Brahima Sanou, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU
Mr Brahima Sanou has been Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) since January 2011. Mr Sanou was elected, on 24 October 2014, to a second four-year term. He draws on over thirty years of experience in the ICT sector at national and international level. A national of Burkina Faso, Mr Sanou is committed to promoting ICT as a major driving force for sustainable socio-economic development, in particular in least developed countries, remote and rural regions and amongst persons with special needs. His focus is on sharing knowledge and coordinated resources through multi-stakeholder, cross-sector platforms such as the m-Powering Development Initiative, the Smart Sustainable Development Model initiative and the ITU Academy.
Chaesub Lee Director, ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, ITU
Chaesub Lee is the Director of ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, following his election at the 2014 Plenipotentiary Conference in Busan, Republic of Korea. He took office on 1st January 2015. Dr Lee has been involved in the telecommunication and ICT standardization field for 30 years, specializing in areas such as integrated services digital networks (ISDN), global information infrastructure (GII), Internet protocol, next-generation networks (NGN), Internet protocol television (IPTV) and cloud computing. He started his professional life in 1986 as a researcher at Korea Telecom. After 17 years he took up a role at the country's Electronic and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), where he stayed for the next eight years. Most recently he worked at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and as a senior advisor to the Koreans Ministry, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP). Within ITU Dr Lee served as Chairman of the ITU Next-Generation Networks (NGN) Focus Group to address the growing need for global standards for NGN, including service requirements, functional architecture and mobility, security and Quality of Service (QoS). He was also Vice-Chairman of the ITU IPTV Focus Group which works to coordinate and promote the development of IPTV standards. He acted as Vice-Chairman of ITU-T Study Group 13 'Future Networks and Cloud' from 2001 until 2008, becoming Chairman of that group in 2009. Study Group 13 works to develop standardization solutions for NGNs, future networks and cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), and mobile telecommunications, to ensure their smooth international deployment in the coming years. Dr Lee holds a PhD in Multimedia Engineering. He is married with two children.
Maria Rua Aguete, Executive Director, IHS Markit, UK
Maria leads the strategic development and manages the day-to-day operations of a team of analysts tracking the evolution of global service providers and operators. She created the team while at Screen Digest, now part of IHS Markit, following that acquisition in 2010. Their research on service providers leverages long-standing relationships with operators in all 70+ markets covered by IHS Markit, resulting in the most comprehensive source of television and operator market intelligence in the world. She has participated in reports, including the European Cable Yearbook and has led or been a significant contributor to many consulting projects for high profile media and technology companies, including market launch plans for an emerging television group, launching a Latin American DTT platform for a major channel group, evaluating purchase of a satellite pay-TV provider for a private equity group, performing commercial due diligence on a cable TV components business for a major international bank, competitive review and strategic analysis for a major international channel operator, review of investment opportunities in the European cable market for a venture capital group, and market report and due diligence on a localization services (dubbing/subtitling) company for an investment bank.Maria holds a first-class degree in Economics and Business Studies from Vigo University, Spain, and an MBA with distinction from Cardiff Business School, UK. She has received several awards, including an Outstanding Alumni Award for Academic Achievement and the 2015 Research and Analysis Excellence Award.
Istvan Bozsoki, Head, Spectrum Management and Broadcasting Division, BDT, ITU
Mr Istvan Bozsoki joined the ITU in 1997 to work at the Space Department of the Radiocommunication Bureau and he was dealing with coordination and notification of satellite systems. In 2007 he moved to the Telecommunication Development Bureau and is responsible for
spectrum management and broadcasting issues. Since April 2013 he is Head of Spectrum Management and Broadcasting Division.
After obtaining his degree in telecommunication engineering at the Technical University Budapest in 1980 he spent 17 years at the Hungarian Communication Authority and he was dealing with technical and regulatory aspects of the spectrum management. Among others, he was responsible for the development of a computerized spectrum management system and for cross-border frequency
coordination. Later, he was appointed as director of international affairs. He has a master degree in radiocommunications and broadcasting.
