Biographies

Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, Secretary-General, ITU

Dr Hamadoun I. Touré has been Secretary-General of the ITU since January 2007; he was re-elected for a second term in October 2010. He has wide professional experience in both the public and private sectors. A national of Mali, Dr Touré is committed to ITU as an innovative, forward-looking organization adapted to meeting the challenges created by the rapidly-changing ICT environment, and to continuing to spearhead ITU towards implementing the resolutions of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Dr Touré is married with four children and two grandchildren.

Dr Mohammed Ahmed Alamer, Chairman, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), Bahrain and GSR14 Chair

Mohammed A. Al Amer (PhD) is the President of the Central Informatics Organization (CIO) and Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the Kingdom of Bahrain. During his tenure in these positions he has been instrumental in the introduction of many national initiatives such as the Central Population Register (CPR), the Government Data Network (GDN), the National Smart Card project and the Bahrain e-Government Strategy.

​Mr Mario Maniewicz, Chief, Infrastructure, Enabling Environment and E-applications Department, ITU/BDT

Mr Mario Maniewicz is the Chief of the Infrastructure, Enabling Environment and E-Applications Department at ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT). His Department is the focal point to assist developing countries in bridging the digital divide by promoting pervasive broadband deployment, including the development of policy and regulatory frameworks, financing policies and strategies, digital broadcasting and spectrum management. He is also responsible for the Union’s activities in the promotion of digital inclusion for women, youth, indigenous people, persons with disabilities and people living in remote communities. Mr Maniewicz has been with the ITU for the last 25 years, where he has held various positions of responsibility in the ITU headquarters as well as in the Regional Offices in Peru, Chile and Brazil. Originally from Uruguay, Mr Maniewicz is an Electronic Engineer specialized in Telecommunications. Before joining the ITU, he held both technical and managerial positions in the main telecommunication operator in his home country. He also worked as assistant professor at the Faculty of Engineering of Uruguay’s main University.

Mr Lin Mombo, President of the Regulatory Board, Autorité de Régulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes (ARCEP), Gabon and GSR15 Chair

 Mr. Mombo is the President of the Telecommunications Regulation Council of Gabon. He is also the current Executive President of the Assembly of Telecommunications Regulators in Central Africa (ARTAC). Mr. Mombo has served as Chair of the ITU Telecommunication/ICT Regulators Forum (FTRA) in 2012. Mr Mombo has experience as Principal Inspector in Telecommunications and Postal services and trainer at the National School for Posts and Telecommunications of Gabon. Mr. Mombo is graduated from Paris Dauphine University in France.

​Mr Bocar Ba, Chief Executive Officer, Samena Telecommunications Council

Ms Jessica Rosenworcel, Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), United States

Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate for a seat on the Federal Communications Commission on May 7, 2012. Prior to joining the agency, Commissioner Rosenworcel served as Senior Communications Counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. In this position, she was responsible for legislation, hearings, and policy development involving a wide range of communications issues, including spectrum auctions, public safety, broadband deployment and adoption, universal service, video programming, satellite television, local radio, and digital television transition. Before joining the staff of the Committee, she served as Legal Advisor to former FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps, Legal Counsel to the Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau, and as an Attorney-Advisor in the Wireline Competition Bureau. Prior to entering public service, Commissioner Rosenworcel practiced communications law at Drinker Biddle and Reath. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University and New York University School of Law.

​Mr Ron Box, Regulator, Telecommunications and Radiocommunications Regulator (TRR), Vanuatu

Mr Box is the Regulator of TRR Vanuatu. Prior roles include: inaugural CEO of the Telecommunications Authority of Fiji, consultancies for the ITU, APT, Government of Mongolia, a 3 year secondment to the APT, and 19 years with the Australian Communications and Media Authority.He represented and led delegations and been an office bearer in a range of regional & international fora. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia, hold electrical engineering, telecommunications regulation, & business administration & policy tertiary qualifications.

