Executive Committee

The current Executive Committee is:

Elizabeth Denham, Information Commissioner of UK (Chair)

Daniel Therrien, Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Marguerite Ouedraogo Bonane, President of CIL, Burkina Faso

Angelene Falk, Information Commissioner at the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

Raymund Enriquez Liboro, Privacy Commissioner and Chairman, Philippines National Privacy Commission

Giovanni Buttarelli, EDPS and Ventislav Karadjov, Commission for Personal Data Protection, Bulgaria (Co-host 2018)

Besnik Dervishi, Information and Data Protection Commissioner, Albania (Host 2019)

Francisco Javier Acuña Llamas, President Commissioner, National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI), Mexico (Host 2020) (Observer to the Committee)

Elizabeth Denham (Chair)

Elizabeth was appointed UK Information Commissioner in July 2016. Prior to this Elizabeth was the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia (2010-2016) and Assistant Privacy Commissioner of Canada from 2007 – 2010.

In 2013 Elizabeth received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her service as an Officer of the Legislature of British Columbia, Canada. In 2011 she was honoured as a UBC distinguished alumni for her pioneering work in archives and leadership in the field of access and privacy. She is a visiting professor to the department of Information Studies at University College London.

Daniel Therrien

Daniel Therrien was appointed Privacy Commissioner of Canada in 2014 after three decades as a lawyer with various federal government departments that regularly deal with human rights issues. He began his federal government career practising correctional law before moving into immigration law, becoming Assistant Deputy Attorney General responsible for the Public Safety, Defence and Immigration portfolio in 2005. In that capacity, Daniel served in a leadership role giving legal advice to government on public safety and national security issues. He was also instrumental in negotiating the privacy principles that now govern information sharing between Canada and the U.S. under the Beyond the Border accord.

Marguerite Ouedraogo Bonane

Marguerite was appointed President of the Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties in September 2013. Previously she was the Director of Legal affairs for the Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority till 2009. Between 2002 and 2009, she served as General Counsel of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and then as Head of Legal Affairs.

She is the vice-president of the AFAPDP and of the African network for the Protection of Personal Data

Angelene Falk

Angelene was appointed Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner in August 2018. She leads the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) in fulfilling the office’s functions across privacy, freedom of information (FOI), and government information management.

Angelene has held senior positions in the OAIC since 2012. These include Deputy Commissioner since 2016 and acting Australian Information Commissioner and acting Privacy Commissioner from March 2018.

Over the past decade, she has worked extensively with Australian Government agencies, across the private sector and internationally, at the forefront of addressing regulatory challenges and opportunities presented by rapidly evolving technology and potential uses of data.

Angelene holds a Bachelor of Laws with Honours and a Bachelor of Arts from Monash University and a Diploma in Intellectual Property Law from Melbourne University.

Angelene was elected to the Executive Committee at the 40th annual conference in October 2018.

Raymund Enriquez Liboro

Raymund was appointed the Philippines first Privacy Commissioner and Chairman at the Philippines National Privacy Commission (NPC) in March 2017. A seasoned ICT convergence, communications and public administration professional, he previously served as the former Assistant Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction and was concurrently the OIC director of the Science and Technology Information Institute, the country’s leading Science and Technology Institute.

Prior to joining government in 2010, he was involved in spearheading award-winning government IT and media platforms, most notable of which was the DOST’s Project Noah (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards), cited by the United Nations Program Office on Governance (UNPOG) as one of the most advanced e-governance tools in disaster prevention.

Raymund is an alumnus of the University of the Philippines – School of Economics.

Raymund was elected to the Executive Committee at the 40th annual conference in October 2018.

Giovanni Buttarelli

Giovanni was appointed European Data Protection Supervisor on 4December 2014. Prior to this he served as the Assistant Supervisor, EDPS from 2009 till 3 December 2014. Before joining the EDPS, he was Secretary General at the Italian Data Protection Authority from 1997-2009. As a Cassation judge in the Italian judiciary, he has long been involved in many initiatives and committees on data protection and related issues at international level.

Giovanni joined the Committee in 2017 as the co-host of the 40th Conference.

Ventislav Karadjov

Ventislav was appointed Chairman of the Bulgaria Commission for Personal Data Protection on 15 April 2014. Prior to this Ventislav was an adviser to the Minister for International Affairs in the field of international activities and anti-corruption, as well as a Chief Expert Associate to the 41st and 42nd National Assembly оn matters related to the control of security services, special surveillance devices, and access to data according to the Electronic Communications Act. He has occupied a number of professional legal positions on international projects concerning anti-corruption and creation of functioning democratic institutions. Previously he was a legal adviser and programme director at Transparency Without Borders Association, a branch of Transparency International. He has worked on projects 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. Ventislav is the vice-chairman of the EU Article 29 Working Party.

Ventislav joined the Committee in 2017 as the co-host of the 40th Conference. The co-hosts get one vote only.

Besnik Dervishi

Besnik is the Information and Data Protection Commissioner for Albania. Prior to this Besnik was elected as a member of the General Assembly of the Republic of Albania and was a Minister at the Ministry of Territory Adjustment and Tourism.

Besnik joined the Committee in 2017 as an observer. Albania will be hosting the 41st Conference in 2019.

Francisco Javier Acuña Llamas

Francisco Javier Acuña Llamas was appointed Commissioner President of the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Personal Data Protection (INAI) in May 2017 for a three year period to 2020.

Prior to becoming a Commissioner at the then Federal Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection (IFAI) in May 2014, he was the Coordinator for Information, Documentation and Transparency at the Electoral Tribunal at the Judiciary Branch of the Federation from 2011 to 2014.

He has a Degree in Law from the Regiomontana University and a Doctorate in Political Science and Sociology from the Complutense University in Madrid. He was a Professor in Information Law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

He has authored several books and publications on matters related to Human Rights and Discrimination; Electoral Transparency; Right to Information; Transparency and Corruption; and Personal Data and Access to Information among others. He is currently a columnist for the Mexican newspapers “El Excélsior” and “el Financiero”.

Mexico joined the Committee in October 2018 as an observer, as the host of the 2020 conference.