Andy Kimble is a Partner and Head of the Data Protection Team at Womble Bond Dickinson LLP. He advises on all aspects of data protection and privacy work including data protection audits, data security incidents, international data transfer arrangements, data sharing and outsourcing arrangements, subject access requests, direct marketing and annual data protection compliance.

He advises the Interactive Media in Retail Group (the UK industry body for the online retail industry) on data protection matters and he is a member of the Society for Computers and the Law.

He has been actively involved through the Interactive Media in Retail Group in consultations at both a European and national level on data protection legislation.

Andy leads PDP's popular training session Data Protection in the Workplace. 

Bridget Treacy - For over 20 years Bridget’s legal practice has focused on all aspects of data protection, information governance and cybersecurity issues.  Her experience is wide-ranging, having advised large corporations across a range of industry sectors on how to navigate the data protection risks of emerging technologies, multi-jurisdictional security incidents, the creation of effective privacy management programmes, and cross border data transfers.  Bridget founded the UK Data Protection team at her previous firm, and served as London Office Managing Partner. For the past 15 years she has consistently been recognised as a leading ‘Leading Individual’ in data protection by Chambers.

Bridget is the Editor of Privacy & Data Protection Journal.

Damien Welfare is a former public law barrister. He came to the Bar in 2001 after a career in local government, and also worked in central government. In his practice, he specialised in Information Law (data protection, freedom of information, and environmental information).

Damien is a member of the Editorial Board of Privacy & Data Protection Journal, and is a Member of the Examination Board for the Practitioner Certificate in Data Protection.

Damien is a long-standing trainer with PDP and regularly runs training courses on Data Sharing in the Public Sectorand FOI and Data Protection - How They Work Together

Eduardo Ustaran is a Partner at Hogan Lovells and an internationally recognised expert in privacy & data protection.

Eduardo advises international clients, including leading FTSE 100 companies, on the adoption of global data protection compliance strategies.

Eduardo wrote the data exports chapter of the Law Society’s Data Protection Handbook and is co-author of the book E-Privacy and Online Data Protection.

He is a regular contributor of articles to Privacy & Data Protection Journal.

Ellis Parry is Director at Data Privacy Compliance Solutions having previously work as Data Ethics Advisor at the ICO. He started his career as a solicitor in private practice, after gaining his MBA, before joining AstraZeneca pharmaceuticals in 2001 as a specialist IT lawyer. Ellis became AstraZeneca's Global Privacy Officer in 2005, leaving to join BP as its Global Lead for Data Privacy in 2010. At BP Ellis was responsible for devising and implementing BP's global approach to personal information handling, including the maintenance of BP's Binding Corporate Rules.

 

Ellis is the trainer for PDP's highly acclaimed course on AI & Data Protection

 

Emma Erskine-Fox is a Managing Associate in TLT’s Data, Privacy and Cybersecurity team. She is recognised as a “key lawyer” by Legal 500 and was named as one of the UK’s top 25 female lawyers under 40 in Law.com International’s inaugural “Rising Stars” list in 2021.

She advises on the full range of data protection, cyber security and e-privacy issues for many different clients. She is experienced in running large-scale and strategically important projects, including data protection compliance programmes, complex data protection impact assessments and international data processing activities. She also deals with data subject rights requests, data protection breaches, marketing and adtech, cookies compliance and transactional data protection issues.

.

John Fitzsimons is a barrister at Cornerstone Barristers. He has particular expertise in data protection and information law. John regularly represents a wide range of clients in data protection claims and information law proceedings in a range of courts and in the First-tier and Upper Tribunals.

 

He writes the regular case law update for Freedom of Information Journal and is also a contributing author to the leading texts on data protection and information law, namely “Information Rights”, by Philip Coppel QC (Hart, 5th ed 2020) and “Data Protection: A Practical Guide to UK Law” by Peter Carey (Oxford, 6th ed 2020).

 

John is a trainer for PDP's highly-regarded Data Protection Essential Knowledge Level 1 and Level 2 training courses.

Kate Brimsted is Partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. She has nearly 20 years' experience in commercial and contentious data privacy and now advises clients on the GDPR and Cyber Security.