​Mr Romain Abilé Houehou, Réseau des Consommateurs Africains des TIC (RéCATIC)

Mr Romain Abile HOUEHOU is IT network administrator. He is the Coordinator of African ICT Consumer Network (AICN). He is also Vice-Rapporteur for questions: 18/-2/1 on "Enforcing national policies and regulations on consumer protection notably in a converging environment" and 24/1 on "Strategies and policies for the proper disposal or reuse of telecommunications/ICT waste material" in the ITU-D Study Group 1 since 2010. He is Member of the National Credit Council at the Central Bank of the Western States since 2010. He is Advisor for the Regulatory Authority for Post and Telecommunications of Benin since 2007. From 2004 to 2005 he was consultant for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on behalf of Benin, Togo and Mauritania in the matters related to strengthening the capacity of civil society.He leads since 2000 the Regional Information Center for Development (HRTC). In this capacity, he coordinated many projects funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the European Union (EU), World Bank (WB), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the George Soros Foundation in the field of economic and political governance and protection of consumer rights in telecommunications in Africa.

Mr Simon Milner, Policy Director, Facebook

Simon Milner is Facebook’s Policy Director for UK, Middle East and Africa, responsible for representing the company on issues such as education, privacy, safety, security and internet access. He joined the company in January 2012. He is a Board member of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, of the Family Online Safety Institute and is a Non-Executive Director of the Tinder Foundation. He previously held senior roles with BT, most recently as Director for Group Industry Policy, where he was responsible for policy development, articulation and advocacy on communications industry issues. Before BT he worked for the BBC including holding the position of Secretary, responsible for the Corporation's governance and accountability.

​Mr Philipp Metzger, Director General, Office fédéral de la communication (OFCOM), Switzerland

​Mr João Batista de Rezende, President, Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (ANATEL), Brazil

João Batista de Rezende mastered in economics from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, in 1988, and undergraduated in economics at the State University of Londrina. He served as Chief of staff of the Ministry of planning, budget and management, joined the Board of Directors of the Bank of the State of Santa Catarina and the Board of Directors of Petrobras and Transpetro. From 2005 to 2006, he acted as Deputy President of the Brazilian Association of Fixed Telephone Service (Abrafix). He presided over the Development Company of Londrina (PR), where he served as municipal Secretary of finance and Chief Financial Officer of Cohab (Housing Company). He worked as an economist in the Inter-Union Department of statistics and socioeconomic studies (Dieese) and was Chief Financial Officer of São Paulo Foundation for education and technology. In November 1st, 2011, he was appointed to hold the post of President of the Board of Directors of the Agency, with a mandate until November 5, 2013 and had the mandate renewed for a new term of five years.

​Mr Mohamed Al Ghanim, Director General, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), United Arab Emirates

H.E. Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim currently holds the position of Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. He is considered one of the most distinguished telecom and ICT professional in the UAE and the region who was able to accomplish in a brief period several achievements at an academic and professional level. He has successfully chaired WCIT-12 and WTDC-14 held in the UAE. Under the supervision and management of Al Ghanim, the TRA succeeded in implementing the regulatory framework and necessary policies and regulations of the telecom and ICT sector through which several unique honors have been awarded to the UAE in telecom regulation at the regional and global level.

​Dr Vijayalakshmy K. Gupta, Member, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), India

Dr. Vijayalakshmy K Gupta joined Telecom Regulatory Authority of India as Member on 4th March, 2013. Dr. Gupta, an Officer of Indian Defence Accounts Service 1974 batch, retired as Secretary to the Govt of India in the Ministry of Defence (Finance Division). She has served as Member (Finance) in the Telecom Commission, Additional Secretary in Ministry of Women and Child Development and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence (Finance Division). In the Dept of Telecom she headed the Inter Ministerial Committee that finalized the design of the Auction of “3G Spectrum”. Due to the fairness and transparency built in this complex process, the Auction yielded unprecedented revenue exceeding the estimated revenues by more than three times. she also initiated pilot projects under the aegis of the Universal Service Obligation Fund to provide mobile telephone connectivity to women’s self help groups (SHG) and then training the SHGs to run mobile handset and modem repair centers and solar based mobile charging centers in rural areas, with active participation of mobile telephone manufacturers and other stakeholders as part of Corporate Social Responsibility.

​Dr Mustafa Aykut, Coordinator, International Affairs and Policy Coordinator, Türk Telekom

Dr. Aykut is International Affairs and Policy Coordinator at Türk Telekom. He joined Alcatel-Germany in 1989 and took active roles to develop GSM and 3G. He led network configurations in Europe, the USA, Asia and Africa. Dr. Aykut joined Ericsson for 3G markets in the Middle East in 2001. He returned to Turkey in 2003 and headed the Wireless BB and R&D Divisions at Turkcell. He joined Aneltech in 2007 in charge of various projects in Turkey and Azerbaijan prior to joining to TT in 2008. He served as EMC Member at GSMA. He is ETNO Board Member, SAMENA Policy Board Chair and GSMA Executive Board Observer.

