sigrid, were married in 1966 and have two sons, David and Bennett.
Vint Cerf
Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google
Renate Nikolay is the current Deputy Director-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, within the European Commission, having transitioned into the role in December 2022. Prior to this, she was the Head of Cabinet of Vice-President Jourova, covering both the Values and Transparency, and the Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality portfolios between 2019 and 2022. She holds a Master’s degree in Law from Washington College of Law, and completed her Legal State Examinations at the Free University in Berlin.
Renate Nikolay
Deputy Director-General, DG CNECT, European Commission
Damian Boeselager is a Member of the European Parliament. He holds degrees in Philosophy & Economics from University of Bayreuth and a dual-Master in Public Administration from the Hertie School of Governance and Columbia University’s SIPA in New York City. Damian co-founded Volt – a pan-European, progressive and pragmatic Europe-wide movement with the aim of reforming the European continent and solving the big challenges of our time.
In the European Parliament, Damian focuses on creating a real European parliamentary democracy, creating the framework for a competitive and innovative European economy with a focus on data policy and AI, establishing paths for legal migration, setting up a common, fair and fast European asylum system, and ensuring that the EU works for all via budgetary stability measures. He is also part of the EU-Canada and US Delegations. Damian was one of the negotiators for the Greens/EFA in the Budget Committee on the Recovery Reform Facility, the largest part of the EUR 672.5 billion European Corona recovery response.
Damian Boeselager
Member,
European Parliament
Dr. Amaryllis Verhoeven is Head of Unit for Digital Transformation of Industry in the Directorate General (DG) for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) at the European Commission (EU Commission). Before her current position, Dr. Verhoeven held different functions in the EU Commission related to Intellectual Property, Single Market and Energy files. She has also worked as an attorney with Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. Dr. Verhoeven holds a Ph.D. in law and political philosophy from the University of Leuven, where she is also lecturing on a regular basis.
Amaryllis Verhoeven
Head of Unit, Digital Transformation of Industry, DG GROW, European Commission
Brando Benifei is an Italian MEP in his second term and the head of the Partito Democratico delegation to the European Parliament. He is the rapporteur for the Artificial Intelligence Act as a member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection. He also deals with employment, legal and constitutional affairs. He was also shadow rapporteur of the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in the Digital Age. In 2016, he was included by Forbes in its list of 30 under 30 to watch out for.
Brando Benifei
Member,
European Parliament
Andreas Schwab is a member of the European Parliament since 2004. As coordinator of the EPP-group in the influential Internal Market Committee (IMCO) of the European Parliament Mr Schwab has been successfully steering key legislation through parliament like the Consumer Rights Directive (2011), Network and Information Security Directive (2013), the Directive on Antitrust Damages Actions (2014) and the Directive on the European Competition Network (2018). He has been authoring important resolutions of the European Parliament on “Single Market Governance” (2012) and on supporting consumer rights in the digital single market (2014).
Andreas Schwab
Member,
European Parliament
James Waterworth is Director of EU Public Policy at Amazon where he is responsible for the company’s interactions with the European Union institutions.
James has been active in policy for more than twenty years in London and Brussels, initially in the telecoms sector for Cable & Wireless, Telefonica and Nokia before joining Amazon.
James Waterworth
Director, EU Policy,
Amazon
Graduated from ESC Bordeaux / KEDGE Business School – 1996
Bachelor of Arts in International Business (BAIB) – Sheffield University – 1993
More than 25 years of experience in the MedTech industry with positions in Sales, Marketing, P&L Management, at global and EMEA level
At ResMed since 2006, with the position of President, Sleep and Respiratory Care since July 2022 Board member at Snitem since 2016 and Chair of the Snitem since 2022
Board member at MedTech Europe since 2020
Board member of MDIC since December 2022
Lucile Blaise
Global President, Sleep & Respiratory Care, ResMed
Laetitia Cailleteau, Managing Director for Accenture, is leading Accenture’s Data&AI business in Europe and the Conversational AI domain globally – driving innovation, sales and delivery across the globe for multiple industries and clients . She has more than 22 years’ experience in the consulting industry, authored several academic publications and hold patents in the Conversational AI domain. Laetitia founded Accenture’s Innovation Studio in London, a space where her team co-create with clients to realise the potential of artificial intelligence, augmented reality, IoT, using user-centred approaches. She is a reserve member of the Artificial Intelligence High Level Group at the European Commission and also a board member of OASIS Open Foundation in Europe.
Laetitia Cailleteau
AI and Data lead for Europe and Global Lead for conversational AI, Accenture
Chris leads DIGITALEUROPE’s communications team and coordinates contacts with policymakers in Brussels and across Europe.
Before joining DIGITALEUROPE, Chris was communications adviser to Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström and served in her cabinet. He had previously spent two years in the DG Trade media relations team, and one and a half years as an assistant to a member of the European Parliament. His previous experience includes roles in a software start-up in Berlin and at Bristol City Council.
