Agenda

Cosmas Zavazava took office as Director of the​ Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) at the International Te​lecommunication Union (ITU) on 1 January 2023.

With more than 30 years in telecommunications, including over 20 years in ITU's Development Sector, Dr Zavazava has promoted and implemented impactful information and communication technology projects around the world.

Prior to his election as BDT Director, he served as ITU's Chief of Partnerships for Digital Development , overseeing development-related projects, strategic partnerships, and resource mobilization between 2019 and 2022, while launching new initiatives that have boosted the engagement of industry, private-sector and academia members in ITU's work.

Previously, as ITU's Chief of Projects and Initiatives, he oversaw development projects focused on gender, youth, and people with special needs, along with capacity building, emergency telecommunications, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and e-waste management. 

Earlier, Dr Zavazava headed the Republic of Zimbabwe's Government Telecommunications Agency and served as a senio​r diplomat. He also taught MBA classes at the UK's Nottingham Trent University. 

Throughout his career, he has focused on closing the digital and skills divide and accelerating digital transformation to achieve socio-economic development for all. 

Dr Zavazava holds a PhD in Multilateral Trade from Business School Lausanne (Switzerland), and a Master of Laws degree in Telecommunications and Information Technology from the University of Strathclyde (UK), as well as a Master's in International Relations from Webster University (US), and an MBA from the University of Zimbabwe. He also holds a Bachelor's in Business Administration and diplomas in Telecommunications and Systems Engineering.

Celeste Drake was appointed Deputy Director-General of the ILO in August 2023. A seasoned policy advisor, she brings extensive experience in labour, trade, and economic policy. Before joining the ILO, she served as Deputy Director of the U.S. National Economic Council and top labour advisor to President Biden, leading efforts on industrial strategy, clean energy, and workforce training. She was also the first Made in America Director at the Office of Management and Budget. Earlier, she worked at the AFL-CIO, the Directors' Guild of America, and served in senior roles on Capitol Hill. She holds degrees in Political Science, Public Policy, and Law from UCLA. 

H.E. Mr Hubert Vargas is the Vice Minister of Telecommunications at Costa Rica’s Ministry of Science, Innovation, Technology, and Telecommunications (MICITT). He has spearheaded key developments in the country’s digital landscape, including Costa Rica’s first public tender for radio and television frequencies and the national 5G spectrum auction—landmark initiatives that are expanding connectivity and accelerating digital transformation. With a background in Economics, Law, and International Business, Hubert brings a multidisciplinary and results-driven approach to public policy and ICT regulation. His previous experience includes serving as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Foreign Trade (COMEX) and leading global procurement initiatives in the private sector, particularly in data center infrastructure and advanced technology sourcing. He is committed to fostering innovation through smart regulation, pragmatic decision making, strategic partnerships, and sustainable development across the tech and telecom ecosystems.

Ambassador Michele Cervone d'Urso took up the post of Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the United Nations and other organisations in November 2024.

Ambassador Cervone d’Urso is a career EU diplomat from the European External Action Service with 30 years experience in diplomacy, international cooperation, peace building and developing partnerships.

Ambassador Cervone d’Urso has served in various capacities, including as EU Ambassador for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar from 2016 to 2020; EU Special Envoy and Ambassador for Somalia and been extensively involved on Somalia's political transition from 2012 to 2016 and Ambassador for Yemen between 2008 to 2012 as the first European Union Ambassador to Yemen, where he was significantly engaged in the political settlement in Yemen, having his role recognised with the award of the “unity” medal. He previously held positions at the European Commission on Africa and supporting countries crisis response and recovery and served at the EU Delegation in Namibia.

Immediately before joining the EU Delegation to the UN and other international organisations, he was Head for International Cooperation and Financing Instruments at the European External Action Service leading the team that has the strategic oversight over EU cooperation with partner countries and the response to global challenges.

Michele Cervone d’Urso holds an MA (Hons) in Economics and international relations from St Andrews University and a post-graduate Master’s degree in the Economics of the European Union from Exeter University in the United Kingdom.

Ekaterine Imedadze has been a commissioner of the Georgian National Communications Commission (ComCom) since March 2021. Prior to taking up her position, she headed the Telecommunications Market Regulation Department at ComCom.

Ekaterine has over 15 years of professional experience in telecommunications with a global perspective. Ekaterine has held several key positions at the international telecommunications group company VEON Ltd., leading the Global Process unit responsible for the group's digital transformation. She also served as the group's internal control and risk management lead for several years. Ms Imedadze had previously served as the Head of Finance and Operations for a number of large private organisations, as well as a business consultant for leading ICT companies.