​Mr Peter Pitsch, Executive Director, Intel

Peter Pitsch is the Executive Director of Communications Policy and Associate General Counsel for Intel Corporation. He is responsible for the coordination of Intel policy surrounding communications and electronic commerce. Prior to joining Intel, Pitsch was the president of Pitsch Communications from 1989 to 1998 which represented telecommunication’s clients before the FCC and Congress, provided business and regulatory planning, and published and lectured on U.S. regulatory policy. Pitsch was the Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the FCC from 1987 to 1989 where he advised the Chairman on all issues before the FCC including access reforms, price caps, major tariffs, and broadcasting. Before his move to Chief of Staff. Pitsch was Chief of Office of Plans and Policy. His responsibilities included managing the FCC policy office that provided recommendations on major issues such as access reforms, major tariffs, broadcast regulation, auction and spectrum allocations. From 1980 to 1981, Pitsch was a staff member of the Reagan Administration Transition Team which developed recommendations for reforming the Federal Trade Comnission with special focus on antitrust issues. He was a senior attorney at Montgomery Ward, Inc. from 1979 to 1981. He provided legal counsel and legislative lobbying of FTC, consumer protection, energy and international trade matters. Prior to that, he worked for three year as an attorney-advisor to Commissioner Calvin Collier at the Federal Trade Commission.Mr. Pitsch received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Chicago in 1973 and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1976. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the Virginia State Bar, and the Federal Communications Bar Association.

​Mr Jacques Stern, Board Member, Autorité de Régulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes (ARCEP), France

​Mr François Rancy, Director, Radiocommunication Bureau (BR), ITU

Mr. Rancy was elected by the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in 2010 to the post of Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau (BR) of the International Telecommunication Union.As Director, Mr. Rancy is responsible for the management of the Radiocommunication Bureau which organises and co-ordinates the work of the Radiocommunication Sector whose aim is to ensure the rational, equitable, efficient and economical use of the radio-frequency spectrum and the geostationary satellite orbit. Previous to taking up his duties at the ITU in January, 2011, he was Director General of the French Agence nationale des fréquences. Since 1995, Mr. Rancy has served as the head or deputy head for national delegations at many ITU conferences and meetings. Mr. Rancy graduated from Ecole Polytechnique in 1977 and from Ecole nationale supérieure des télécommunications in 1979.

Mr Hideo Fuseda, Director of Mobile Communications, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan

Mr. Hideo Fuseda joined the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (present Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications) in 1990 and has been engaging in administration of Radio and Broadcasting including planning of analogue TV broadcasting station and fostering the development of technologies for efficient use of radio frequencies. He was engaged in International coordination of radio frequencies such as bilateral coordination meetings on satellite communications based on ITU Radio Regulation, multilateral coordination meetings on L-band and WRC-2000 in 2000. He was engaged in the International cooperation in terms of digital TV broadcasting system and also in ICT standardizations policies in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. He has been committed to making policies on land mobile communications and other administrational matters including licensing to mobile operators at the current position since 2013.

Dr Robert Pepper, Vice-President, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Robert Pepper leads Cisco’s Global Technology Policy team working with governments and business leaders across the world in areas such as broadband, IP enabled services, wireless and spectrum policy, big data, security, privacy, Internet governance and ICT development. He joined Cisco in 2005 from the U.S. FCC where he served as Chief of the Office of Plans and Policy and Chief of Policy Development for over 15 years.

Mr Kamal Shehadi, Chief Regulatory Officer, Etisalat

Dr Kamal S. Shehadi is Etisalat Group’s Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer since 2012. Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President for Regulatory Affairs at Etisalat Group. Kamal is currently the chair of the GSMA’s Chief Regulatory Officers’ Group for Arab States. Prior to joining Etisalat Group, from 2007 to 2010, Kamal was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Republic of Lebanon. He chaired the ITU’s Global Industry Leaders’ Forum and the Global Symposium for Regulators in 2009. From 2000 to 2007, Kamal was Managing Director of Connexus Consulting, which he established as the leading consultancy in the Middle East and North Africa in telecom policy and regulation. From 1997 to 1998, Kamal was Vice President of Sovereign Risk Analysis, Middle East, at Thomson BankWatch. From 1994 to 1997, Kamal was Director of Research at the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, an independent policy think-tank, where he published widely on private participation in infrastructure, telecommunications liberalization and regulation, public finance, Euro-Mediterranean economic relations, and many other public policy issues. Kamal has a B.A. with honors (A.B. cum laude) from Harvard University in economics and a PhD from Columbia University in international political economy.  Kamal was awarded a number of academic distinctions for his academic achievements, most notably the Interdisciplinary Fellowship of the Center for Social Sciences at Columbia University and the John M. Olin Dissertation Fellowship at Harvard University (1989-1990 and 1990-1991). 

