EBSI Ecosystem Day

Since October 2020, Mathieu Michel has been State Secretary for Digitalization, in charge of Administrative Simplification, Privacy and the Buildings Administration.

Previously, he held the position of President of the Provincial College of Walloon Brabant for 8 years, from 2012 to 2020. He was in charge of heritage management and digitalization. Together with the Walloon Brabant Property Development Agency, he was responsible for the development of new large-scale 'New Place of Working' (NPOW) projects.

And, in terms of digital technology, Mathieu Michel has worked on the digitalization of the entire territory, turning the 27 communes of Walloon Brabant into true "smart cities". It is also with the objective to further digitize the provincial schools that they have been fully equipped with the latest computer equipment.

Artificial intelligence is one of his priorities in this area. His objective is to mark Belgium's position as a European leader in the field of AI, particularly in the field of health and energy. He is keen to demystify the use of new technologies and advocates for transparency as an essential component of technological innovation and the algorithms on which it is based. Responsible for Privacy, Mathieu Michel has taken the initiative to evaluate the Belgian Privacy Act. His ambition is to strengthen the protection of our data and the fight against harmful content.

Roberto Viola is Director General of DG CONNECT (Directorate General of Communication, Networks, Content and Technology) at the European Commission since 2015 and was the Deputy Director-General of DG CONNECT from 2012 to 2015.

Roberto Viola served as Chairman of the European Radio Spectrum Policy group (RSPG) from 2012 to 2013, as Deputy Chairman in 2011 and Chairman in 2010. He was a member of the BEREC Board (Body of European Telecom Regulators), and Chairman of the European Regulatory Group (ERG).

He held the position of Secretary General in charge of managing AGCOM, from 2005 to 2012. Prior to this, he served as Director of the Regulation Department and Technical Director in AGCOM from 1999 to 2004.

From 1985-1999 he served in various positions including Head of Telecommunication and Broadcasting Satellite Services at the European Space Agency (ESA). Roberto Viola has a degree in Electronic Engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA).

The European Commission nominated Veronica Gaffey Director-General for Digital Services (DIGIT) from 1st March 2022. This is the Commission department, which delivers high performing digital services to support the Commission’s internal administration. It also provides services to other EU institutions and agencies, and to public authorities in the Member States to enhance their interoperability.

From 2019 to 2022 Veronica was Chair of the independent Regulatory Scrutiny Board. This Board, which is independent of the Commission services and has no policy-making responsibilities, examines the evidence base of all impact assessments for new policy proposals and most evaluations.

Veronica was Director of the Paymaster’s Office of the Commission from 2016 to 2019 and before that was Director of Resources in the Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy in July 2015.

Veronica Gaffey worked in the area of evaluation for 23 years of her career. She was Head of Evaluation in the Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy of the European Commission from 2007 to 2015. She joined the Evaluation Unit in 2000 from the ESF Evaluation Unit based in the Ministry for Enterprise and Employment in Dublin, Ireland. There she managed the unit from its inception in 1992. Before that, she worked in the Ministry for Labour from 1986. Her academic background is the study of English literature.

Alberto López is Deputy Director of the Innovation Lab at Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda (INCM), the Portuguese Mint. Over the last years, he has managed the INCM's participation in different EU-funded consortia, including PharmaLedger, EBSI-NE and DC4EU and is also involved in internally funded projects related to the use of blockchain and/or digital credentials in public services and administration. He holds a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Zürich and is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Management and Economics of the University of Lisbon. Alberto has been Portugal's representative in the European Blockchain Partnership since 2022 and, upon its creation, will be the Portuguese representative in the General Assembly of EUROPEUM, the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium for EBSI