AmCham and Ingram Micro cordially invite members and experts to “Multinationals’ Challenges with GDPR, AI and Data-Driven Regulations” conference under the slogan “Data Protection and the Road Ahead.”

The conference will take place at Grand Hotel Millennium Sofia, Grand Ballroom, on April 19, 2024.

The primary objective of the conference is to explore data protection trends in the rapidly growing digital economy and the related challenges faced by multinational companies.

Today, data and technologies like AI drive innovation and fast-track data-driven business operations. The intersection between the European Union General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (“GDPR”) and various legislative initiatives becomes more pronounced as markets undergo digital transformation.

Speakers:

Ventsislav Karadjov,
Chairman,
Bulgarian Commission for Personal Data Protection

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Ventsislav Karadjov has been Chairman of the Bulgarian Commission for Personal Data Protection since April 2014. After two terms as Vice-Chair of the Article 29 Working Party, he was elected unanimously for Deputy Chair of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) in May 2018. Since October 2023, he is a Member of the Executive Committee of the Global Privacy Assembly.

He began his career as a legal adviser and Programme Director at the Transparency International, Bulgarian chapter. He has also held various senior legal and management positions on projects concerning anti-corruption and the creation of functioning democratic institutions for international institutions such as the European Commission, the US Agency for International Development, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the UN Development Programme. Throughout his career Mr Karadjov has worked as advisor to the Minister for Internal Affairs in the field of international public security activities and anti-corruption and Chief Expert Associate to the 41st and 42nd National Assembly on matters related to the control of security services, special surveillance devices and access to data retained by public security bodies.

Simona Veleva, PhD,
Media Law Expert

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Simona Veleva is a lawyer and a PhD in the field of Constitutional law. The focus of her work is the right to freedom of expression, human rights in the digital sphere, copyright, media law and ethics, data protection. Simona is a Member of the Council for electronic media – the Bulgarian media regulator. She is an expert with the Digital Freedom Fund and the Centre for Freedom and Media. Simona teaches Media Law and Ethics, Human Rights in the Digital Sphere and Intellectual Property Law at the American University in Bulgaria. She contributes to the Global Freedom of Expression database at Columbia University and participates in numerous working groups, related to the transposition of the EU legislation in the field of media and media regulation in Bulgaria.

Sanjib Sahoo,
Executive Vice President & Chief Digital Officer, Ingram Micro Inc.

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Sanjib Sahoo is an award-winning Global Technology and Business Executive and the EVP, Global Technology and Chief Digital Officer of Ingram Micro, a worldwide leader in technology distribution and the brand behind today’s established and emerging technology brands.

Sahoo joined Ingram Micro in 2021. He is leading the global technology strategy and digitization of Ingram Micro, which includes the company’s digital twin Ingram Micro Xvantage. He has responsibilities for global technology, digital platforms, and digital operations, as well as the company’s product, data, engineering, and digital marketing groups.

 Ronald Sarian,
Global Chief Privacy Officer,
Ingram Micro Inc.

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Ron Sarian currently wears two hats: Global Chief Privacy Officer for Ingram Micro and Adjunct Professor of Information Privacy at the USC Gould School of Law.

By way of background, after spending over two decades as a “5 out of 5 AV-Preeminent” rated Los Angeles business litigator, Ron was recruited to become General Counsel for eHarmony in 2013. There, he provided strategic legal advice to the C-Suite and assured global compliance in all areas of data privacy, including GDPR. He implemented robust, best practices cybersecurity measures, including Incident Response Plans, as well as Privacy Policies, Terms of Service, Safety Tips, and Disaster Recovery Plans.

Karel Everaet,
Vice President & Associate General Counsel EMEA,
Ingram Micro Inc.

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 Karel V. Everaet, is an Executive Leader for more than 20 years, leading legal teams successfully accomplishing their governance, compliance and business objectives at Ingram Micro, the world’s leader in IT distribution. He completed his Мaster’s in law at the University of Leuven (BEL) in 1988 and Мaster ’s in business law at the “Université Libre de Bruxelles” (BEL) in 1990 and completed his education through courses at the University of California and Stanford. He is a firm defender and believer of the critical role of the in-house counsel as strategic advisor to management. Prior to working as a head lawyer for Ingram Micro he was a lawyer at Van Dievoet & Partners in Brussels. He credits Chip Lacy (Linwood Lacy) former CEO Ingram Micro and the Ingram family for having inspired him to build a career within Ingram Micro for over 30 years. 

Jeremy Rollison,
Head of EU Policy, European Government Affairs,
Microsoft EMEA

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Jeremy is the Head of EU Policy, Senior Director of European Government Affairs, in Microsoft’s Corporate, External & Legal Affairs (CELA) group. He works in Brussels, where he leads Microsoft’s EU policy team that engages across all policies that affect regulatory and legal frameworks for digital, cloud, and increasingly AI development and take-up for Microsoft’s customers in Europe. He has a background and subject matter expertise on EU data policy (data protection, IP/copyright, data sharing, law enforcement access), and he has led and managed public policy campaigns and stakeholder engagements related to AI, privacy, cybersecurity, cloud, intellectual property and copyright. Before joining Microsoft, he was part of the Government Relations team at Nokia in Brussels and was previously Director of the online services association Dot.Europe. He has almost 20 years of experience in Brussels at the company, association, and consultancy levels, engaging with EU stakeholders and regulators on issues related to the development and delivery of digital technologies and services in the Internal Market and increasingly, support for Microsoft customers’ twin transition journeys across different sectors. 

Stanislava Dimova
Global Data Protection Counsel, Ingram Micro Inc.

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Stanislava Dimova is Global Data Protection Counsel at Ingram Micro.

Stanislava is a French qualified legal counsel and IAPP Certified Data Privacy Professional as well as ACC In-house counsel certified professional. She has a broad range of expertise and experience in the legal fields of privacy, data protection, cybersecurity, digital and information technology, marketing, contracts, compliance and ethics.

In her role at Ingram Micro, she advises and deals with a variety of technology and data protection matters on a worldwide level navigating legal challenges across jurisdictions such as among others, data protection facing compliance frameworks and functions, negotiating agreements and advising on complex projects and commercial arrangements where data is a vital and valuable asset. Stanislava has also a previous experience in general and trade compliance matters supporting the Compliance function of Ingram Micro.

And more:

• Representatives of  EU Commission and EDPB

Agenda

Main topics

• The Post Pandemic Digital Transformation
• The technology evolution – AI technologies
• Data Protection challenges in the new digital environment; Interplay with other EU data laws and legal initiatives in a data driven digital economy.
• The EU legal regulatory answer
• Bulgarian Commission for Data Protection and the challenges ahead in the digital environment.

Registration is closed due to full capacity.

For more information, please contact Nadezhda Vakareeva, nadia@amcham.bg