Mr Gonzalo Ruiz Días, President, Organismo Supervisor de Inversión Privada en Telecomunicaciones (OSIPTEL), Peru

Mr Gonzalo Ruiz Díaz is the President of the Board of the Organismo Supervisor de Inversión Privada en Telecomunicaciones de Perú (OSIPTEL). He has a Degree in Economics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and a Master of Arts in Economics of the Postgraduate Program in Economics from ILADES/Georgetown University, Santiago, Chile. He has occupied the post of Vice-Minister of Communications of the Ministerio de Transportes y Comunicaciones (MTC), Chairman of the Consumer Protection Committee (INDECOPI) and Director of the School of Competition and Intellectual Property; he was also Technical Secretary of the Telecommunications Investment Fund (FITEL); Regulatory Manager of the Organismo Supervisor de la Inversión de la Infraestructura de Transporte de Uso Público (OSITRAN), among others.

Mr Deepak Mathur, Senior Vice President APMA, SES

Deepak Mathur is Senior Vice President, Commercial at SES for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. In his role, Deepak is responsible for the deployment of satellite communications in some of the most dynamic markets of the world, providing SES customers with world-class satellite services and support. With 20 years of experience in the industry, Deepak has a keen understanding of the role of satellite for modern communications, working directly with SES customers to ensure they have the satellite capacity they need to achieve their ambitions and contribute to the dynamic development of ICT infrastructures across many different countries. His perception is: "Capacity needs are driven by young populations looking for digital content and the penetration of high definition videos (e.g. in the Asia Pacific region). Relying on backup capacity also becomes increasingly important to address growing demand in Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America." Deepak first joined SES in 2001 and brings sales, marketing, operations and executive experience to his position. Prior to SES, Deepak was Managing Director at Americom-Asia Pacific, a joint venture between General Electric and Lockheed Martin, where he helped to establish key strategic markets for the company across Asia. He has also held leadership and sales roles covering the Asia-Pacific region with satellite Echostar, NagraVision and Loral. He also serves on the board of directors at YahLive, a partnership between SES and YahSat in the Middle East.

Mr Pablo Pfost, Head Group Regulatory Affairs, Telefonica

Pablo Pfost is Head of Group Regulatory Affairs at the corporate level of Telefónica (Telefónica SA) since March 2013. Current responsibilities include setting the overall Telefónica positioning on global and EU regulatory topics as well as coordinating the views and positioning of the different Operating Businesses in Telefónica footprint. Likewise, he is member of the Executive Board of the European Telecommunications Network Operators Association (ETNO). Having joined Telefónica in 1983, Mr Pfost has held several posts and responsibilities within Telefónica, including international strategy and business development. Furthermore he has been deputy-director of Telefónica’s Representative Office in Brussels for over five years. He holds a degree in Telecommunication Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica of Madrid, a post-graduate degree in Economics and Management of Telecoms from the Carlos III University and a degree in Business Administration from IESE Business School in Madrid.

​Mr Mohammed Bubashait, General Director, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), Bahrain

Mohammed Bubashait is the General Director of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). He was appointed on June 2011 by a royal decree to assume the position; paving the way for a more effective regulatory framework by continuing the evolution of the telecom sector liberalization. Mr Bubashait has been instrumental in managing the day-to-day operations of the TRA including developing consumer protection strategies and overseeing dispute resolutions. His mandate includes developing a more comprehensive and competitive framework matching international best practices, promoting an environment which will encourage investment in the telecoms sector and establishing regulatory policies that will promote competition, innovation and investment in broadband services and facilities. Before assuming his role at the TRA, Mr. Bubashait was the Chief Marketing Officer at Bahrain Telecom Company (BATELCO). He was instrumental in developing the corporate business strategy and plan. He was also a member of Batelco’s Executives Team responsible for setting the strategic plans for its technology investment projects and management. Mr. Bubashait has under his belt more than 25 years of experience in the field of Information and Communication Technology spanning a number of private and government entities in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

