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Herman is a global public policy and government affairs leader who has been at the forefront of technology policy and advocacy work with innovators, governments and regulators for over twenty years. During this period, he has built highly effective public affairs teams, managed relations with ministries and regulators across EMEA and APAC, and directed government affairs for some of the biggest names in corporate tech.

Before founding Policy Impact Partners, Herman was responsible for spectrum and broadband advocacy at mobile industry association, the GSMA, where he led the global campaign to secure more spectrum for broadband services at the 2015 UN World Radiocommunication Conference. He also designed and coordinated multiple advocacy programmes across key markets in the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific to advance the release and licensing of the ‘digital dividend’ spectrum for mobile.

Herman has built a strong global network of senior level contacts both in government and across industry, and has a trusted reputation for effectively advocating policies that align business and societal goals. He is an accomplished speaker and moderator, and a regular contributor to capacity-building programmes for regulators and government representatives across the world.

Earlier in his career, Herman established and led the EU public affairs technology practice of the global communications consultancy in Brussels, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, directing accounts with Amazon, Adobe, Microsoft and the Business Software Alliance. He also held operations, strategy and policy positions at British Telecom, and worked for the Dutch Industry Federation.

Herman has an MSc in political science and international economics and an MBA.

Mr. Mario Maniewicz was elected Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2018 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He took office on 1 January 2019.

Mario Maniewicz is an electronic engineer specialized in telecommunications. He has been with the ITU for over 30 years, where he has served in high-level management positions in the Radiocommunication and Development Sectors as well as in ITU Regional Offices.

As Director, Mr. Maniewicz is responsible for the management of the Radiocommunication Bureau, which organizes and co-ordinates the work of the Radiocommunication Sector whose aim is to ensure the rational, equitable, efficient, and economical use of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits.

Before joining the ITU, Mr. Maniewicz occupied a managerial position in Uruguay’s main telecommunications operator and was Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Engineering of Uruguay’s main University.

Mr. Maniewicz is married and has two children. He speaks Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.

Gerasimos Sofianatos is the Head of Unit of Connect B5, Radio Spectrum Policy Unit. Previously, he was Deputy Head of DG Connect Unit Connect B5, “Investment in high-capacity networks”. He has been working for the Commission since 2011, in different positions in DG Connect, in Directorate B, dealing with the policy and implementation of the EU Regulatory Framework for Electronic Communications. Gerasimos led the team monitoring and implementing EU law and in particular the European Electronic Communications Code, a piece of legislation in the drafting and negotiation of which he was actively involved. Prior to joining the Commission, Gerasimos worked as legal officer at the Cypriot National Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications (OCECPR). Before joining the Commission, he was a Member of the Athens Bar Association and practiced competition law. He holds a Masters degree in Business Law and a PhD in competition law at the Paris 1- Sorbonne University. He holds a law degree from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a post-graduate degree in Economics for Competition law from the King’s College London. Gerasimos is of Greek nationality and speaks Greek, English, and French.

Herman is a global public policy and government affairs leader who has been at the forefront of technology policy and advocacy work with innovators, governments and regulators for over twenty years. During this period, he has built highly effective public affairs teams, managed relations with ministries and regulators across EMEA and APAC, and directed government affairs for some of the biggest names in corporate tech.

Before founding Policy Impact Partners, Herman was responsible for spectrum and broadband advocacy at mobile industry association, the GSMA, where he led the global campaign to secure more spectrum for broadband services at the 2015 UN World Radiocommunication Conference. He also designed and coordinated multiple advocacy programmes across key markets in the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific to advance the release and licensing of the ‘digital dividend’ spectrum for mobile.

Herman has built a strong global network of senior level contacts both in government and across industry, and has a trusted reputation for effectively advocating policies that align business and societal goals. He is an accomplished speaker and moderator, and a regular contributor to capacity-building programmes for regulators and government representatives across the world.

Earlier in his career, Herman established and led the EU public affairs technology practice of the global communications consultancy in Brussels, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, directing accounts with Amazon, Adobe, Microsoft and the Business Software Alliance. He also held operations, strategy and policy positions at British Telecom, and worked for the Dutch Industry Federation.

Herman has an MSc in political science and international economics and an MBA.

Gerasimos Sofianatos is the Head of Unit of Connect B5, Radio Spectrum Policy Unit. Previously, he was Deputy Head of DG Connect Unit Connect B5, “Investment in high-capacity networks”. He has been working for the Commission since 2011, in different positions in DG Connect, in Directorate B, dealing with the policy and implementation of the EU Regulatory Framework for Electronic Communications. Gerasimos led the team monitoring and implementing EU law and in particular the European Electronic Communications Code, a piece of legislation in the drafting and negotiation of which he was actively involved. Prior to joining the Commission, Gerasimos worked as legal officer at the Cypriot National Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications (OCECPR). Before joining the Commission, he was a Member of the Athens Bar Association and practiced competition law. He holds a Masters degree in Business Law and a PhD in competition law at the Paris 1- Sorbonne University. He holds a law degree from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a post-graduate degree in Economics for Competition law from the King’s College London. Gerasimos is of Greek nationality and speaks Greek, English, and French.