Guy Bisson, Research Director, Ampere Analysis, UK
Guy Bisson has more than 20 years’ experience as a leading entertainment market analyst with a specialisation in the global television business. He is a regular speaker and moderator at many of the world’s leading entertainment business conferences, a frequent media commentator and author of numerous reports and research articles on the business and strategy of the television industry. Most recently, Guy has been focusing on the SVoD content market and the impact of new viewing platforms on the traditional channel and platform business. Guy previously led the television research practice at Screen Digest and IHS and is now Research Director of Ampere Analysis, a London-based research company with a global focus on television and new media that is combining, for the first time, big data analytics, consumer research and industry analysis.
João António Cadete de Matos, Chairman, Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM), Portugal
João Cadete de Matos was the Head of the Statistics Department at Banco de Portugal and Visiting Professor at the NOVA Information Management School of Universidade Nova de Lisboa (New University of Lisbon). Chairman of the Secção Permanente de Coordenação Estatística (Permanent Section of Statistics Coordination) of the Conselho Superior de Estatística (Statistical Council). Member of various international committees, including the Statistics Committee of the European System of Central Banks, the European Committee on Monetary, Financial and Balance of Payments Statistics, the IMF Government Finance Statistics Advisory Committee, the Irving Fisher Committee on Central Bank Statistics and the European Statistical Forum. He has served as Chairman of the European Committee of Central Balance Sheet Data Offices (2014 - 2016) and as Chairman of the European Committee on Monetary, Financial and Balance of Payments Statistics (2011 - 2012). He joined Banco de Portugal in 1985 and worked in several departments, becoming the first coordinator of the Balance of Payments Area in the Statistics and Economic Research Department (1993-1998). He was appointed Deputy Head of the Statistics Department in 1998 and Head of this Department in 2004. At an academic level, he has held teaching positions at ISCTE (1988 - 1999), where he coordinated the subjects of Currency and Banking and Monetary Economics, and at Instituto Superior de Economia of Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (Lisbon Technical University) (1982 - 1986), after completing a degree in Economics there in 1982. Cadete de Matos has a Degree in Economics from Instituto Superior de Economia of the Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (Lisbon Technical University).
Simão Ferraz de Campos Neto, Counsellor of ITU-T Study Group 16
Simão joined the secretariat of the ITU Standardization Sector in 2002, and is the Counsellor for ITU-T Study Group 16 (for standardization work on multimedia, including audio and video coding, accessibility/human factors, e-health, ITS, IPTV and digital signage). He has a long experience in standardization, having started with voice compression standards in 1989. Prior to joining ITU, Simão was a Scientist at COMSAT Labs in the USA and a researcher at CPqD, a telecom research center in Brazil. A Senior Member of the IEEE, Simão authored several academic papers and position papers, served in the review committee of several IEEE-sponsored conferences, and organized the first ITU Kaleidoscope Conference.
Marcin Cichy, President, Office of Electronic Communications (UKE), Poland
A graduate of the Warsaw University of Technology, a collaborator at the Centre for Antitrust and Regulatory Studies (CARS) of the University of Warsaw. A member of the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR). From 2005 to 2013, he worked for UKE and was responsible for the analysis and regulation of mobile services. As Director of the Department of Strategy and Market Analysis he was in charge of the ICT analytics and regulatory strategy under the former heads of UKE. From 2013 to 2016, a regulatory expert at UPC Polska, responsible for regulated access to property and telecommunications infrastructure for investment purposes. A collaborator of the Polish Chamber of Electronic Communication (PIKE). In March 2016, he took the position of Director of the Analysis Bureau at the Ministry of Digital Affairs. He coordinated the implementation of the Strategy for Responsible Development in the area of digital affairs. He also cooperated with the Council for Digitization and start-ups, with responsibility in the field of innovation.
In September 2016, appointed as President of the Office of Electronic Communications
Nicolas Fortineau, Director of Product Development, Liberty Global, Netherlands
Nicolas Fortineau works for Liberty Global, world's largest international TV and broadband company. In his capacity of Director of Product Development, Nicolas is shaping the future of in-home connectivity. His product portfolio enhances the connected life of millions of users in 21 markets across Europe and Latin America. Customer-centric at heart, Nicolas is leveraging on innovative technologies to deliver upon the user need of “fluid living”. Nicolas has been working in technology companies for over 10 years; living and working in Europe, Asia, the US and Africa.