As well as an in-depth knowledge of various policy areas, notably trade, he has extensive experience of working in the EU institutions and coordinating with Brussels-based media.
He holds a joint M.A. in European studies from Bath University, Sciences-Po Paris and the Humboldt University in Berlin, as well as a B.A. in French and Political Science from Bristol University.
Chris Ruff
Director for Political Outreach & Communications, DIGITALEUROPE
Ray Pinto is currently the Senior Director for Digital Transformation Policy for DIGITALEUROPE.
Ray joins DIGITALEUROPE with over 20 years of government affairs and communications experience in Brussels and across the EMEA region. Ray is responsible for the digital transformation strategy providing policy recommendations to government stakeholders on the disruption being caused to European industries including manufacturing, healthcare, transport, and financial technologies.
Ray leads the Digital Transformation Policy Group helping our members to advance important work on areas impacting vertical industries such as data, cybersecurity, data protection, international trade, emerging technologies (AI, blockchain, IoT, etc), and skills development.
Previously, he worked at Microsoft responsible for socio-economic issues and strategies to improve relations with governments.
Ray holds citizenship with both Canada and France and is a graduate of McGill University in Political Science.
Ray Pinto
Senior Director for Digital Transformation Policy, DIGITALEUROPE
Alberto Di Felice leads the Infrastructure, Privacy and Security teams at DIGITALEUROPE. He is responsible for data protection, cybersecurity and telecoms.
Alberto joined DIGITALEUROPE in February 2018, having previously spent seven years at Qualcomm, a world leader in mobile technologies. His work there cut across EU technology policy areas such as privacy, telecoms regulation and the impact of digital on innovation and business models, including verticals such as connected cars and mobile health.
Alberto is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/E). He holds degrees in law and European studies from the universities of Teramo and Trento in Italy as well as a masters in diplomacy from the Institute for International Political Studies in Milan.
Alberto di Felice
Director for Infrastructure, Privacy & Security Policy, DIGITALEUROPE
Aleksander Tsuiman is the Head of Regulatory (Privacy & Product) in Veriff, an Estonian-founded and internationally operating AI-powered identity verification solution company. He is currently spearheading the company’s privacy, regulatory and product counselling functions. As a practicing lawyer and former data protection attorney, Aleksander focuses on technology and regulatory issues for ensuring Veriff’s cross-jurisdictional success. He is also a member of the University of Tartu’s Information Technology Law’s Programme Council as helping to design the future of legal education in Estonia and an avid guest lecturer in various universities.“
Aleksander Tsuiman
Head of Regulatory (Privacy & Product), Veriff
Dr Sabine Grapentin, LL.M. (London), is a German-qualified lawyer and Lead Counsel for Digital & Automation with Siemens Healthineers. Her work includes legal aspects of data-driven business models, cloud products and AI. She was associated partner at a large international law firm in the areas of IT and data protection law before joining Siemens in 2011. Since then she has held various positions with Siemens Healthineers in Erlangen, Germany, and Dubai, UAE. She is a specialist lawyer (“Fachanwältin”) for IT law and also qualified as a solicitor (England and Wales, non-practicing).
Dr Sabine Grapentin
Senior Legal Counsel, Siemens Healthineers
Note: All session timings below are in Central European Summer Time (CEST)
14:00 – 14:15
Opening Remarks
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl is Director-General of DIGITALEUROPE, the leading digital technology industry association representing over 35,000 digital companies in Europe.
She is a member of the Stakeholder Cybersecurity Certification Group of ENISA (the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) and of NATO’s high-level Advisory Group for Emerging and Disruptive Technologies, as well as a board member of the European Commission’s Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition and the European Parliament-led European Internet Forum.
Formerly, Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl was a member of the European Commission’s High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, and of the High-level Strategy Group on Industrial Technologies in charge of identifying Key Enabling Technologies.
She was an Executive Board Member of the Royal Danish Export Council and Chair of the Export Grant Committee under the Danish Foreign Ministry. She also served as Executive Board member in DIGITALEUROPE, and as a member of the association’s high level Digital Advisory Council.
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl has served as Board Member of the Danish Chamber of Commerce and was President of the Board of the Danish ICT association (ITB), where she led the development of policy positions on issues such as business digitalisation, ICT security, disruptive business models, telecoms and education.
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 cloud provider GlobeIT. She has deep insights into the digitalisation of business and society and the data-driven economy, and is regularly invited to deliver keynote speeches on these issues at high-level events across the world.
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl
Director General, DIGITALEUROPE
Hilary Mine is Vice-President & Market Unit Leader Nordics, Baltics & Benelux at Nokia.
Based in the Netherlands, Ms. Mine leads Customer Operations for Nokia in eleven countries across Nordics, Baltics, and Benelux. She and her teams lead sales, business management, delivery and operations across the region.
Prior to her current role, Ms Mine was based in Silicon Valley, and ran Nokia’s Global Network Transformation practice. She has also run Alcatel-Lucent’s global Consulting Services business, and the full regional business of Alcatel-Lucent in North Asia and Australasia/Oceania which included sales and delivery of large transformation and managed services projects, and well as being Managing Director of both Australia and New Zealand.