Jonas Wessel is Director of the Spectrum Department at the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (PTS).

He was also Chair of the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) for the 2018-2019 period. The RSPG is a high-level advisory group that assists the European Commission in the development of radio spectrum policy. Jonas holds a MSC from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Industrial Engineering and Management. Jonas started his professional career as a strategy consultant, working mainly with business development in the telecoms and IT-sector.

In 2003, he joined the PTS as advisor on radio spectrum policy issues. After several positions within the Agency, including responsibility for auctions, he was assigned Director of the Spectrum Department in 2014. Jonas has been one of the driving forces behind the transformation of spectrum management in Sweden and has also been working with these issues internationally, mainly through the RSPG where he has been a delegate since 2004. He was Vice Chairman of the RSPG for the 2016-2017 period.

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Prasanna Nagarajan is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at OQ Technology, a Luxembourg-based company pioneering 5G Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) satellite connectivity. He is a technology executive leading the convergence of satellite IoT and 5G, specializing in system design and 5G NTN developments. As of April 2026, he is actively involved in high-level discussions regarding D2D and NTN commercialization.

Greg Orton is the Chief Integration & Transformation Officer at SES, leading multiple high-impact teams and programmes that collectively drive the company’s transformation agenda, post-merger integration, corporate development, and commercial effectiveness.

Greg joined SES in 2014 and went on to hold several corporate development management roles across various departments and geographies, overseeing the acquisition and consolidation of DRS Global Enterprise Solutions and more recently the acquisition of Intelsat. Prior to SES, Greg worked for Solaris Mobile, FL Partners, and BDO Ireland where he held diverse roles in Corporate Finance, Corporate Investment and Financial Advisory.

Greg holds an M.Sc. in Economics & Finance from University College Dublin, and a B.A. in Finance from Lindenwood University, U.S.A. He also holds a Professional Diploma in Accounting from Dublin City University and is a Chartered Accountant of the Institute of Ireland.

Greg is an Irish national.

Jesús Arnau Yáñez is a senior policy advisor and telecommunications engineer with experience in spectrum policy making and licensing, modelling of complex communications systems and multilateral negotiations. For 7 years Jesús worked at Ofcom, the UK telecommunications regulator. As a principal policy advisor he led the international and technical work on fixed-satellite service topics and contributed to national spectrum policies across different sectors. He also served as chairman of the CEPT project team dedicated to space compatibility issues. Before joining the regulations world, Jesús obtained a PhD in signal processing for communications and worked as a research engineer in physical layer technologies for satellite and terrestrial communications systems.

Chris Woolford is Ofcom’s Director of International Spectrum Policy where his responsibilities cover the UK’s international spectrum interests, especially in relation to the ITU, CEPT and EU. He is a member of Ofcom’s Spectrum Executive Team and Strategy Steering Group.

Chris is active in various European spectrum committees and currently represents the UK on the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG). He has closely engaged for the UK on a number of key European and international spectrum initiatives and led the UK delegations to WRC-15 and WRC-12.

Before joining Ofcom, Chris worked in various UK Government Departments, including 6 years at Oftel, where he worked on different aspects of telecommunications regulation. Chris has a degree in mathematics and statistics from Manchester University.

Andrew C. Hendrickson is Chief of the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology, serving as the agency’s principal technical advisor on spectrum, emerging technologies, and innovation policy. He leads efforts to modernize U.S. technical frameworks, advance efficient spectrum use, and ensure that regulatory approaches keep pace with rapidly evolving wireless and digital ecosystems, areas closely aligned with Europe’s own priorities for resilient, interoperable, and secure networks.

Previously, Andrew served as Chief Technology Officer of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, guiding national initiatives spanning cybersecurity, privacy, critical infrastructure protection, and mitigation of malicious communications activity. His prior industry career included senior technical roles at Verizon supporting 5G deployment and cloud platform development.

With a background spanning cloud computing, software‑defined networking, virtualization, cybersecurity, and geospatial technologies, Andrew remains active in global technical communities through organizations such as the Open Geospatial Consortium, Linux Foundation, Open Infrastructure Foundation, and Network Time Foundation.

He holds dual degrees from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ – USA.

Iryna Cherniavska is the Director of the Radio Frequency Spectrum Department at the National Commission for the State Regulation of Electronic Communications (NCEC), Ukraine.