Sorin Mihai Grindeanu, President, National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications of Romania (ANCOM), Romania
Sorin Grindeanu has been President of the National Authority for Management and Regulation of Communications in Romania since November 2017. Between January and June 2017, he served as Prime Minister of Romania. From 2012 to 2016, he was an MP and a member of IT&C Committee in the Chamber of Deputies. He served as Communications Minister from December 2014 to November 2015. Mr. Grindeanu also has a vast experience in local administration: he was President of the Timiș County Council from June 2016 to December 2017, and before that he served as a vice mayor of Timișoara City, a member of the Timișoara local council and Head of the Timiș County Youth and Sports Directorate. Sorin Grideanu is a graduate of the Timișoara West University, Mathematics Faculty, with a major in IT, and holds a Master's Degree in Data Bases.
Kemal Huseinovic, Chief, Department of Infrastructure, Enabling Environment and E-Applications, ITU/BDT
Dr Kemal Huseinovic is the Chief of the Infrastructure, Enabling Environment and E-Applications Department at ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT). His Department is promoting the use of ICT-based networks, services and applications, while ensuring the use of appropriate technologies to build or extend their information and communication infrastructure and adapt to the rapidly changing telecommunication/ICT environment. This includes the provision of guidelines and tools for the development of policy and regulatory frameworks, financing policies and strategies, development of telecommunication and IP-based networks, promotion of pervasive broadband deployment, digital broadcasting and spectrum management, and the use of reliable and cost-effective ICT applications while enhancing cyber-security. It covers also the promotion of access and use of telecommunications and ICTs for groups that have been marginalized in their access to current mainstream ICT services, including women, youth, indigenous people, persons with disabilities and people living in remote communities. Before joining ITU in 2014, Mr Huseinovic was Director General of the Communications Regulatory Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He holds two Master Degrees and a PhD on "Competition Enlargement through Establishment and Development of Regulatory Authorities of Communication Market".
Matthias Kurth, Executive Chairman, Cable Europe
Matthias Kurth joined Cable Europe in October 2012 as Executive Chairman. Mr. Kurth sits on Cable Europe's Executive Committee which has oversight of the cable industry's main representational duties in Europe. Matthias lastly held the position of President of the German Federal Network Agency, Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), the authority for telecommunications, postal, energy and railway markets in Germany, including frequency management and digital signature. He played an instrumental role in the liberalization of the German energy market and left behind notable achievements with respect to competition in the telecommunications market. Matthias also served as Chairman of the European Regulators Group (ERG) in 2009 to increase regulatory cooperation at the EU level.
Mr. Kurth worked as a judge and lawyer for 16 years prior to his roles of President of BNetzA and Chairman of the ERG. He served as State Secretary in the Hesse Ministry of Economics, Transport, Technology and European Affairs between 1994 and 1999.Mr. Kurth was member of the Hesse Land Parliament from 1978 to 1994 and also worked as a lawyer in Hesse.
ShiZhu Long, CTO, Shenzhen Skyworth Digital Technology Corp, China
ShiZhu Long is a seasoned telecommunication expert who has been working in telecom industry for the last 30 years. He has comprehensive knowledge of telecommunications systems and equipment. His recent major R&D activities include developing carrier class IPTV system, working with CMCC to develop mobile phone backend service and information aggregation service. His latest research areas are broadband IP based advanced content delivery services and pertinent terminals. SHIZHU received his B.E. and M.E. from HuaZhong University of Science and Technology, Prior to joining UTStarcom Corp. to start his telecommunication R&D career in 1998, ShiZhu used to work in HuaZhong University of Science and Technology as an associate professor. Now he is CTO of Shenzhen Skyworth Digital Technology Corporation, which is a broadband and set-top box terminal research, development and manufacture company.