Before joining Alcatel, Ms Mine was a much-cited and published analyst and consultant working across the IT and telecom industries. She has worked in the communications and IT field for more than 25 years, during which time she has held senior executive roles with Nokia, Alcatel-Lucent, Technicolor and Probe Research, and has lived and worked extensively in Asia Pacific and Europe, as well as North America.
Ms Mine holds an MBA from San Francisco State University and a BA in Economics from Reed College. She has one daughter, and enjoys cooking, yoga, running, hiking, and travel.
Hilary Mine
President, DIGITALEUROPE and Vice President Strategy & Technology CX, Nokia
14:05 – 14:20
Opening Keynote Speech
Stella Kyriakides
European Commissioner for Food and Health Safety
Francesco Buonarroti
Chief Information Officer, Janssen Pharmaceuticals EMEA, Johnson & Johnson
14:20 – 15:05
Panel Discussion – The European Health Data Space: bridging the health data divide
The European Health Data Space (EHDS) could be a make-it-or-break-it opportunity to address fragmentation in the digital healthcare sector. This panel discussion will bring together industry executives, Member States, and patient representatives to discuss key elements of the EHDS and their potential in fixing fragmentation in healthcare. More specifically, the panel will cover the following questions:
Ray Pinto is currently the Digital Transformation Policy Director for DIGITALEUROPE.
Ray joins DIGITALEUROPE with over 20 years of government affairs and communications experience in Brussels and across the EMEA region. Ray is responsible for the digital transformation strategy providing policy recommendations to government stakeholders on the disruption being caused to European industries including manufacturing, healthcare, transport, and financial technologies.
Ray leads the Digital Transformation Policy Group helping our members to advance important work on areas impacting vertical industries such as data, cybersecurity, data protection, international trade, emerging technologies (AI, blockchain, IoT, etc), and skills development.
Previously, he worked at Microsoft responsible for socio-economic issues and strategies to improve relations with governments.
Ray holds citizenship with both Canada and France and is a graduate of McGill University in Political Science.
Moderator: Ray Pinto
Director for Digital Transformation, DIGITALEUROPE
Susana Solís is a Spanish MEP for Ciudadanos, part of the Renew Europe group. She was elected to the European Parliament in the last elections in 2019 and since then has been a member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI). Before coming to Brussels, Solís was elected Deputy in the Parliament of Madrid, being the spokeswoman for Ciudadanos in the Committee on Budgets, Economy, Finance and Employment from May 2015 on. Furthermore, she has over 18 years of professional experience in several multinationals in Germany (Mercedes Benz, Robert Bosch) and in Spain (Rexel, Essilor and Johnson & Johnson). Solís is an Industrial Engineer from the University of Oviedo, Machine Engineer from the Fachhochschule de Osnabrück (Germany) and holds an MBA and a MA in Marketing Management from the Insituto de Empresa (Madrid). She also holds a MAP in Public Administration and Leadership from IESE (Madrid).
Susana Solís Pérez
Member of the European Parliament
Nicolas has 30 years of experience at Accenture, leading Accenture’s Digital Health initiative in Europe, focusing on industry convergence around healthcare. Nicolas is the lead for Digital Health in Europe, engaging across industries, including Health, Insurance, Telecommunication, HealthTech and ecosystems to drive industry convergence value proposition and programs around healthcare. Recently, he has led strategy and operational initiatives related to the sanitary crisis, including core epidemics management, vaccine management and Green Pass certification projects.
Nicolas Monsarrat
Managing Director, Accenture Health, Digital Health Europe Lead
Yann was one of the founders of EURORDIS-Rare Diseases Europe in 1997. He is the organisation’s Chief Executive Officer since 2000.
Yann initiated Rare Diseases International (RDI) in 2009. He is an elected member of the RDI Council and Chair of the RDI Advocacy Committee. He is a founding member of the NGO Committee for Rare Diseases (United Nations, New York) in 2014 and its Vice-Chair. Yann is a Co-Chair of the Global Commission to End the Diagnostic Odyssey for Children with a Rare Disease since its launch in 2018. Yann is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Health Stewards Board from 2020 and of its Global Precision Medicine Council since 2019.
Recent past positions include: member of the Management Board of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) 2017-2019; Chair of the Therapies Scientific Committee of the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC), 2013-2017; Vice-Chairman of the EU Committee of Experts on Rare Diseases (EUCERD), 2011 – 2013; and a member of the Commission Expert Group on Rare Diseases, 2014 – 2017; member of the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) at the EMA, served 9 years, two elected mandate as Vice-Chair for 6 years.
Yann holds an MBA from HEC Paris. He has three daughters, the eldest of whom is living with cystic fibrosis.
Yann Le Cam
CEO, EURORDIS, Rare Disease Europe
Michael is VP of data science for Optum Ireland and UK. He leads a team that designs data architectures, platforms and cutting-edge algorithms to impact the cost, quality and clinical impact of interventions for more than 100 million patients as part of UnitedHealth Group US operations.
