Our experts

Cosimo Monda

Cosimo Monda is the Director of the Maastricht European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity (ECPC), which has been established in 2016 at the Law Faculty, Maastricht University.

At ECPC his work has a strong European and international outlook in the field of privacy and cybersecurity, steering an interdisciplinary group of researchers, academics and professionals active in areas of fundamental rights, data privacy, transparency and confidentiality, IT, data security, and more. Cosimo Monda has a longstanding experience in designing executive education, certification courses and online learning modules for professionals who are required to deal with new regulations and on-going developments in the privacy and cybersecurity market. Before joining Maastricht University, he was working at the European Institute of Public Administration, as Senior Lecturer and Head of Information, Publications, and Marketing services. He holds a Law Degree obtained at the University of Bologna.

His fields of expertise include Data Protection and Cyber security, EU Information Management; Transparency and access to documents; EU Agencies; EU decision-making procedures and Institutions and EU law. 

Amit Gadhia

Amit Gadhia is an experienced and dual qualified data protection lawyer with over 24 years of legal practice in Kenya. Amit has advised organisations of all sizes on Data Protection compliance requirements under the Kenya Data Protection Act, 2019 (DPA) and General Data Protection Regulation (GPDR).

Amit’s recent major assignments and experience include conducting a Data Protection Impact Assessment for a major infrastructure project in Kenya and advising them on various aspects of data protection; being part of a team for Data Protection compliance project for a national airline with international operations, specifically assisting on data mapping and inventory, privacy by design and staff training; advising a national supermarket chain in Kenya on their Data Protection compliance requirements and registration with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and being a data protection consultant with a leading regional audit and assurance, tax and outsourcing provider across East Africa.

Amit’s qualifications and credentials include Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, Solicitors of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, Certified Privacy Engineer (foundation level - Data Protocol), OneTrust Fellow of Privacy Technology, Certified Privacy International Professional (CIPP/E) an an LL.B. (Hons) title from the Cardiff University, Wales, UK.

Paul Breitbarth

Paul Breitbarth a privacy lawyer from the Netherlands. He currently works as Data Protection Lead for Catawiki, the leading online auction marketplace to buy and sell special objects. In addition, Paul works as Senior Visiting Fellow at Maastricht University’s European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity, and serves as Member of the Data Protection Board of the European Patent Office. He is a regular speaker on webinars and at conferences, and co-hosts the Serious Privacy podcast. 

Previously, Paul worked both in the public and private sector in multiple privacy roles, including at TrustArc, Nymity and the Dutch Data Protection Authority. He was an active member of various Article 29 Working Party subgroups, co-authoring opinions on the data protection reform, surveillance, the Privacy Shield and others. In 2015, he organized the International Privacy Conference in Amsterdam. Paul holds a Master of Laws from Maastricht University in the Netherlands.

Joyce Groneschild

Joyce Groneschild is the Deputy-Director of the European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity (ECPC) at the Faculty of Law. Joyce is a strategic marketing specialist with a strong focus on value co-creation. She has a longstanding experience in running executive education programmes for professionals, managing large projects and developing executive programmes to fit organisations’ needs globally.