​Eng Hesham El Alaily, Executive President, National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA), Egypt

Hesham El Alaily has been holding his current position as Executive President of the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) of Egypt since 17/7/2013. El Alaily held several managerial posts in Egypt, Arab and European countries as he served in France Telecom as Vice President as well as CEO of TeleYemen (managed by France Telecom). Prior to this, he was appointed VP Telecom Sourcing, Supply Chain and Strategic Partnership for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) Region. He led the transformation of the Telecom Sourcing team in the EMEA region and identified synergy and capitalized on the group telecoms spend. He also implemented innovative concepts with carriers based on MPLS interconnect that have improved access P&L. He had also served in Equant Paris for several years as Business Planning Director, EMEA Director Customer Services and as a General Manager Telco & Access Management for EMEA Region (115 countries). Hesham El Alaily obtained his Executive MBA from ESCP-EAP (Paris) in 1998, and his BSc in Telecom Engineering from Cairo University in 1984..

Mr Jim Beveridge, Director, International Technology Policy, Microsoft

Jim Beveridge is responsible for driving Microsoft’s International Technology Policy Initiatives. Prior to joining Microsoft, Jim worked for Pace Micro Technology as General Manager of their Digital TV Division. He is a member of the Geneva based, DVB Steering Board, and Chairman of the Brussels based, Digital Interoperability Forum, defining next generation Digital Media Standards and Regulation. Jim is a regular presenter at ITU-D events. Jim started his technology career in Motorola Semiconductors, working in Scotland and Germany. He held a number of senior positions in their Microprocessor, Microcontroller and Communications Divisions. During his time working as Gartner/ Dataquest’s Semiconductor Divisional Head, Jim provided strategic advice to the management of Semiconductor Corporates and Start Ups across the globe.In Microsoft, Jim has worked for Windows, Entertainment and Devices, Corporate Standards and Law and Corporate Affairs. For TPG, Jim leads on Spectrum, Internet Governance and M2M/IOT. A native of Scotland, Jim studied Electrical Engineering at Glasgow University and for recreation enjoys sailing the, sometimes sunny, Western Isles of Scotland.

​Dr Eugene Juwah, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Nigeria

​Dr Dražen Lučić, President of Council, Croatian Post and Electronic Communications Agency (HAKOM), Croatia

President of Council of Croatian Post and Electronic Communications Agency (HAKOM) and member of board of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) since 2013. Previously served as HAKOM’s Executive Director from 2009. Before joining HAKOM, Mr. Lučić worked at Ericsson in Croatia, Western Europe and Israel for more than 20 years, rising from engineer in R&D department to senior sales director for one of the global telecommunication networks operators. Born in 1963. in Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Holds PhD degree in electrical engineering – telecommunications from the University of Zagreb. One of founder of Postgraduate specialist study in electronic communications market regulation at University of Zagreb. Author and co-author more than 50 scientific and professional papers. Speaks English, German, Spanish and Swedish.

​Mr Sunil Kante Bose, Chairman, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), Bangladesh

Mr. Sunil Kanti Bose, Chairman Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) joined Bangladesh Civil Service in 1979. He obtained his B.Sc. Honors and M.Sc. degree in Zoology from University of Dhaka. He did his second masters in forestry in the University of Peshawar, Pakistan. He also obtained Masters of Social Forestry and Community Development from University of Philippines at LosBanos. Mr. Bose has more then 33 years of Experience in Administration, Management in the Civil Service in different capacities in various organizations. He worked as Chairman Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA). and also as Chairman Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA). Being promoted as a Secretary to the Government of Bangladesh, he first worked in the ministry of Social Welfare and then worked as Secretary, Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. While working as Secretary MoPT for about four years he made mentionable contribution in Regulation, Management and Development of Telecommunication and Postal Services of the country. In his tenure as a Secretary MoPT he was Chairperson of five Companies operating in different areas of Telecommunication sectors.