A supporter of the UnitedHealth Group and Optum innovation agenda, Michael’s team leverages longitudinal health records, genomics and advanced analytics to better understand chronic disease onset and development.
Michael joined Optum in 2017 and has previously led the Optum Enterprise Analytics data science team. He has 13 years of professional analytics experience and holds a PhD in statistical astrophysics from the University of Cambridge. Michael has authored or co-authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications across statistics, astrophysics, cosmology and data science with more than 12,000 citations and a h-index of 36.
Prior to Optum, Michael worked in Deloitte consulting, quantitative finance and held university research positions in Inference, Astronomy and Physics.
Michael Bridges
Vice President Data Science, UnitedHealth Group
15:10 – 15:30
Coffee break
15:30 – 15:45
Keynote Speech
Ivan Bartoš has been the leader of Česká pirátská strana (the Czech Pirate Party) for many years, and was one of its founders in 2009. He has been a member of the Parliament of the Czech Republic since autumn 2017, and also defended his mandate in 2021. He spent four years in the Chamber as chair of the Committee on Public Administration and Regional Development. Since December 2021, Ivan Bartoš has held the position of Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalization and Minister for Regional Development.
Mr. Bartoš studied theology at the Hussite Theological Faculty, and information and library studies at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University in Prague. Eventually, he decided to focus more on information studies, in which he obtained a Ph.D. degree. His professional career has included several posts at Czech and multinational IT companies, such as Newton IT, Monster Worldwide, and T-Mobile; he also launched the employment portal Air Jobs.
Ivan Bartoš
Deputy Prime Minister for Digitisation and Minister of Regional Development, Czech Republic
15:45 – 16:30
Keynote fireside chat: Europe’s cyber resilience
Timo Harakka was born on 31 December 1962 in Helsinki. In Finland he is known for his active participation in public debate and involvement in society, and as a person with a keen interest in cultural matters. Prior to his political career, Harakka worked for over thirty years as a journalist, author and television producer.
Harakka grew up in a working-class family in Äänekoski, a small town in Central Finland. His parents were deaf, which is why his mother tongue is sign language.
He took his matriculation examination in 1981 and continued his studies at the Universities of Jyväskylä and Helsinki and at the Theatre Academy, from where he graduated with the degree of Master of Arts in Theatre and Drama. He has not yet completed his doctoral dissertation at the Institute for Advanced Social Research (IASR) at the University of Tampere.
During his journalist’s career, Harakka served as a columnist for Helsingin Sanomat, Suomen Kuvalehti and Talouselämä. In 1997–2014, he worked as editorial coordinator for Ylioppilaslehti magazine and as editor-in-chief of Vihreä Lanka magazine. His most well-known TV productions are the shows Musta laatikko (Black Box) and Pressiklubi (Press Club) and the 10 Books series, for which he earned the Golden Venla award in 2011.
Harakka has written five books, the last two of them concerned with international economy. Luoton loppu (The End of Credit) was published in 2009 and Suuri kiristys (The Great Extortion) in 2014.
Harakka was elected to Parliament for the first time in 2015. He represents the Uusimaa electoral district, and as an MP he is known as an expert in economics and taxation. He has been a member of the Finance Committee (most recently its chair), a member of the Grand Committee and a deputy member of the Committee for the Future. In the Government led by Prime Minister Antti Rinne Timo Harakka served as the Minister of Employment, and now in Sanna Marin’s Government he serves as the Minister of Transport and Communications.
The key themes for Minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harakka are fast and reliable connections, both in transport and online. Transport becomes a service and digitalisation is at the heart of everything. The keys to Finland’s success are the 5G and 6G networks, cyber expertise and world-class IT skills. Rail investments are needed to expand the commuting areas and secure a sustainable growth.
Harakka lives in Helsinki with his wife Anu Laitila and their three children. Literature, architecture, other arts and basketball are close to his heart.
Timo Harakka
Minister of Transport and Communications of Finland
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl is Director-General of DIGITALEUROPE, the leading digital technology industry association representing over 35,000 digital companies in Europe.
She is a member of the Stakeholder Cybersecurity Certification Group of ENISA (the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) and of NATO’s high-level Advisory Group for Emerging and Disruptive Technologies, as well as a board member of the European Commission’s Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition and the European Parliament-led European Internet Forum.
Formerly, Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl was a member of the European Commission’s High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, and of the High-level Strategy Group on Industrial Technologies in charge of identifying Key Enabling Technologies.
She was an Executive Board Member of the Royal Danish Export Council and Chair of the Export Grant Committee under the Danish Foreign Ministry. She also served as Executive Board member in DIGITALEUROPE, and as a member of the association’s high level Digital Advisory Council.
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl has served as Board Member of the Danish Chamber of Commerce and was President of the Board of the Danish ICT association (ITB), where she led the development of policy positions on issues such as business digitalisation, ICT security, disruptive business models, telecoms and education.