Cristina Lourenço, Deputy Director International Affairs, ANACOM, Portugal
Cristina Lourenço has been working in the international area for nearly 25 years, representing ANACOM and Portugal in a number of international organizations dealing with communications, in both telecoms and the postal sector. She has been following ITU matters for nearly 20 years. In performing these functions, she chaired a number of meetings and served as head of the Portuguese delegation in numerous others. She was involved in ANACOM’s chairmanship of the ITU Council and of CEPT. She has a degree in electrical engineering, specializing in telecommunications, from Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon.
Peter MacAvock, Chairman of the DVB Project
Peter MacAvock is Head of Delivery, Platforms and Services, EBU Technology and Development and DVB Chairman. At EBU, he heads the team responsible for innovation projects relating to delivery technologies, spectrum management and software platforms. Amongst other things, he is responsible for spectrum matters and high level projects related to Hybrid Radio and Television including HbbTV, DVB, RadioDNS and others. In July 2016, he was elected Chairman of the DVB Project, and retains a role as co-chair of the HbbTV Requirements Group. He is an Irish national living and working in Switzerland.
Satoshi Miyaji, ITU-T Study Group 9 Chairman, KDDI, Japan
Satoshi Miyaji, Chairman, ITU-T SG9, General Manager, Entertainment Business Development Department,KDDI Corporation, Japan
Dr. Miyaji has a long history of participating in the ITU-T SG9 ("television and sound transmission, and integrated broadband cable") almost for twenty (20) years as an expert of broadcasting and telecommunications particularly for cable television networks and services. He served as Vice Chairman of SG9 and Chairman of WP1/9 for eight (8) years in 2009 – 2016. At the WTSA-16 (General Assembly of ITU-T), he has been appointed as Chairman of SG9 for the Study Period 2017 – 2020. In KDDI, he is now responsible for development and deployment of entertainment-related business and services such as video streaming, music distribution, e-books, live concert, and so on.
Marcelo F. Moreno, Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Brazil
Marcelo Moreno is an Associate Professor at the Computer Science Department of Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), where he is also a permanent member of the Computer Science Postgraduate Program. He holds Master and Doctorate degrees in Informatics from Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio). He is the Rapporteur of ITU-T Question 13/16 (Multimedia application platforms and end systems for IPTV), co-chair of ITU Intersector Group on Integrated Broadcast-Broadband (IRG-IBB) and vice-chair of ITU-T Study Group 16 (Multimedia). He is an editor of many ITU-T Recommendations and technical papers. He is also a coordinator of the Middleware Woking Group at the Brazilian Digital TV System Forum (SBTVD). He has a solid history of publications and presentations in both academia and industry events, where he reports and enhances the achievements of his research and development initiatives.
Jaromír Novák, Chairman of the Council of the Czech Telecommunication Office
Mr. Jaromír Novák was born on 12 December 1979 in Vysoké Mýto. He graduated from the Faculty of law, Masaryk University in Brno and the Faculty of Informatics and Management at the University of Hradec Králové. In 2005, he acceded to the Department of Electronic Communications at the Ministry of Informatics and after the abolition of this Ministry he served at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, where he later held the position of Director of the Electronic Communications Department and subsequently Section Director of the Digital Economy.He was responsible for postal services, information society services and agenda of the Electronic Communications Department. He actively participated in the negotiation of “The Telecoms Package” during the Czech Presidency of the EU Council in the 2009 and he was a member of the team for implementation of the new regulatory framework into the Czech national law.In October 2012 he was appointed a Member of the Council of the Czech Telecommunication Office by the Government of the Czech Republic. Effective 15 May 2013 Mr. Jaromír Novák has been appointed by the Government of the Czech Republic as Chairman of the Council. He is interested in literature and modern technology.
