Connecting the world and beyond

Biographies

Erik Anderson Independent consultant with company Andersen's L-Service, Denmark Erik Andersen was employed by IBM for 27 years and was in the early 1980th appointed by IBM to be the IBM representative in Danish Standards (OSI). After leaving IBM, continue to be active in international and European standardization. Was during 16 years, the chair for the group responsible for the ITU.T X.500 series. Has for 17 years or more been the project editor for the ITU-T X.500 series, which includes ITU-T X.509. Is also project editor for three new part of the X.500 series, ITU-T X.510, ITU-T X.508 and the work on interconnecting PKI domains using blockchain.
Rafael Araujo Project coordinator, National Agency of Telecommunications, Anatel Rafael Araujo is an Electrical engineer that works at ANATEL's Regulatory Division which is responsible for the development of regulatory policies in regards to telecommunications services in Brazil. Currently, he is one of the coordinators of the Regulatory team, helping to lead key projects at ANATEL, such as the national initiative on the combat of counterfeit and stolen ICT devices, transition to IPv6, Geolocation on emergency calls, lawful interception and other security and public safety related initiatives. Currently, he is Associate Rapporteur of the Question Q15/11 and Vice-chair of WP3/11 at ITU.
Katia González Head of Public Policy, Proximus Global After spending 15 years heading the anti-Fraud and Security operational and product managements activities at BICS, and a strong believer in the value of cooperation, Katia is ever more motivated and committed to and actively working in enabling collaboration in the International communications industry to Restore Trust in communications. Katia has been an active member of the i3Forum Board for the past 4 years and has been chairing the i3Forum Fight Fraud workgroup for more than 10 years. Additionally, Katia has actively participated in the creation of One Consortium in March 2024 and GIRAF in June 2024, each representing the Industry at large and the National Regulatory Authorities respectively, to restore trust in international communications and is part of its Leadership Council. With more than 20 years of experience in the Mobile and Wholesale Telecom industry, Katia has held different positions in the National and International Telecoms Carrier Business providing a complete understanding of the various aspects of the business, its challenges and more specifically of the fraud and security risks for the different industry verticals (M(V)NO, OTT, IoT, Enterprise, Cloud Communications, wholesale, etc.) and the cross-sectoral impact of telecommunications-enabled fraud and scams.
Sarah Halko Director of Regulatory & Industry Affairs, iconectiv Sarah Halko is Director of Regulatory & Industry Affairs at iconectiv, where she leads global engagement with regulators, policymakers, and standards bodies on issues spanning digital identity, numbering, and AI governance. She represents iconectiv in ATIS, CTIA, US Telecom, GSMA, and the UK’s NICC, helping shape trusted communications frameworks across both technical and policy domains. At iconectiv, Sarah co-chairs the ATIS Next Generation Interconnection Interoperability Forum (NGIIF) and SMS/800 Number Administration Committee (SNAC), and serves on the company’s AI Board, helping guide enterprise adoption of responsible and secure AI tools. Her work bridges technology and regulation to promote secure, interoperable, and privacy-preserving communications networks worldwide. Sarah is also pursuing her Juris Doctor at the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, with concentrations in telecommunications, national security, and technology law. She is a member of the Law and Technology Institute and the Journal of Law & Technology.