She enjoys grappling with the subtleties of data privacy and security, whilst avoiding making a complex area of regulation more complicated than it has to be. Kate's aim is swiftly to identify the core issues of a matter and to work collaboratively with clients to implement clear, practical solutions.

Kate is familiar with advising on large, complex and multi-jurisdictional IT implementation projects where personal data is central. She also conducts data privacy compliance reviews, privacy impact assessments and advises on major IT system refreshes, especially involving cloud computing. Kate’s clients are drawn from a wide variety of sectors, including technology and telecommunications, energy and natural resources and financial services.

 

Liz Fitzsimons is Partner at Eversheds specialising in data protection and freedom of information and EIR.

Liz helps clients with all aspects of data protection, GDPR and e-privacy, freedom of information and compliance with environmental information regulations. Her work includes strategic advice on UK wide and multi-national data privacy, including assisting clients with audits, transfer and compliance programmes and development of supporting documents, such as privacy notices and policies. Liz has also worked closely with clients on key data sharing and shared service arrangements, in relation to mergers and acquisitions, and on critical data privacy issues when outsourcing.

Liz is a Member of the Examination Board for the Practitioner Certificate in Freedom of Information.

 

Mark Watts heads Bristows’s data protection practice and is also leader of the firm’s technology sector group. He has a doctorate in semiconductor physics from the University of Oxford and specialises in how data protection works in a technology context, particularly new technologies, such as cloud computing, AI, facial recognition and Adtech. For several years, Mark was in-house at IBM where he held various roles, including that of Global Data Privacy Counsel.

Mark’s practice comprises helping clients to establish proportionate and pragmatic compliance programs globally, product counselling for several of the largest technology companies and representing companies in connection with regulatory enforcement. Mark has defended companies in several of the largest, most high profile regulatory enforcement actions in the world, both in respect of data breaches and also data misuse cases.

Mark is a member of the editorial board of Privacy & Data Protection Journal.

Paul Arnold is the ICO’s Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer. Paul has over 25 years’ experience regulating data protection and freedom of information rights. His modern approach to regulation combines supporting economic growth whilst protecting people from harm. This means empowering people to confidently share their information to use the products and services that drive our economy and our society, while helping organisations to responsibly use information to invest and innovate.
 
He has overseen the development and transformation of the ICO through many periods of societal and economic change. These include the evolution of cloud computing and online services, the rise of social media platforms, the implementation of GDPR and changes to how we live and work following a global pandemic.
 
Paul is driven by continuous learning, improvement and innovation with a relentless focus on delivering impact and empathy for the ICO’s customers and stakeholders. He chairs the ICO’s Executive Team to lead delivery of an ambitious ‘ICO25’ strategy and to effectively respond to emerging regulatory risks and opportunities such as generative AI and the forthcoming change to the ICO’s governance and constitution.  
 
As a severely visually impaired person, Paul is also passionate about equality of access to opportunity and showcasing the importance and potential of people like him, doing jobs like his, making it easy for others to expect to do the same.

 

Peter Given is Partner in Ernst & Young’s Financial Services Law team, specialising in data protection and privacy law. He advises clients on a wide range of data protection matters in a variety of contexts, including in relation to general data protection compliance, data processing and outsourcing arrangements, direct marketing, data subject access requests, data breaches, and cross-border transfers of data

Peter has previously undertaken secondments to a global US-based bank, a global US-based insurer, and a major European pharmaceutical organisation. In these secondments Peter supported the internal legal teams on data protection and privacy matters and in one secondment acted as the organisation’s interim EMEA head of privacy.

Peter leads PDP's popular training course, Breach Management, and also regularly contributes articles to Privacy and Data Protection Journal.

Richard Hollis is the Chief Executive Officer for Risk Crew Limited a unique London-based information security governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) management consulting firm specialising in providing creative, cost-effective, independent cyber risk management and security awareness training solutions.  Richard possesses over 25 years of “hands on” skills and experience in designing, implementing, managing, testing, and auditing enterprise level information security programs.

Vicki Bowles is a Barrister and Partner in the Commercial team at VWV, specialising in all aspects of information law and data privacy. Vicki began her career at HMRC, before moving to the Charity Commission's compliance legal team. Vicki dealt with information requests as part of her work at the Commission, and upon moving to private practice, gained an LLM in information law and began advising organisations on information law issues.