Stefano Polidori, Advisor of ITU-T Study Group
Stefano Polidori holds a Master Degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Italy, and a Master of Science in Engineering with specialization in Mobile Communication from Aalborg University, Denmark. After few years in the private sector, working as system analyst in the electronic warfare business, he joined the ITU in 2004. He was responsible for the organization of the ITU Kaleidoscope academic conferences until 2010. In 2011 he moved to the Study Groups Department of the ITU Standardization Sector, Stefano is currently Advisor and responsible for the technical secretariat of ITU-T Study Group 9 "Television and sound transmission and integrated broadband cable networks" and is engaged in video and broadband standardization activities over multimedia and related technologies. He is also responsible for the organization of the Symposium on the Future Networked Car @ the Geneva International Motor Show and is the focal point in ITU-T for Intelligent Transport Systems. In addition, Stefano is the ITU representative to the European Multi Stakeholder Platform on ICT Standardization at the European Commission. In ITU Stefano covered various positions including Advisor for Study Group 11 "Signalling requirements, protocols and test specifications" (2011-2017) and for Internet of Things (2007- 2015) and software-defined networking (2013-2017) related activities. Also, Stefano supported the Workshops and Promotion division (2004-2008). Stefano is a professional event organizer having organized many international workshops, conferences and standards committee meetings on various topics and have delivered technical presentations at international events all over the world.
Jaroslaw Ponder, Head of ITU Office for Europe
Mr Ponder is Head of ITU Office for Europe at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) (Geneva, Switzerland). Within the last years Mr. Ponder has been carrying out numerous projects, activities and initiatives at national, regional and international levels. He has been taking lead role in many international conferences and summits dealing with development of ICT ecosystem, information society, and advancements of digital economy worldwide, while setting strategies and ensuring their timely implementation. Along the professional career Mr. Ponder held official positions in the public sector and was a contributor to the legislative projects having impact on the public policy. Since 2004 Mr. Ponder has been working for ITU. In 2004 he was consultant at the Market, Economics and Finance Unit (MEF/ITU). In year 2005 he moved to Strategy and Policy Unit (SPU/ITU). In year 2007 he moved to Project and Initiatives Department (PRI/ITU). In year 2008 upon his former duties he acted as Europe Officer (EUR/ITU) as well as as Project Manager for European Centres of Excellence Network (CoE-EUR). In August 2008 he was appointed as Coordinator for Europe. After successfull recreation of the coordination for the region in February 2009 he moved to the General Secretariat becoming Strategy and Policy Coordinator and one year later Senior Strategy and Policy Advisor with the objective to lead the ITU activities on World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and its 10 year review, amongst the others successfully establishing WSIS Forum, WSIS Prizes, WSIS Stocktaking, and organizing WSIS+10 High Level Event (2014) that resulted in negotiated texts. In parallel, since October 2011 he has been working as Coordinator for Europe strengthening coordination and implementation mechanism. In July 2017 he became a Head of ITU Office for Europe, directing actions, projects, initiatives and experts groups targeting 43 countries.
Bernd Riefler, Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer, Veed Analytics, Germany
Dr. Bernd Riefler, CMO at veed analytics - a European video services intelligence company will host the session. Bernd has over 10 years’ industry experience. He is the co-founder of the video service intelligence platform veed analytics and is also Associate Partner and Head of Media practice at Mücke Sturm & Company, a management consultancy for digital transformation. He has lead several OTT strategy and implementation projects across Europe.
Tatsuo Shibata, Director, Japan Cable Laboratories
Tatsuo Shibata is currently with Japan Cable Laboratories (JLabs), a non-profit organization comprised of Japanese cable operators and vendors, where he is involved in research, development, and standardization of new technologies. Before joining JLabs, he was with KDDI and KDDI R&D Labs, and developed technologies related to mobile TV and cable television. He was KDDI's focal point for KDDI Corporation during 1996-2004, and while overseeing the company's ITU-T activities, he served as a rapporteur of ITU-T TSAG.
Simon Trudelle, Senior Director Product Marketing, NAGRA - Kudelski Group, Switzerland
Simon drives various market development and product marketing activities for NAGRA, the world's leading independent provider of content protection and multiscreen television solutions designed to connect people to the content they love. His areas of focus include next generation cloud, IP, data and analytics driven TV solutions. In addition, Simon spearheads the Pay-TV Innovation Forum, a global industry research program developed by NAGRA for senior pay-TV executives which explores the innovations and strategies that will drive the next phases of growth for pay-TV service providers. Simon has more than 20 years of international software industry experience in strategic and corporate marketing, product management, consulting and new product launches. He holds an MBA in Marketing from McGill University and is a Canadian professional engineer. A seasoned industry speaker, Simon has spent most of his career in Europe, working for international large organizations as well as startups.