Assaf Klinger Vaulto Technologies, Israel Assaf Klinger is an accomplished cyber security entrepreneur, in the last 3 years, Assaf is Vaulto’s R&D lead. A native of Israel, he over has 20 years' experience as a full stack developer and researcher with specialty in cyber-telcom vulnerability research. Assaf is an ISNU veteran of 13 years (Maj.) and has led the development of many complex systems, for this Assaf was decorated at 2011 with the Israel Defense award, the highest award a non-combatant in Israel, given for exceptional technological achievements and major contribution to the security if Israel. Assaf has a BSc. in electrical engineering from Tel-Aviv university and an MBA from the Technion, in the past 3 years Assaf and his team at Vaulto created the first cyber-telecom security startup Aiming to protect the end-users from attacks while providing a seamless solution that doesn’t disrupt the user experience. Assaf is a family man, married with twins, in his spare time he enjoys tinkering with electronics and music
Cheng Li Vice-Chair Study Group11, Q2/11 Rapporteur I CAICT, China Mr. Cheng Li is a senior technical expert at the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), with over 20 years of experience in telecommunications technology and policy research. He has been deeply involved in the development of telecommunications and ICT standards within both domestic and international organizations, with expertise spanning SS7, IMS, RCS, network interconnection, domestic cross-network roaming, and public warning systems. Mr. Li has led the technical planning for several landmark projects in China's communications sector. These include IMS interconnection, 5G roaming among domestic operators, and digital signature-based public warning system. His work has significantly contributed to the modernization and interoperability of the nation's communication infrastructure. On the international stage, he currently serves as the Vice Chairman of ITU-T Study Group 11 and the Rapporteur for Q2/11, where he actively promotes global ICT standardization and international cooperation.
Evidence Mazhindu Postal & Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), Zimbabwe Currently, the Deputy Director for the Cyber Incident Response Team and Enforcement with the Postal and Telecommunications Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), with almost ten years of Senior Management Experience. Previously, he was the Head of ICT Operations and Networking for the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, overseeing four functional areas, including the engineering section, thus cumulating over 15 Years of experience covering ICT security, Data Protection, and ICT operations. He Lectures on Compliance for the Data Protection Officer Certification Course.Holds a Bachelor's in Information Management Systems from Solusi University, a postgraduate Diploma in Telecommunications Regulation from Wits University, and a Diploma from Alcatel University. Having passed his Certified Information Systems Auditor exam back in 2007, and further passed the COBIT and ITIL exams, Cyber Security Certification from Afralti and a certified Data Protection Officer in Zimbabwe.
Laurence Nivot Manager, Cullen International Laurence Nivot leads Cullen International’s research on consumer protection in Europe, producing in-depth reports and country comparisons on key regulatory issues. She has over 13 years of experience in the telecommunications sector. Prior to joining Cullen International in 2012, she worked for the European Commission’s news website. She holds a Master’s degree in European Law from Aix-Marseille University in France.
Sanjeev Kumar Sharma Deputy Director General, Ministry of Communications, India With almost three decades of senior-level service in the Government of India, Sanjeev Kumar Sharma blends engineering expertise, advanced management training from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and Syracuse University, and legal acumen to deliver impactful results across the telecommunications landscape.His experience ranges widely from telecom regulation, telecom operations, development of the Cellular Mobile networks from scratch, organization restructuring, licensing and telecom policy formulation. In his current role as Deputy Director General at the Ministry of Communications (India), he leads initiatives on Artificial Intelligence and is in-charge of Digital Intelligence Unit. His work focuses on enhancing cyber resilience and driving digital governance reforms.
Deepak Sharma Advisor (Quality of Service) I Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Mr. Deepak Sharma is presently serving as Advisor (Quality of Service) at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), where he looks after the regulatory framework on commercial communications. A member of the Indian Telecom Services, he has over 29 years of experience in the telecom sector, having served with public sector operators and the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, in key roles across broadband, Intelligent networks, and BharatNet, the largest rural broadband project in the world under the Digital India initiative.An electronics and communication engineer with a degree in law and a postgraduate diploma in Public Policy and Management, Mr. Sharma combines technical, legal, and policy expertise. At TRAI, he has been instrumental in the recent amendments in the regulations on commercial communications as well as launch of a pilot project with banks on digital consent acquisition. He continues to lead efforts toward building a robust and effective regulatory framework for commercial communications in India.