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 cloud provider GlobeIT. She has deep insights into the digitalisation of business and society and the data-driven economy, and is regularly invited to deliver keynote speeches on these issues at high-level events across the world.
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl
Director General, DIGITALEUROPE
Casper Klynge is Microsoft’s Vice President for European Government Affairs with responsibility for all of Microsoft’s government affairs and public policy work across the continent. He serves on the senior leadership team of Microsoft’s CELA group. Prior to joining Microsoft, Casper most recently served as Denmark’s (& the world’s first) Ambassador to the global tech industry. Previous posts include: Ambassador to Indonesia, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea & ASEAN (2014-2017), Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus (2013-2014), Deputy Head of NATO’s Provincial Reconstruction Team in Helmand Province, Afghanistan & Head of Mission of the EU’s civilian crisis management planning mission in Kosovo (20062008). Casper holds a M.Sc. in Political Science and is a 2009 Marshall Memorial Fellow.Casper Klynge is Microsoft’s Vice President for European Government Affairs with responsibility for all of Microsoft’s government affairs and public policy work across the continent. He serves on the senior leadership team of Microsoft’s CELA group. Prior to joining Microsoft, Casper most recently served as Denmark’s (& the world’s first) Ambassador to the global tech industry. Previous posts include: Ambassador to Indonesia, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea & ASEAN (2014-2017), Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus (2013-2014), Deputy Head of NATO’s Provincial Reconstruction Team in Helmand Province, Afghanistan & Head of Mission of the EU’s civilian crisis management planning mission in Kosovo (20062008). Casper holds a M.Sc. in Political Science and is a 2009 Marshall Memorial Fellow.
Casper Klynge
Vice-President, European Government Affairs, Microsoft
16:45 – 17:30
Panel discussion – Small businesses and the AI Act: Navigating a complex web of rules
SMEs, start-ups and scale-ups have been at the forefront of AI innovation in Europe. The new legislation on AI aims to bring trustworthy and safe AI to Europe, but it may also dramatically increase uncertainty for companies, particularly smaller businesses soon facing a potential regulatory wall. How can we ensure that the AI Act becomes a business opportunity for companies without crushing Europe’s thriving AI SME and start-up scene?
Alberto Di Felice leads the Infrastructure, Privacy and Security teams at DIGITALEUROPE. He is responsible for data protection, cybersecurity and telecoms.
Alberto joined DIGITALEUROPE in February 2018, having previously spent seven years at Qualcomm, a world leader in mobile technologies. His work there cut across EU technology policy areas such as privacy, telecoms regulation and the impact of digital on innovation and business models, including verticals such as connected cars and mobile health.
Alberto is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/E). He holds degrees in law and European studies from the universities of Teramo and Trento in Italy as well as a masters in diplomacy from the Institute for International Political Studies in Milan.
Moderator: Alberto Di Felice
Director for Infrastructure, Privacy & Security Policy, DIGITALEUROPE
Since 16 of January 2020, Kilian Gross is Head of Unit A/2 in DG CNECT responsible for policy development and coordination with regard to Artificial Intelligence. Following the work of the High-Level Expert Group, the Unit has drafted a White Paper on Artificial Intelligence, which presents the options on how to promote the uptake of Artificial Intelligence and how to address at the same time the risk associated with certain uses of this new technology. Based on the results of the Public Consultation on the White Paper, in April 2021 his Unit has proposed a legal framework, aiming to address the risks generated by specific uses of AI as well as an updated Coordinated Plan aiming to align AI policy support measures among EU Member States. The Unit is currently following up the process for the adoption of the legal proposal as well as the implementation of the Coordinated Plan on AI. In addition, Kilian Gross leads the legal team, which has prepared the proposal for a European Chips Act.
Beforehand since November 2015, Kilian Gross was a member of the Cabinet of Commissioner Oettinger. Within the Cabinet, he was mainly responsible for the Commission Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and DG HR.
Kilian Gross
Head of Unit, Development and Coordination of AI
policy, DG CONNECT, European Commission
Axel Voss became a Member of the European Parliament in 2009, representing the electoral district of Middle Rhine, which includes the cities of Cologne, Bonn and Leverkusen and the districts Rhein-Sieg and Rhein-Erft.
Mr Voss is a member of the European People’s Party group. Since 2017, he is the political group’s speaker for the Committee on Legal Affairs as well as member of the Committee on Legal Affairs and substitute member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.
