ABOUT US
We Are An International, Multilingual, Service-Oriented And People-Minded Team.
We work with highly qualified experts from various fields, covering all aspects of the GDPR and the FADP (legal, IT, security, risk management, etc.)
We are culturally-savvy and passionate about client service.
We are on the official vendor list of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)
Our Team
We are a team of experts, ready to provide you with the best services.
Boards of Directors
Jane Murphy
Founder and Chair of the Board
Jane is a Belgo-Canadian lawyer specialised in the GDPR, corporate law, M&A and corporate governance. She is also an independent non-executive board director of listed and non-listed companies in Brussels, Paris, Mumbai, Singapore and Amsterdam as well as a member of various committees (audit, risk, legal, compliance, corporate governance and remuneration). She is Vice-President of CanCham Belux and a member of the IAPP. She holds law degrees from Canada and Belgium, an LLM in EU and International Law, a Certificate in EU Data Protection from Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management and completed a summer programme in International Business at Harvard.
Olivier Willocx
Managing Director
Olivier is the CEO of the Brussels Chamber of Commerce since 2000 and the CEO of the Brussels Business Federation since 2010. He is also Vice-president of the Belgian Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Founder of the Alliance of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of 15 major metropolitan areas in Europe representing 68 million citizens and over 40 million jobs. Olivier was also the Brussels Region’s Economic Attaché to the EU Commission in charge of financial support programmes. Olivier holds a degree in Economics from the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management and an LLM in European Law from the University Amsterdam.
Cédric Pierrard
Director EDPO & EDPO UK
Cédric Pierrard is founder and CEO of the Efficy group, a CRM software publisher with over 330,000 users at some 13,500 companies, with 550 employees in 55 countries. In a market where few large players meet a highly fragmented local offer, Cédric ambitions further consolidation and the establishment of Efficy as the European CRM champion. He has carried out numerous mergers and acquisitions in recent years (4 company takeovers in 2021). Cédric is an industrial engineer who also completed the Executive Programme for Growing Companies (EPGC) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Board Effectiveness Course at Guberna (the Belgian Institute of Directors).
Michel Vanhoonacker
Director at EDPO UK
Michel is the Chairman of the Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain since 2005 and Member of the Board in various Belgian and UK companies and start-ups. Furthermore, he is President of the oldest foreign charity in the UK, the Royal Belgian Benevolent Society since 2014 and was appointed Honorary Consul for Belgium in Kingston-Upon-Hull in 2011.
Jane Murphy
Founder and Chair of the Board
Jane is a Belgo-Canadian lawyer specialised in the GDPR, corporate law, M&A and corporate governance. She is also an independent non-executive board director of listed and non-listed companies in Brussels, Paris, Mumbai, Singapore and Amsterdam as well as a member of various committees (audit, risk, legal, compliance, corporate governance and remuneration). She is Vice-President of CanCham Belux and a member of the IAPP. She holds law degrees from Canada and Belgium, an LLM in EU and International Law, a Certificate in EU Data Protection from Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management and completed a summer programme in International Business at Harvard.
Olivier Willocx
Managing Director
Olivier is the CEO of the Brussels Chamber of Commerce since 2000 and the CEO of the Brussels Business Federation since 2010. He is also Vice-president of the Belgian Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Founder of the Alliance of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of 15 major metropolitan areas in Europe representing 68 million citizens and over 40 million jobs. Olivier was also the Brussels Region’s Economic Attaché to the EU Commission in charge of financial support programmes. Olivier holds a degree in Economics from the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management and an LLM in European Law from the University Amsterdam.
Cédric Pierrard
Director & CTO
Cédric Pierrard is founder and CEO of the Efficy group, a CRM software publisher with over 330,000 users at some 13,500 companies, with 550 employees in 55 countries. In a market where few large players meet a highly fragmented local offer, Cédric ambitions further consolidation and the establishment of Efficy as the European CRM champion. He has carried out numerous mergers and acquisitions in recent years (4 company takeovers in 2021). Cédric is an industrial engineer who also completed the Executive Programme for Growing Companies (EPGC) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Board Effectiveness Course at Guberna (the Belgian Institute of Directors).
Michel Vanhoonacker
Director of EDPO UK
Michel is the Chairman of the Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain since 2005 and Member of the Board in various Belgian and UK companies and start-ups. Furthermore, he is President of the oldest foreign charity in the UK, the Royal Belgian Benevolent Society since 2014 and was appointed Honorary Consul for Belgium in Kingston-Upon-Hull in 2011.