Iryna has been leading the spectrum direction in NCEC since 2018. She has two decades of experience in spectrum management. Her work focuses on spectrum policy, licensing, and the deployment of new radio technologies, including the milestone progress of 900 MHz spectrum refarming in Ukraine.

Iryna is actively involved in aligning Ukrainian legislation with the EU regulatory framework and participates in international platforms such as ITU, CEPT, BEREC and the European Commission.

She holds a Master’s degree in Telecommunications from Kyiv National Aviation University.

Ilya Polshakov is the Director of New Business Development at Kyivstar, where he leads the creation and scaling of new revenue streams and digital services including satellite and cloud partnerships. He also leads satellite and cloud partnerships for VEON Group.

Since joining Kyivstar in 2014, he has driven the Company’s digital transformation through partnerships with leading global tech players such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon Web Services, and Starlink. His team develops advanced solutions in Big Data, AI, cloud, cybersecurity, and satellite communications, including the launch of Starlink Direct to Cell in Ukraine last year in November, the first commercial launch in Europe.

Under Ilya’s leadership, other VEON Group companies are also working on expanding satellite-terrestrial network collaborations to VEON markets: Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

Prior to joining Kyivstar, Ilya had senior roles in telecom, banking, insurance and information technologies in Ukraine’s leading companies, specialising in business transformation. He holds a PhD in strategic project management.

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Amy Mehlman currently serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Global Affairs Officer at Lynk, a position held since April 2025. Previously, Mehlman was the Vice President of Global Affairs and Stakeholder Relations at E-Space from January 2022 to April 2025, and served as President of Mehlman Capitol Strategies Inc. from October 2021 to April 2025. Additional experience includes a role as a Consultant for RKF Engineering Solutions LLC from December 2021 to December 2023, and Vice President of US Government Affairs and Policy at Viasat Inc. from January 2020 to October 2021. Mehlman’s earlier career includes consulting for LightSquared and serving as Partner at Capitol Coalitions, as well as working as a Government Liaison at Wiley, Rein and Fielding. Mehlman holds a BA in International Politics from Penn State University, earned between 1988 and 1992.

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Peter B. de Selding is Co-Founder and Editor of SpaceIntelReport.com. He started SpaceIntelReport in 2017 after 26 years as the Paris Bureau Chief for SpaceNews where he covered the commercial satellite, launch and the international space businesses.

After a state exam in law at the University of Osnabrück, Mr Kühn has been working since 1998 in the area of legal internship (e.g. at Regional Court) of the Federal Network Agency Germany; changing to National and International Spectrum Regulation on different levels in 2005. Nowadays, he is the Deputy Head of Section for International Affairs and Utilization Concepts. His responsibilities cover strategic frequency utilization concepts and the transposition of those to the international level of CEPT, EU and ITU. Doing this and having been active in the preparation of three WRC’s, on national and on CEPT CPG level, Mr Kühn participated in a number of international Groups, also as Head of the German Delegation. He has also chaired several groups and subgroups in the ITU and CEPT. Since 2005, he has been responsible for the German preparation of the WRC’s and served as CEPT CPG Vice Chairman from 2010 to 2013. Mr Kühn was appointed Chairman of CPG in June 2013.

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Ivan Suarez is a global advisor specialising in satellite and spectrum policy and regulation. He assists companies and governments with their strategy, compliance, licensing and policy needs, covering SatComms and other space-related industries. In recent years, he has worked on a vast number of projects related to policy and regulation for D2D products, satellite broadband internet, and the launch of 5G satellite networks. Ivan is actively involved in several regional groups in preparation for WRC-27, focusing on Latin America and Africa. He contributes to several publications such as ViaSatellite and SpaceNews, covering different areas of the New Space Economy. He holds several Masters Degrees in Telecommunications Law and International Relations.

Peng is the Vice President of Policy & Regulatory at GSOA, where he leads advocacy efforts around spectrum management, licencing, and national policy initiatives. With experience in telecoms, mobile, and satellites, he has advised governments and industry players globally.

Previously at Eutelsat OneWeb, Peng shaped licencing frameworks for Low Earth Orbit constellations and satellite regulatory procedures for WRC-23. At GSMA, he ran a global campaign to improve spectrum licensing conditions for mobile operators, leading a global team of policy expert to engage with policymakers across developing markets.

Peng holds a Master’s in Telecommunication from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and an Executive MBA from London Business School. He speaks English, Mandarin, and French fluently.

Natcha Techachainiran is the Regulatory Affairs Manager at Skylo Technologies, Inc., where she leads global regulatory strategies to secure market access and service authorizations for D2D connectivity. She represents Skylo in international forums, including the ITU, advocating for favorable policies and standards. Previously, Natcha was a Senior Spectrum Engineer at the Thai regulator (NBTC), where she contributed to national spectrum policy and international coordination efforts.