Axel Voss
Member of the European Parliament
Sorelle Carina, Head of Marketing in the US, is the key to bringing EyeVi’s AI platform presence to the United States market with her passion, dynamism and friendliness forged in her every outreach. She studied foreign languages for 8 years and 3 more years of Tourism later on. She speaks 10 languages and has been working as a Live Translator for big firms around the world during their deals negotiations. But, her passion for innovative technologies led her to EyeVi where she is enjoying and helping with the extensive growth that the AI startup has been demonstrating in the past 2 years. Sorelle is also a guru of trends and communication who can convey anyone on any subject in almost all the most important languages of the business industry. Besides, she is very social, family-oriented and a loyal friend. There is something about her, she smiles a lot. Her hobbies include long-distance running, jazz singing and she is a model for various famous decent brands
Sorelle Messine
Head of Marketing, EyeVi Tech
Farzad Saber has M.Sc. in engineering, is certified in information security and has been working with different aspects of digitalization since the 90s. In the early 00s was Farzad responsible for inter-ministerial IT projects as head of division in the ministry of Finance in Denmark and has also worked as consultants for many years. The work with AI and healthcare started in 2010 and resulted in developing automizing treatment of respiratory patients. Farzad is cofounder and chairman of the board in O2matic Ltd and is co-author of two AI patent applications.
Farzad Saber
Chief Product Officer, O2Matic
Dr. Peták has over 25 years of scientific carrier in the field of precision medicine, molecular pharmacology, drug discovery, and predictive molecular pharmaco-diagnostics of anti-cancer targeted therapies. He is a senior lecturer at the Department of Pharmacology, Semmelweis University, and an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). He is also the co-founder of the Oncompass Medicine Corp. He obtained MD and Ph.D. from Semmelweis University, Hungary in 1995 and 2000. In the first years of his carrier, he has published several biochemical research articles about the molecular regulation of apoptosis induced by anti-cancer therapies. He spent five years at the Department of Molecular Pharmacology of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, the USA as a Fulbright Scholar. During this period he conducted research on death receptors as novel biological targets and published articles in Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research, Cell Death, and Differentiation. He was among the first, who used molecular evidence to treat lung cancer patients prospectively in 2003, which was first published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in 2005. Dr. Petak has published 150 articles in the field of signal transduction therapies, molecular diagnostics, and precision oncology. He was an invited author of Nature Reviews Drug Discovery in 2010. Among other societies, he is a member of the Swiss Group of Clinical Cancer Research, ESMO, and ASCO. Dr. Petak also serves as the chairman of the Scientific and Ethical Committee of the Hungarian Biotechnology Association. Dr. Petak received Gabor Denes Award in 2012. Dr. Petak presented his medical software to find effective cancer therapy for each molecular alteration, developed by his team, at the 10th Precision Medicine World Conference in 2016. He was an invited faculty speaker at the annual meeting of the European Society of Medical Oncology in Madrid, 2017. The work he had led has received the best abstract award of the “Breakthrough Innovations in Oncology” conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO), Bangkok, 2019. In 2021, under his leadership, Oncompass Medicine was selected to be the winner of the Future Unicorn Award of DIGITALEUROPE and won the Global Get In the Ring start-up competition in the health category.
István Peták
Founder and CEO, Oncompass Medicine
17:30
Closing remarks, cocktail reception & virtual networking
Note: All session timings below are in Central European Summer Time (CEST)
12:15 – 13:20
Networking lunch
13:20 – 13:40
Welcome and insights from our AI regulatory sandbox
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl is Director-General of DIGITALEUROPE, the leading digital technology industry association representing over 35,000 digital companies in Europe.
She is a member of the Stakeholder Cybersecurity Certification Group of ENISA (the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) and of NATO’s high-level Advisory Group for Emerging and Disruptive Technologies, as well as a board member of the European Commission’s Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition and the European Parliament-led European Internet Forum.
Formerly, Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl was a member of the European Commission’s High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, and of the High-level Strategy Group on Industrial Technologies in charge of identifying Key Enabling Technologies.
She was an Executive Board Member of the Royal Danish Export Council and Chair of the Export Grant Committee under the Danish Foreign Ministry. She also served as Executive Board member in DIGITALEUROPE, and as a member of the association’s high level Digital Advisory Council.
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl has served as Board Member of the Danish Chamber of Commerce and was President of the Board of the Danish ICT association (ITB), where she led the development of policy positions on issues such as business digitalisation, ICT security, disruptive business models, telecoms and education.
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 cloud provider GlobeIT. She has deep insights into the digitalisation of business and society and the data-driven economy, and is regularly invited to deliver keynote speeches on these issues at high-level events across the world.
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl
Director General, DIGITALEUROPE
Chris Ruff, Director for Political Outreach & Communications, DIGITALEUROPE
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, Director General DIGITALEUROPE
13:40 – 14:25
Panel: Artificial Intelligence
Moderated by: Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, Director General DIGITALEUROPE
Alexandra van Huffelen, Minister for Digitalisation, Netherlands
Brando Benifei, Member, European Parliament
Laetitia Cailleteau, AI and Data lead for Europe and Global Lead for conversational AI, Accenture
Aleksander Tsuiman, Head of Regulatory (Privacy & Product), Veriff
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl is Director-General of DIGITALEUROPE, the leading digital technology industry association representing over 35,000 digital companies in Europe.
She is a member of the Stakeholder Cybersecurity Certification Group of ENISA (the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) and of NATO’s high-level Advisory Group for Emerging and Disruptive Technologies, as well as a board member of the European Commission’s Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition and the European Parliament-led European Internet Forum.