Ms. Imedadze holds an MBA from the University of Bradford School of Management and completed the Innovation Leadership programme at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Previously, she earned a master's degree in physics as well as a postgraduate diploma in artificial intelligence and fuzzy logic from Tbilisi State University, and she is currently pursuing an LL.M. in competition law and economics at the Brussels School of Competition (BSC).

Ekaterine was appointed as the Board Member of the Digital Regulation Network (DRN) at the International Telecommunication Union from 2025.

Chairperson of the Eastern Partnership Electronic Communications Regulators Network (EaPeReg) in 2023

Anna Sophie Herken is Member of the Board of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). She has extensive experience in the private and public sector and across industries. Previously, she was Business Division Head at Allianz Asset Management GmbH and served as Member of the Board at Allianz Life (US) and CPIC Fund Management LtD (China) as well as President and Chair of the Board of Allianz Foundation for North America.  As part of her international career, Anna was CFO of Hasso Plattner Capital Germany, Managing Director of the Hertie School of Governance GmbH and worked at the World Bank in Washington DC and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. She also worked for the German government in international fora such as a delegate in the context of, inter alia, UN, EC, WTO, OECD. She also serves as a Board / Committee member of various non-profit organizations including the German Business Ethics Network (DNWE, International Rescue Committee (IRC) Germany and Save the Children Germany. She is the founder of the initiative #DieNächste against violence against women. Anna, a German- Swedish national, is a lawyer by training having studied in Germany, France and the US. She also holds an MBA from the University of Cambridge.  She has received several awards including the Focus Female Finance Award 2023, the Strive Award, Top 40 under 40 etc. 

Professor Himanshu Rai is the Director of IIM Indore. Under his leadership IIM Indore got the triple crown accreditation of AMBA, AACSB and EQUIS making it one of the 100 institutions in the world to have the honor. He is spearheading multiple initiatives at IIM Indore to create significant social impact and address challenges faced by the country. Prior to this he has been the Dean of SDA Bocconi India campus, Professor at SDA Bocconi, Milan, and has taught at IIM Lucknow and XLRI. He is an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad and KREC Surathkal. He specializes in Negotiation and his core teaching area includes Negotiation, Leadership, and Justice. As the Convener of CAT 2010, he successfully led the largest format change in world’s testing history exceeding all global standards of testing. Through his initiatives gender and educational background parity was achieved by IIMs. 

As EY Global Corporate Responsibility Leader, Gill leads implementation of the EY Ripples program to help drive sustainable inclusive growth in our communities, as well as overseeing efforts to embed social and environmental value creation more deeply in everything we do. In this role, Gill provides global strategic oversight for initiatives such as AI for Good, which exemplify EY Ripples’ ambition to empower 1 billion lives through responsible innovation and collaboration.

A native South African, Gill moved to Sydney, Australia, where she joined EY in 2010. There, she spent six years with Advisory and Financial Services before joining the global Digital team, helping to develop and package new digital service offerings.

Combined with experience at Unilever and then the Standard Bank Group in South Africa, launching new services for the underbanked, this explains her passion for innovating new models and collaborations that can help accelerate the creation of social and environmental impact at scale.

On 18 September 2020, appointed by the Sejm of the Republic of Poland as President of the Office of Electronic Communications. For many years, he combined didactic work with managerial positions at the IT Department of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology and the Wrocław Centre for Networking and Supercomputing. 
His professional interests focus on technical, business and legal aspects of telecommunications services and ICT networks, Internet development, convergence of telecommunications, IT and media, as well as on information society problems. 

In 1998-2002 he worked at Telefonia Lokalna S.A. in Wrocław, e.g. as Director of the Data Transmission Network Department. In 2004-2005, he was a member of the management board of TK 3 sp. z o. o., in 2005-2008 a member of the management board and Director of the Technology Department at Tele Video Media sp. z o. o. (later transformed into Avista Media sp. z o. o.), in 2008 -2009 Director of the Department of Technology at Telefonia DIALOG SA. 
Associate professor at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology. From 2009 Director of the IT Department of the University, from 2010 Director of the Wrocław Center for Networking and Supercomputing, from 2018 Director of the IT Department, Deputy Chancellor for IT of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology.

In his career, he led, among others, the projects on "Cybersecurity for the economy of the future", "Specialized Polish Scientific Infrastructure for Research Laboratories (SPIN-LAB)" and "Cloud Computing - new technologies in the didactic offer of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology".