The International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) Commission on Digital Economy has announced the appointment of three new vice chairs, extending regional and sector representation of its current leaders. The appointments enrich the diversity of the leadership by bringing engineering and communications savvy to existing legal expertise, according to ICC.

The three new leaders are:

Virat Bhatia
Chairman of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) ICT and Digital Economy Committee and President, IEA, AT&T, South Asia Region

Bhatia recently joined the commission after years of actively contributing to ICC’s Business Action to Support the Information Society (BASIS) initiative. In this role he represented ICC views at the United Nation’s Commission on Science and Technology for Development and at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), where he serves on the Multistakeholder Advisory Group. Bhatia is leading current ICC work on Information and communication technologies in relation to the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Carolyn Nguyen
Director of Telecommunications and Internet Governance group at Microsoft Corporation

Nguyen joins the commission following active engagement in ICC BASIS, representing members during the UN General Assembly 10-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+10), and promoting ICC work on cybersecurity at the 2015 IGF in Brazil.

Christoph Steck
Director of Public Policy and Internet for Telefonica

Mr Steck has served the commission as a task force co-Chair, most recently leading work on regulatory modernisation. In addition, Mr Steck and Telefonica helped support ICC Brazil’s outreach to local companies and ICC BASIS engagement leading up to the IGF 2015 in Joao Pessoa, Brazil.
New talent

Commenting on these appointments, Commission Chair Joseph Alhadeff, (Oracle) said: “Virat, Carolyn and Christoph each have a record of engagement to ICC policy development and advocacy, so I am confident members will be well served by this expansion and bolstering of the commission leadership. They also share our vision to expand participation and extend sector and geographic representation to ensure the commission itself is inclusive, and that its output is both impactful and of the utmost relevance.”

The ICC Commission on the Digital Economy develops policy positions on topics spanning the Internet and telecoms, privacy and data protection, security and digital trade. It undertakes this work on behalf of users, providers and operators of information technology. USCIB interfaces with the ICC commission through our Information, Communications and Technology Committee.