Group Of Experts
Georges Ataya
Academic Director at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics
Professor Georges Ataya is academic Director at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, in charge of IT Management and Information Security Management Education. He recently co-founded the Program in European Data Protection, the Belgian Cybersecurity Coalition and the DPO Circle. Georges also acted as the international Vice-President of ISACA and of the IT Governance Institute and as President of ISACA Belux. He is Managing Partner of ICT Control SA, a Belgian-based advisory firm. Georges is member of Boards and of Advisory Boards of various professional organisations. He also directs research programmes in various technology management fields.
Miriam Maes
Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Port of Rotterdam
Miriam is Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Port of Rotterdam and a non-executive member of the Board of Urenco and of Ultra Centrifuge Netherlands. She is also a member of the Audit Committee and Chair of the Board’s Sustainability Committee. Miriam is a non-executive director on several Euronext listed companies headquartered in France. She is head of the “Energy Transition Forum” which is partnered with the UN Foundation in Washington DC. Miriam has over 35 years of experience working for multinationals and was CEO of Foresee Ltd, a climate change consulting company. Until May 2017, Miriam was also Chair of the Euronext listed company ELIA Group.
Saskia Van Uffelen
Corporate Vice President Benelux at GFI
Saskia has a professional background with leading positions in the ICT and Telecoms sector. She is Corporate Vice President Benelux at GFI. From 2014 until 2019 Saskia was the CEO of Ericsson for Belgium and Luxembourg. For the Belgian Federal Government, she represents Europe as the Digital Champion, locally stimulating the execution of the Digital Agenda which includes the Digital Economy, Infrastructure, Government, Security and Skills as key areas. Her value as an inspiring leader lies in the transformation of business models, organisational structures, ecosystems and human capital. Saskia is also an independent board member of Elia, BPost, AXA Insurance and the University of Antwerp.
Gabriel Goldberg
Strategy Expert
Gabriel holds several positions in the tech and marketing ecosystems: leadership coach, director, business angel and investor. He previously set up the Belgian operations of Google in Belgium and later co-founded Semetis, a marketing agency that is now part of the Omnicom Media Group, where he remains on the board of directors. He is also a board member of the Brussels Chamber of Commerce (BECI), representing the digital industry. Gabriel now leads his new digital marketing company, Hakacia, and provides insightful advice and counsel to companies as a strategy expert.
Georges Ataya
Academic Director at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics
Professor Georges Ataya is academic Director at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, in charge of IT Management and Information Security Management Education. He recently co-founded the Program in European Data Protection, the Belgian Cybersecurity Coalition and the DPO Circle. Georges also acted as the international Vice-President of ISACA and of the IT Governance Institute and as President of ISACA Belux. He is Managing Partner of ICT Control SA, a Belgian-based advisory firm. Georges is member of Boards and of Advisory Boards of various professional organisations. He also directs research programmes in various technology management fields.
Miriam Maes
Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Port of Rotterdam
Miriam is Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Port of Rotterdam and a non-executive member of the Board of Urenco and of Ultra Centrifuge Netherlands. She is also a member of the Audit Committee and Chair of the Board’s Sustainability Committee. Miriam is a non-executive director on several Euronext listed companies headquartered in France. She is head of the “Energy Transition Forum” which is partnered with the UN Foundation in Washington DC. Miriam has over 35 years of experience working for multinationals and was CEO of Foresee Ltd, a climate change consulting company. Until May 2017, Miriam was also Chair of the Euronext listed company ELIA Group.
Saskia Van Uffelen
Corporate Vice President Benelux at GFI
Saskia has a professional background with leading positions in the ICT and Telecoms sector. She is Corporate Vice President Benelux at GFI. From 2014 until 2019 Saskia was the CEO of Ericsson for Belgium and Luxembourg. For the Belgian Federal Government, she represents Europe as the Digital Champion, locally stimulating the execution of the Digital Agenda which includes the Digital Economy, Infrastructure, Government, Security and Skills as key areas. Her value as an inspiring leader lies in the transformation of business models, organisational structures, ecosystems and human capital. Saskia is also an independent board member of Elia, BPost, AXA Insurance and the University of Antwerp.
Gabriel Goldberg
Strategy Expert
Gabriel holds several positions in the tech and marketing ecosystems: leadership coach, director, business angel and investor. He previously set up the Belgian operations of Google in Belgium and later co-founded Semetis, a marketing agency that is now part of the Omnicom Media Group, where he remains on the board of directors. He is also a board member of the Brussels Chamber of Commerce (BECI), representing the digital industry. Gabriel now leads his new digital marketing company, Hakacia, and provides insightful advice and counsel to companies as a strategy expert.
