On Wednesday November 8th, the PICCASO Privacy Awards Europe gala event brought together data, privacy and security leaders, innovators and experts from across all business sectors to recognise and celebrate the talents and achievements across the privacy and information security landscape.
Representing Privacy, InfoSec, Culture, Change, Awareness, Societal, and Organisation, the PICCASO Privacy Awards recognise and spotlight the people and organisations making an outstanding contribution to this dynamic and fast-growing sector – from the dedicated professionals ensuring their companies meet increasingly complex requirements of our data enabled wold, to the academics and engineers pushing privacy thought-leadership and innovative protections forward.
Building on the outstanding success of the inaugural UK PICCASO Awards in 2022, the PICCASO Privacy Awards Europe 2023 comprised over 100 short-listed finalists across 19 categories.
This year’s prestigious ceremony took place at iconic venue, The Brewery, London, and was a resounding success, with influential leaders, innovators and advocates from across pubic and private sectors involved. The event served as a platform to recognise trailblazers and change-makers who are making a lasting impact on the privacy and information security ecosystem, inspiring others to follow their example.
The evening commenced with a keynote speech by PICCASO Privacy Awards founder Vivienne Artz OBE, in an evening expertly hosted by Julia Streets. We were also joined by Cian O’Brian, Director and Deputy Commissioner at the Data Protection Commission Ireland.
Vivienne underscored how the Awards serve as a timely reminder that the journey towards best practice in all areas of Privacy and Information Security is ongoing. She urged all present to strive for a future where Privacy and Security are prioritised - operationally, structurally, technologically and culturally, at every juncture in the data journey - and she congratulated the shortlisters for their outstanding contributions in sharing what good looks like.
Leading data, privacy and security individuals, teams and organisations made it on to the shortlist, which was reviewed by an esteemed panel of judges, including:
Florian Thoma (Data & AI Compliance, Data Privacy, Accenture); Cecilia Alvarez Rigaudias (Privacy Policy Director EMEA, Meta); Nick Graham (Privacy & Cybersecurity Partner, Dentons); Sarah Armstrong-Smith(Chief Security Advisor, Microsoft); Bojana Bellamy (President, CIPL); Isabelle Vereecken (Head of the EDPB Secretariat); Simon Hania (Sr Director and DPO, Uber); Dr Anna Zeiter (Chief Privacy Officer, eBay); and Steve Wood (Privacy X Consulting).
PICCASO Privacy Awards founder, Vivienne Artz said:
“Every winner and highly commended individual deservesimmense praise for their exceptional accomplishments within their respective domains.
These experts have showcased unwavering commitment to advancing privacy innovation, exhibiting thought leadership, and taking decisive action to embed privacy by design into our daily lives, both societally and in our businesses. Their dedication is a testament to their remarkable contributions, making a lasting impact on the way we approach privacy in today's rapidly evolving world.”
Winners list
Winners and highly commended (2nd place)
Best Educator
Basil (Vassilios)Manoussos, Edinburgh Napier University
Best Innovative Privacy Project
Information Commissioner’s Office, Innovation Advice Service
Best Privacy Culture Improvement Award
BT Group, Data, Legal Compliance & Assurance Team
Best Privacy Programme Award
Vodafone
Bridging the Privacy and Security Gap Award
Liverpool John Moores University
ESG Privacy Initiative
SafePorter Secure Limited
International Privacy Protection Award
TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES LIMITED
Highly Commended: Emerald de Leeuw, Logitech
Most Impactful Privacy Product
APIMS Ltd
Privacy Award for Achievement (Two winners)
Robert Bond, Privacy Partnership Group
Emma Martins, Office of the Data Protection Authority
Privacy Champion
Odvar Bjerkholt, BT Group
Highly Commended: Elisabeth Mackay, PA Consulting
Privacy Executive of the Year
Emerald de Leeuw, Logitech
Privacy Writer/Author
Suzanne Dibble, Small Business Legal Academy
Rising Star
Jared Browne, Fexco
Privacy Leader: Tech
James Leigh, Pimloc
Privacy Leader: Legal
Rachael Annear, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
Privacy Leader: Consulting
Caroline Watson, Cognizant Worldwide
Highly Commended: Onur Korucu, TerzionDX
Privacy Leader Academia
Caroline Lancelot Miltgen, AUDENCIA Business School
Privacy Team of The Year
Royal Mail
Outstanding DPO
Gillian Cossey, Virgin Atlantic
Highly Commended: Caroline Goulding, TikTok
About PICCASO Privacy Awards Europe
The PICCASO Privacy Awards Europe recognise the people making an outstanding contribution to this dynamic and fast-growing sector—from the professionals ensuring their companies meet increasingly complex legal demands to the academics and engineers pushing privacy thought leadership and innovative protections forward. 16 award categories will honour both organisations and individuals that are shaping the present and future of privacy and data protection.
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