Tejpal Singh Chair, Study Group 11 I Ministry of Communications, India Tejpal Singh, Chair ITU-T Study Group 11, is presently working as Advisor (Quality of Service) with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). He has 30 years of experience in diverse ICT domains. He has worked in various roles in the department of telecommunication that includes telecom licensing and telecom standardisation. In his current role, he is responsible for setting up and implementing the Quality-of-Service standards in India with subscriber base of nearly 1.2 billion. He is also driving a collaborative initiative to improve indoor digital connectivity in the country through digital connectivity rating framework. This framework proposes to award ‘star’ ratings to the properties for their digital connectivity.He has played key role in implementation of some key Information Technology projects in telecom, security and personal identity domain including in India’s biometrics based unique identity system i.e. ‘AADHAAR’ which has issued almost 1.4 billion unique IDs to the residents.
Chris Wendt Vice President of Systems Engineering, Somos, Inc. Chris Wendt is Vice President of Systems Engineering at Somos, Inc., where he leads technology strategy for trusted communications. He was a principal author of the STIR/SHAKEN standards at the IETF and co-authored key specifications through the ATIS/SIP Forum IPNNI Joint Task Force, helping define the protocols that authenticate caller identity in modern IP-based voice networks. He is currently advancing VESPER, a trust framework that uses delegate certificates and authoritative tokens to extend authentication to enterprises while promoting transparency and privacy. Chris serves on the Board of Directors of the SIP Forum, co-chairs the ATIS IPNNI Joint Task Force and the IETF VCON Working Group, and actively contributes to the IETF STIR Working Group. He also co-chairs the CFCA Trust and Transparency Working Group (TTWG). Earlier in his career, Chris spent nearly two decades at Comcast—one of the largest voice service providers in the United States—leading innovation in IMS, WebRTC, and real-time communications. His work in telecommunications security has been recognized with multiple industry honors.
Frederic Werner Chief of SED, TSB, ITU Based in Geneva, Switzerland, Frederic Werner is a recognized leader at the intersection of artificial intelligence, technology, and global development. As the Chief of Strategic Engagement at ITU, the United Nations’ specialized agency for Digital Technologies, and Chief of Strategy and Operations for AI for Good, Frederic drives initiatives that shape the future of AI’s role in solving humanity’s greatest challenges.Frederic is a co-creator of the United Nations AI for Good Global Summit, a landmark platform connecting AI innovators with real-world problem owners to collectively advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Under his stewardship, AI for Good has become a global hub for innovation, collaboration, and actionable solutions, redefining how AI is used for social good. At ITU, Frederic leads transformative strategic initiatives, driving global collaboration in digital transformation and standards development to address critical challenges. His leadership ensures the organization remains a leader in setting international standards and leveraging AI to advance the SDGs.Before joining ITU, Frederic held pivotal roles that shaped global ICT collaboration. As Communications & Program Director of ETIS in Brussels, he established a pan-European network of CIOs and cybersecurity leaders. Earlier, as Head of Marketing and Communications at the European Organization for Conformity Assessment, he spearheaded capacity-building projects with the European Commission, strengthening ICT infrastructures in EU candidate countries.A recognized figure in the AI sphere, Frederic is a regular keynote speaker and panellist at global tech and AI events, such as Davos, Vivatech, SXSW, World AI Festival Cannes, AI Africa Expo, World AI Summit Amsterdam, AWS Reinvent and GITEX to name a few. His insights on AI capacity building, governance and standards have led to numerous interviews and features across international media, books, and podcasts.Academically, Frederic holds a B.A. in Business & Human Resources Management with a Communications Minor from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, an MBA in International Business from United Business Institutes, a Technical MBA in Telecoms Technology from Informa Telecoms, and a certificate from the MIT Sloan School of Management on AI’s Business Strategy Implications.Having lived in diverse countries such as Belgium, Senegal, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Austria, Turkey, Hungary, and Switzerland, Frederic brings a unique and global perspective to his partnerships and collaborations.