Formerly, Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl was a member of the European Commission’s High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, and of the High-level Strategy Group on Industrial Technologies in charge of identifying Key Enabling Technologies.
She was an Executive Board Member of the Royal Danish Export Council and Chair of the Export Grant Committee under the Danish Foreign Ministry. She also served as Executive Board member in DIGITALEUROPE, and as a member of the association’s high level Digital Advisory Council.
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl has served as Board Member of the Danish Chamber of Commerce and was President of the Board of the Danish ICT association (ITB), where she led the development of policy positions on issues such as business digitalisation, ICT security, disruptive business models, telecoms and education.
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 cloud provider GlobeIT. She has deep insights into the digitalisation of business and society and the data-driven economy, and is regularly invited to deliver keynote speeches on these issues at high-level events across the world.
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl
Director General, DIGITALEUROPE
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl is Director-General of DIGITALEUROPE, the leading digital technology industry association representing over 35,000 digital companies in Europe.
She is a member of the Stakeholder Cybersecurity Certification Group of ENISA (the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) and of NATO’s high-level Advisory Group for Emerging and Disruptive Technologies, as well as a board member of the European Commission’s Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition and the European Parliament-led European Internet Forum.
Formerly, Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl was a member of the European Commission’s High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, and of the High-level Strategy Group on Industrial Technologies in charge of identifying Key Enabling Technologies.
She was an Executive Board Member of the Royal Danish Export Council and Chair of the Export Grant Committee under the Danish Foreign Ministry. She also served as Executive Board member in DIGITALEUROPE, and as a member of the association’s high level Digital Advisory Council.
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl has served as Board Member of the Danish Chamber of Commerce and was President of the Board of the Danish ICT association (ITB), where she led the development of policy positions on issues such as business digitalisation, ICT security, disruptive business models, telecoms and education.
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 cloud provider GlobeIT. She has deep insights into the digitalisation of business and society and the data-driven economy, and is regularly invited to deliver keynote speeches on these issues at high-level events across the world.
Moderator: Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl
Director General, DIGITALEUROPE
Brando Benifei is an Italian MEP in his second term and the head of the Partito Democratico delegation to the European Parliament. He is the rapporteur for the Artificial Intelligence Act as a member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection. He also deals with employment, legal and constitutional affairs. He was also shadow rapporteur of the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in the Digital Age. In 2016, he was included by Forbes in its list of 30 under 30 to watch out for.
Brando Benifei
Member, European Parliament
Minister van Huffelen’s CV can be viewed here.
Alexandra van Huffelen
State Secretary for Digitalisation, Netherlands
John Neuffer is President and CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) where he’s responsible for setting and leading the association’s public policy agenda and serving as the primary advocate for maintaining U.S. leadership in semiconductor design, manufacturing, and research.
Prior to joining SIA, John served as Senior Vice President for Global Policy at the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), where he led ITI’s global team to expand market access opportunities for ITI member companies around the world. He directed all ITI’s global government relations in trade, cybersecurity, standards, regulatory, Internet governance, and privacy. John built strong relationships with foreign governments and industry associations in key global capitals, and advanced the high-tech industry’s trade agenda in Washington.
Before joining ITI, John served for over seven years at the Office of United States Trade Representative (USTR) in Washington, DC: two years as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Affairs, preceded by over five years as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Japan.
Prior to his tenure with USTR, John was a Senior Research Fellow and Political Analyst with the Mitsui Kaijyo Research Institute in Tokyo for nine years. As a leading commentator on Japanese politics and policy at the institute, he published a widely read newsletter and wrote regular
John Neuffer
President & CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association
14:25 – 15:05
Fireside chat: 30 years of the Single Market
Andreas Schwab is a member of the European Parliament since 2004. As coordinator of the EPP-group in the influential Internal Market Committee (IMCO) of the European Parliament Mr Schwab has been successfully steering key legislation through parliament like the Consumer Rights Directive (2011), Network and Information Security Directive (2013), the Directive on Antitrust Damages Actions (2014) and the Directive on the European Competition Network (2018). He has been authoring important resolutions of the European Parliament on “Single Market Governance” (2012) and on supporting consumer rights in the digital single market (2014).
Andreas Schwab
Member, European Parliament
Moderated by Ray Pinto, Senior Director for Digital Transformation Policy, DIGITALEUROPE
Andreas Schwab, Member, European Parliament
Amaryllis Verhoeven, Head of Unit, Digital Transformation of Industry, DG GROW, European Commission
James Waterworth, Director, EU Policy, Amazon
15:05 – 15:15
Keynote speech
Vint Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google
15:15 – 15:50
Networking Break
15:50 – 16:30
Keynote Conversation
Carme Artigas, Spanish Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence
16:30 – 16:45
The Expert View – Unlocking the power of data to revolutionize healthcare
Lucile Blaise, Global President, Sleep & Respiratory Care, ResMed
16:45 – 17:25
Panel: Data Act – B2B sharing: a leap into the unknown, what next?