​Ms Adriana Labardini, Commissioner, Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT), Mexico

Adriana Labardini is a commissioner for the Federal Telecommunications Institute (Ifetel). She was director and founder of Alconsumidor, a civil society organization which pioneered the defense of the rights of the telecommunications user and consumer. Labardini has been advising consultant for the Federal Consumer Attorney, of the extinct Federal Telecommunications Commission and of the National Consulting Committee for Normalization of the Secretary of Economics. As well, she was technical secretary for the plenary on the Federal Telecommunications Commission from August 1999 to July 2003. For 16 years Labardini collaborated as an associate and partner at the Sánchez-Mejorada y Velasco firm in corporate, administrative, and telecommunications law. She has given various conferences and classes and published articles on telecommunications and TIC, Judicial Access and Consumer Protection. She was external professor at the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económica (CIDE), an ex-Fulbright recipient and an Ashoka social entrepreneur. Labardini is a lawyer from the Escuela Libre de Derecho with a Master’s in law from Columbia University in New York.

​Mr Diego Rodríguez, Member of the Board,  Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC), Spain

Rodriguez is Member of the Board of the Spain’s National Authority for Markets and Competition. He is Ph.D. in Economics and Professor of Applied Economics at the University Complutense of Madrid. He has been Visiting Professor in the Department of Economics at Harvard (USA), Cambridge (UK) and Warwick (UK) universities. He has published numerous articles in international journals (Strategic Management Journal, Small Business Economics, Review of International Economics, Industrial and Corporate Change, Review of World Economics,...) and Spanish Journals. He has published over a dozen books and has advised many public and private institutions.

Mr Thari G. Pheko, Chief Executive & Ex-Officio Board Member, Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA), Botswana

Mr Thari G. Pheko is the founding Chief Executive and ex-Officio Member of BOCRA Board having been the Chief Executive of the Botswana Telecommunications Authority for six years prior to its dissolution on 31 March 2013. He managed the transition from BTA to BOCRA. Since assuming the position of Chief Executive of BOCRA, Mr Pheko guided the growth of mobile communications through regulation to the current teledensity in excess of 150 percent, in the process generating corresponding increases in financial performance. Mr. Pheko served in a number of consultancies amongst which was a Consultancy on the Information Society and ICT Development Strategy. The report of the Strategy formed Botswana’s input to the Phase I of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).  He has also consulted for the then Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology during the formulation of the National ICT Policy for Botswana. He holds a B.Sc (Hons) in Business Finance and Economics from University of East Anglia obtained in 1983 and an M.Sc in Management Information Systems obtained in the same university in 1986.

​Gilbert Camacho, Vice President and Board Member, Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones (SUTEL), Costa Rica

Telecommunications Engineer, MBA Financing. Working experience at ICE (Costa Rica Telecommunications Company), Lucent Technologies and Alcatel-Lucent as Commercial Manager and Quality Manager for Central America and Caribbean. Currently a member of SUTEL Board of Directors (Costa Rica Telecommunications Regulator).

​Dr Milan Jankovic, Director, Republic Agency for Electronic Communications (RATEL), Serbia

Dr Jankovic received the B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.DEE degrees from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Department of Telecommunication. After fourteen years in the telecommunication industry, responsible for introducing new technologies and products, he joined the Community of Yugoslav PTT, in 1990, as Project leader in R&D Department responsible for development and implementation  of appropriate access network architectures. He was a member of three EURESCOM Projects "Implementation Frameworks for Integrated Wireless - Optical Access Networks", "UMTS Radio Access" and "Open Service Access for 3G Mobile Networks". From December 2002 to March 2006 he was Director General of the Community of Yugoslav PTT. Since 2001 Assistant Professor in Department of Telecommunication on University of Belgrade, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, published more than 150 papers in Proceedings of International and Domestic Conferences and International (IEEE Communication  Magazine) and Domestic Magazines and as coauthor, the book "Access Networks". He is now with Republic Agency for Electronic Communications (RATEL) of the Republic of Serbia on position  Director.

​Prof. John Nkoma, Director-General, Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA)

John S. Nkoma is the Director General of the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA). As Chief Executive Officer his responsibilities include the regulation of telecommunications, broadcasting, postal services; licensing; management of the radio frequency spectrum, numbering, electronic and other ICTs. Prior to joining TCRA he has held posts as Professor of Physics, Dean of Science, Head of Department at the University of Botswana and Head of Physics at the University of Dar es Salaam. He holds BSc (UDSM), MSc (Essex) and PhD (Essex) degrees and certificates in Telecommunications Regulation, Numbering, Spectrum Management and Strategic Management. He has published several research papers and university level textbooks.