Focus on Cybersecurity

Lorena Boix Alonso is Director for Digital Society, Trust and Cybersecurity in the Directorate General for Communications Networks Content and Technology (DG CONNECT), at the European Commission. She is a member of the Executive and Management Board of the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) and as well as the Commission representative in the Governing Board of the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC) and a member of the Management Board of the Computer Emergency Response Team for the EU Institutions (CERT EU).

In the context of the Horizon Europe Programme, she co-chairs the Cluster 1 “Health” and Cluster 3 ‘’Civil security for society’’ and is as well a member of the board Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) Joint Undertaking.
Formerly, she was Acting Director for Policy Strategy and Outreach and Head of Unit for Policy Implementation and Planning, in DG CONNECT at the European Commission.

Previously, she was Deputy Head of Cabinet of Vice President Neelie Kroes, Commissioner for the Digital Agenda. During Ms Kroes’ mandate as Commissioner for Competition, she commenced in October 2004 as a member of her cabinet and became Deputy Head of Cabinet in May 2008.

She joined the European Commission Directorate-General for Competition in 2003. Prior to that, she has worked for Judge Rafael García Valdecasas, at the European Court of Justice, as well as Deputy Director and Legal Coordinator of the IPR-Helpdesk Project and in private practice in Brussels.

She holds a Master of Laws from the Harvard Law School. She graduated in Law from the University of Valencia and then obtained a Licence Spéciale en Droit Européen from the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Javier Espinoza is the FT’s EU correspondent covering competition and digital policy from Brussels. Prior to that he was the paper’s private equity correspondent in London. He was part of the original group of reporters that formed the FT’s Due Diligence newsletter in 2017.

He was the Daily Telegraph’s education editor for two years prior to joining the Financial Times. Before joining the Telegraph in 2015, he was a multimedia reporter for the Wall Street Journal in London. He’s done stints at Forbes, the Observer and other UK and international outlets. He studied journalism at City University. He is also a Political Economist having completed a second Master’s degree at King’s College London. He recently completed an executive MBA at IE Business School.

Sabika serves as the Chief Information Security Officer at Grant Thornton Luxembourg. She is also the elected President of WomenCyberForce, which is the Luxembourg chapter of European Women4Cyber organization. She has more than 15 years of experience in a number of different industries.

As a security professional and enthusiast, Sabika has been involved in transformative security initiatives where she combined her strong business focus with deep analytical background to bring constructive change. Sabika holds a Master’s degree in Information Security and Management from The London School of Economics and Political Science, and is a part of notable Security platforms in Luxembourg.

Matias Rubiolo is an Adviser for Business Development at Luxembourg for Finance (LFF).

 Matias role is to advise LFF and its stakeholders on the strategic orientation of the financial centre, specialising on the alternative assets side. He also advises financial services companies looking to develop their cross-border businesses via Luxembourg and on synergy creation with other key financial centres, with a focus on Iberia & Latin America.

Prior to joining LFF, Matias worked at PwC serving clients in the global asset and wealth management sector and at the European Investment Bank (EIB) in the Corporate Lending for Asia, LatAm & Sub-Saharan Africa unit. He is a Certified Public Accountant graduated from Universidad Nacional del Litoral (Argentina) and holds an MBA from Southampton Business School (UK).

Peter Salter is the deputy EMEA CISO for Barclays Bank forming part of the global CISO organisation within the Group Chief Security Office. Prior to joining Barclays, Peter worked in UK law enforcement for 29 years acquiring a broad range of specialist security disciplines culminating in over ten years’ experience in Serious & Organised Crime Cybersecurity and Intelligence related roles.

For the last seven years Peter has worked for Barclays delivering Intelligence and Operations Centre capabilities globally before moving into the EMEA CISO role. Peter now leads the EMEA CISO team across the Europe, Middle East & Africa region supporting Barclays business and functional operations and driving the sustained mitigation of information security risks in alignment to regulatory requirements and business objectives.

Pascal Steichen is Founder and CEO of the Luxembourg House of Cybersecurity.

For over 20 years, Pascal is involved in the main cybersecurity initiatives of the Luxembourg Government. He was laureate of the Information Security Personality of the Year award in 2017 and elected as the first chairman of the ECCC (European Cybersecurity Competence Centre) in 2022.

In 2002, he joined the Luxembourg Government, as advisor and project manager in the area of network and information security for the Ministry of the Economy.

From 2003 to 2014, he was representing Luxembourg as an alternate member of the management board of ENISA.

In 2017, Pascal lead and contributed to the creation of the Cybersecurity Competence Center a unique facility to strengthen the resilience of the Luxembourg economy by helping organisations to test and improve their cybersecurity competence, which evolved into the National Cybersecurity Competence Center in 2022.

Building on his huge experience in cybersecurity, Pascal is involved in key communities in Luxembourg and Europe. Member of the Luxembourg Cybersecurity Board, lecturer in information security at the University of Luxembourg, member of WomenCyberForce, and involved in the curricular board of the BTS cybersecurity.

At an international level, Pascal participated in the founding of ECSO, was part of the 2021 judging panel of the IFSEC Global Influencers in Security and Fire Award. In 2024, he became Chair of the European Advisory Board of the Forum InCyber.

Pascal holds a master degree in astrophysics and, in parallel of starting his career as a software engineer, he graduated in applied information technology.

Jelena is a respected and accomplished Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for a prominent EU Institution.

She has been recognized as CISO of the Year for 2019 in Luxembourg, Sentinel CISO Global 2020, EU CISO 2020, and Ambassador of the Year 2021 in Luxembourg, underscoring her exceptional leadership in the cybersecurity field.

Jelena has almost 20 years of experience in the cybersecurity field.  She is an innovative and versatile professional who is passionate about promoting cybersecurity and STEM programs for women. As the founding board member, and first President of Women Cyber Force (WCF) , and first President of W4C Chapter Luxembourg and council member, Jelena is dedicated to empowering women in the field and advocating for greater diversity in the industry. Jelena is a mentor, public speaker, and continuous contributor to the cybersecurity ecosystem.

She earned her undergraduate degree in IT and her MBA from the University of Toronto in Canada, where she grew up. She has also provided technical assistance to international financial institutions globally. With her diverse background and accomplishments, Jelena is a respected and influential figure in the cybersecurity field.