Moderated by: Alberto di Felice, Director for Infrastructure, Privacy and Security Policy, DIGITALEUROPE
Renate Nikolay, Deputy Director General, DG CNECT, European Commission
Damian Boeselager, Member, European Parliament
Dr Sabine Grapentin, Senior Legal Counsel, Siemens Healthineers
17:25 – 17:40
Closing Remarks
Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice
17:40
Cocktail Reception
Jennifer Yokoyama is Deputy General Counsel, IP Group and Chief IP Counsel at Microsoft. Yokoyama was previously Microsoft’s head of IP litigation, but has only been with the software giant since June 2018. Before that, she was principal counsel for patent litigation at Apple. In her four years there, her focus was on the management of complex multijurisdictional patent, competition and FRAND-based disputes, with a special emphasis on Asia, where she was responsible for the APAC litigation docket. Between 2010 and 2013 Yokoyama was assistant general counsel of IP litigation and licensing strategy at Nike. She was also a partner at McDermott Will & Emery for seven years.
Jennifer Yokoyama
Deputy General Counsel, IP Group & Chief IP Counsel, Microsoft
Ms. Stella Kyriakides is the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety since 2019, year in which she was Vice President of the European People’s Party (EPP) at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and a Member of the EPP Ethics Committee. Previously she has been a member of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus, a role which she has combined with her responsibilities as Vice President of the Democratic Rally Party (DISY), Head of the Cyprus Delegation to the PACE, and has held different managerial postions at PACE. Trained as psychologist, Ms. Kyriakedes has been President of the National Committee on Cancer Strategy (2017-2019) and President of the European Breast Cancer Coalition Europa Donna (2004-2006), after working for many years as clinical psychologists at the Ministry of Health, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (1979-2006).
Stella Kyriakides
European Commissioner for Food and Health Safety
Timo Harakka was born on 31 December 1962 in Helsinki. In Finland he is known for his active participation in public debate and involvement in society, and as a person with a keen interest in cultural matters. Prior to his political career, Harakka worked for over thirty years as a journalist, author and television producer.
Harakka grew up in a working-class family in Äänekoski, a small town in Central Finland. His parents were deaf, which is why his mother tongue is sign language.
He took his matriculation examination in 1981 and continued his studies at the Universities of Jyväskylä and Helsinki and at the Theatre Academy, from where he graduated with the degree of Master of Arts in Theatre and Drama. He has not yet completed his doctoral dissertation at the Institute for Advanced Social Research (IASR) at the University of Tampere.
During his journalist’s career, Harakka served as a columnist for Helsingin Sanomat, Suomen Kuvalehti and Talouselämä. In 1997–2014, he worked as editorial coordinator for Ylioppilaslehti magazine and as editor-in-chief of Vihreä Lanka magazine. His most well-known TV productions are the shows Musta laatikko (Black Box) and Pressiklubi (Press Club) and the 10 Books series, for which he earned the Golden Venla award in 2011.
Harakka has written five books, the last two of them concerned with international economy. Luoton loppu (The End of Credit) was published in 2009 and Suuri kiristys (The Great Extortion) in 2014.
Harakka was elected to Parliament for the first time in 2015. He represents the Uusimaa electoral district, and as an MP he is known as an expert in economics and taxation. He has been a member of the Finance Committee (most recently its chair), a member of the Grand Committee and a deputy member of the Committee for the Future. In the Government led by Prime Minister Antti Rinne Timo Harakka served as the Minister of Employment, and now in Sanna Marin’s Government he serves as the Minister of Transport and Communications.
The key themes for Minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harakka are fast and reliable connections, both in transport and online. Transport becomes a service and digitalisation is at the heart of everything. The keys to Finland’s success are the 5G and 6G networks, cyber expertise and world-class IT skills. Rail investments are needed to expand the commuting areas and secure a sustainable growth.
Harakka lives in Helsinki with his wife Anu Laitila and their three children. Literature, architecture, other arts and basketball are close to his heart.
Timo Harakka
Minister of Transport and Communications of Finland
Ivan Bartoš has been the leader of Česká pirátská strana (the Czech Pirate Party) for many years, and was one of its founders in 2009. He has been a member of the Parliament of the Czech Republic since autumn 2017, and also defended his mandate in 2021. He spent four years in the Chamber as chair of the Committee on Public Administration and Regional Development. Since December 2021, Ivan Bartoš has held the position of Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalization and Minister for Regional Development.
Mr. Bartoš studied theology at the Hussite Theological Faculty, and information and library studies at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University in Prague. Eventually, he decided to focus more on information studies, in which he obtained a Ph.D. degree. His professional career has included several posts at Czech and multinational IT companies, such as Newton IT, Monster Worldwide, and T-Mobile; he also launched the employment portal Air Jobs.
Ivan Bartoš
Deputy Prime Minister for Digitisation and Minister of Regional Development, Czech Republic
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