Managers
Diego Mommaerts
Account & Legal Manager
Diego studied Law at the University catholique de Louvain in Belgium where he focused on Data Protection and IP Law, including a thesis on the subject of Privacy by Design and Privacy by Default. He’s CIPP/E certified.
During his academic years, Diego worked as a consultant, a treasurer and a board member of a student association which provides legal advice to SMEs and individuals. He also developed and launched the local branch of a non-profit organisation and managed it for two years. Diego has been closely involved in his family’s business for many years, an experience which enabled him to develop strong entrepreneurial skills. He is also a computer buff who is passionate about new technologies.
Diego speaks French, English and Dutch.
Sérgio Abreu
Account & Legal Manager
Sérgio studied International and European Law at Nova University in Lisbon. In his master’s thesis he delved into the impact of facial recognition technologies in Data Protection and Privacy in the EU. He’s CIPP/E certified.
Sérgio studied and worked in multiple European cities, including Coimbra, Lisbon, Ljubljana, Brussels and Luxembourg. Sérgio was a Blue Book Trainee at the European Commission’s Data Policy and Innovation Unit, where he was involved in the preparatory work surrounding the Data Act. He also worked at a financial tech company and as a trainee at the Portuguese Competition Authority and at the Portuguese Embassy in Brussels.
Sérgio is fluent in Portuguese and English and has an intermediate level in Spanish and French.
Soraya Garran
Account & Legal Manager
Soraya studied Law at the University of Deusto in Bilbao, Spain, and holds a Master’s degree in Privacy and New Technologies, including a thesis on the processing of personal data in sweepstakes and contests organized on social networks. She also obtained an MBA, completed an AI Strategy and Governance programme (Wharton) as well as a Computer Forensics and Cyberlaw Research course, and holds numerous certifications such as CIPP/E, CIPM and CIPT.
Soraya worked internationally in different industries as a privacy specialist, NIST implementation consultant, Data Protection Officer, and a volunteer for non-profit organizations, including entities that are part of the Digital Pact of the Spanish DPA. She has several years of teaching experience as a university lecturer in cyber security and privacy. Soraya also actively shares her knowledge in different forums through speeches, conferences and publications.
Soraya speaks Spanish and English.
Baudouin de Meulemeester
Intern
Baudouin is a law student currently in his third year of LL.B. in European Law at Maastricht University. Alongside his major, he is pursuing a minor in Business and Law. He is also part of YUFE, an academic alliance which allowed him to pursue courses in Finland and Poland.
Outside the classroom, Baudouin is an active contributor to student projects, notably with Young Talks, a prominent debate and conference organisation based in Brussels. Through his involvement, he has sharpened his communication and leadership skills while engaging with diverse perspectives on current societal issues.
Excited to embark on the next chapter of his legal education, Baudouin has joined EDPO for a 3-month internship before starting his LL.M. in International Business Law at IE University in Madrid.
Baudouin speaks French, English, and Dutch, with an intermediate level in Spanish.
Diego Mommaerts
Account Manager
Diego studied Law at the University catholique de Louvain in Belgium where he focused on Data Protection and IP Law, including a thesis on the subject of Privacy by Design and Privacy by Default. He is CIPP/E certified.
During his academic years, Diego worked as a consultant, a treasurer and a board member of a student association which provides legal advice to SMEs and individuals. He also developed and launched the local branch of a non-profit organisation and managed it for two years. Diego has been closely involved in his family’s business for many years, an experience which enabled him to develop strong entrepreneurial skills. He is also a computer buff who is passionate about new technologies.
Diego speaks French, English and Dutch.
Sérgio Abreu
Legal Manager
Sérgio studied International and European Law at Nova University in Lisbon. In his master’s thesis he delved into the impact of facial recognition technologies in Data Protection and Privacy in the EU. He’s CIPP/E certified.
Sérgio studied and worked in multiple European cities, including Coimbra, Lisbon, Ljubljana, Brussels and Luxembourg. Sérgio was a Blue Book Trainee at the European Commission’s Data Policy and Innovation Unit, where he was involved in the preparatory work surrounding the Data Act. He also worked at a financial tech company and as a trainee at the Portuguese Competition Authority and at the Portuguese Embassy in Brussels.
Sérgio is fluent in Portuguese and English and has an intermediate level in Spanish and French.