Paulo Valente - Chairman ETSI TC CABLE (EUROPE)
Paulo Valente has worked in the Cable Industry for almost twenty years. He holds a degree in Law and a Master in Law and Management, as well as a post-graduate degree in Financial Analysis and several training certificates in Legal and Economic Regulation, Negotiation, Leverage Buy Outs and Value Based Management.Paulo first started working for Cable Operators, heading the Licensing and Rights of Way Department, with the main responsibilities of obtaining all authorisations, engaging with Public and Private entities to promote technology understanding. In 2005 Paulo became Cabovisão’s Chief Legal Officer with both legal and regulatory responsabilities. In 2010, he joined ZON Multimedia (today NOS Comunicações), Portugal’s largest Cable Operator, where his responsibilities included the regulatory coordination for Portugal Universal Service public tender participation, LTE Spectrum Auction, and other technical projects where regulatory advocacy was required. Most of these projects had a national and European dimension requiring a close collaboration with National Regulatory Authorities and the European Commission.During this period, Paulo was also a Board Member of APRITEL (Portuguese Telecom Operators Trade Association), APMP (Portuguese Multimedia and Digital Society Companies’ Trade Association) and ZON’s representative to ANACOM Consulting Council.Since 2013, Paulo has been the Technology Policy director for Cable Europe with the responsibility of promoting cable technology on the various European institutions.Paulo also combines the chairmanship of the Technical Committee of Cable and the Finance Committee at the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and has also a seat in ETSI’s Board. Representing the cable industry, Paulo has a seat at the European Multi Stakeholder Platform on ICT Standardisation.
Peter
Walop, ITU Expert
Peter Walop has over 20 years of experience in the broadcast and telecom markets and led many service launches and company restructuring processes. As an ITU expert, Peter assisted African, Asian and Caribbean countries with the introduction of digital broadcasting, including Angola, Bhutan, Burundi, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Thailand and Rwanda. Peter is co‐ author of the following ITU reports “Guidelines on the Transition from Analogue to Digital Broadcasting”, “Digital Dividend: Insights for Spectrum Decisions” and “Interactive Multimedia Services in Asia Pacific: Trends and Insights”. For the European Union, he helped the Serbian government in planning the digital television switch‐over. He also assisted key broadcast players in Sweden and Belgium in respectively repositioning television service offers, acquisition of network assets and introduction of mobile television services. Previously, Peter worked for the Dutch broadcast network operator Nozema, as deputy CEO. He also worked for Hewlett Packard in the UK, Coopers & Lybrand Management Consultants and Accenture. He carried out numerous assignments in the broadcast and telecom industries, for both operators and Regulators in the France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Peter holds a Master degrees in Organizational Analysis & Behaviour of the University of Lancaster (UK), Business Informatics of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, as well as a Bachelor degree in Production Engineering, Polytechnic Dordrecht, in the Netherlands.
David Wood, Consultant Technology and Innovation, EBU
David has chaired a number of standardisation groups in the ITU and DVB Project over many years, including the groups that developed television subjective quality evaluation methodology (BT. 500), digital television (BT. 601), HDTV (BT.709) and UHDTV (BT.2020). He currently is a co-chair of the ITU IRG-AVA group and ITU-R SG6 RG33. He has also worked in the DVB Project on UHDTV Phase 1 and 2, stereoscopic television systems and virtual reality systems. David has won a number of international awards; including the SMPTE Progress Medal, the highest award of the SMPTE. In addition, David has taken a great interest in the development and standardisation of systems for improving media accessibility for those with disabilities. He is Consultant, EBU Technology and Innovation. The EBU, the European Broadcasting Union, is the collective organisation of European national broadcasting, which acts on their behalf in technical, legal, and programme matters. Among other major programmes, it is responsible for the Eurovision Song Contest, the world’s most successful entertainment programme.
