Executive Advisory Board
Providing clarity and inspiring action to the global compliance community
Our Executive Advisory Board is made up of industry leaders and experts who provide strategic guidance and honest perspectives on the market intelligence needs of legal and compliance professionals, strategic and corporate development leaders, and regulatory or government affairs executives.
Witek Wacinski
Witek Wacinski
VP of Strategy & Development
Witek leads BetMGM鈥檚 Strategy & Development function and is part of the Executive Leadership Team. He is responsible for BetMGM鈥檚 geographic expansion, strategic partnerships with market access partners, M&A, investor relations and, alongside other ELT members, formulation of the company鈥檚 strategy. Witek transitioned to BetMGM as it formed in 2018/19, having been Head of Strategy at Entain (previously GVC) and deeply involved in BetMGM鈥檚 creation. He previously held the same role at Ladbrokes Coral before it was acquired by GVC, and the role of Market Development Director at Inspired Entertainment, where he joined the gambling industry in 2012. Witek started his career as a management consultant at PwC Strategy, before fulfilling his dream of traveling around the world for a year. On his return to London, he joined a London-based private equity fund, and then joined forces with a friend to launch a technology venture. Witek grew up in the UK, where he earned his BSc in International Business at Warwick Business School, and in Poland, where he was born to Polish/Vietnamese parents.
Liv Biesemans
Liv Biesemans
Group Deputy General Counsel
Liv Biesemans is Group Deputy General Counsel at Kindred Group Plc, joining the company in 2012. She oversees the legal, regulatory, compliance and customer-facing operations teams for Kindred in North America. She previously managed the Kindred global legal team in London before moving to the US in 2019. Prior to joining Kindred, Liv worked as an attorney in a leading Brussels law firm. She is also a board member at iDEA Growth, the US trade body for online gaming and betting industry.
Jess Feil
Jess Feil
VP, Regulatory Affairs & Compliance
Jess Feil serves as Vice President, Regulatory Affairs & Compliance at OpenBet where she oversees the business鈥檚 global compliance function, including due diligence, licensing, and technical compliance. She also advises the business on regulatory developments and new market entry. Before joining OpenBet, Jess held the position of Vice President, Government Relations & Gaming Policy Counsel at the American Gaming Association. She started her career at a boutique law firm in Washington DC, where she advised gaming clients from all over the world on a variety of areas including regulation, compliance, and licensing. Feil was named to the Emerging Leaders of Gaming: 40 Under 40, Class of 2019-2020 and Gaming Intelligence鈥檚 Hot 50 2024. She is originally from the Philadelphia, PA area, and has a degree from Skidmore College in government and a law degree from Case Western Reserve University.
Jennifer Aguiar
Jennifer Aguiar
Chief Compliance Officer, DraftKings
Jennifer Aguiar is the Chief Compliance Officer and member of the executive team at DraftKings. Aguiar joined DraftKings in 2016 as the Head of Compliance and Risk where she led the development of the internal DraftKings compliance and risk programs from the ground up, instilling a culture of compliance across the business. As Chief Compliance Officer, Aguiar is responsible for overseeing corporate compliance and enterprise risk management. Among other responsibilities, she will ensure DraftKings鈥 compliance with all U.S. and international licensing requirements related to daily fantasy sports, sports betting and iGaming. She graduated from Bridgewater State University where she received a BS in Management Science with a concentration in Marketing and a Math Minor. She currently serves on the executive and advisory boards of the Ricciardi College of Business at Bridgewater State University.
Charmaine Hogan
Charmaine Hogan
Global Head of Regulatory Affairs, Playtech
Charmaine Hogan is the Global Head of Regulatory Affairs at Playtech. She brings extensive experience from years in the gambling industry. Formerly engaged in EU legislation and policy development in Brussels, representing both government and the European Commission, she led discussions with European gambling regulators. Currently, she focuses on emerging and regulated markets, sharing her regulatory expertise with policy-makers and stakeholders. Charmaine provides valuable regulatory development advice to the business, consolidating her wealth of experience for effective industry navigation. Charmaine Hogan.
Jurgen Hobel
Jurgen Hobel
Head of Regulatory Compliance, MERKUR
J眉rgen Hobel from Bielefeld, Germany, has been with the MERKUR GROUP since January 1, 1994. The qualified business graduate started his MERKUR career as assistant to the CFO of MERKUR.COM AG (at that time still known as Gauselmann AG). From July 1995, J眉rgen Hobel was employed as a clerk in the Corporate Controlling department of MERKUR.COM AG and was appointed Manager in Regulatory Compliance in May 2014. His main activities include monitoring the licensed gaming activities of the entire MERKUR GROUP within the framework of international legislation and compliance with all regulatory requirements in this context. A special challenge for him was the supervision of the licensing activities for the former subsidiary Atronic, a manufacturer and distributor of gaming devices, which held more than 200 licenses worldwide. "My work at MERKUR is varied and I still enjoy it very much after 30 years. My major challenges are to always meet the ever-increasing legal requirements with regard to licensing and Anti-Money Laundering" J眉rgen Hobel states.
Steven DiMasi
Steven DiMasi
Senior Vice President of Global Government Affairs & Business Development, Light & Wonder
Steven is presently Senior Vice President of Global Government Affairs + Business Development at Light & Wonder (formerly Scientific Games) based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Prior to joining Light & Wonder in 2018, Steven was Senior Vice President of Development for Wynn Resorts. With over 25 years of gaming, technology and hospitality/travel industry experience, Steven has also worked in corporate government affairs and business development for IGT, Cendant Corporation and GTECH. Steven was a Co-Founding Board Member of the International Social Games Association (ISGA) and has also served as an Officer of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM). In the public sector, Steven served as a Legislative Liaison for Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Almond鈥檚 Administration. Steven holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Rhode Island.
Birgitte Sand
Birgitte Sand
Director of the Danish Gambling Authority
Birgitte Sand. 25+ years of leadership experience, most recently as Director of the Danish Gambling Authority (12 years) responsible for the successful construction and consolidation of a liberalized licensing regime (betting, online/land-based casinos, lotteries, gaming machines). Past IAGR President & Patron. Awarded 鈥淓uropean Regulator of the Year 2017鈥 by IMGL. A Compliance Lifetime Achievement Special Award 2021 by VIXIO GC. Inducted into the SBC Sports Betting Hall of Fame 2021. A dedicated supporter of a dialogue-based relationship between regulators and the gaming industry. Founder of her own consulting firm which provides expert advice to the gaming industry, regulators/legislators/governments worldwide. Birgitte also holds board positions in the gaming area.
Bahar Alaeddini
Bahar Alaeddini
Partner, Harris Hagan
Bahar is a partner with Harris Hagan in London. Specialising in all aspects of online and land-based gambling law, Bahar is ranked in the UK and global legal directories and recognised 鈥渁t the top of her profession鈥. She advises many of the world鈥檚 largest online and land-based gambling businesses (B2C and B2B), as well as many start-ups, investors and leading law firms. Bahar has extensive gambling law, regulatory and licensing experience having advised major international clients on matters ranging from licence applications, compliance investigations and licence reviews to cross-border M&A transactions, investor disclosure and complex group restructuring. She is General Counsel and a member of the Programme Committee of the International Association of Gaming Advisors, Founding Member of VIXIO GamblingCompliance Executive Advisory Board and a member of Global Gaming Women and The City of London Solicitors鈥 Company.
Jana Breitkopf
Jana Breitkopf
Managing Director, Mercedes Pay USA
Jana Breitkopf is the Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes pay USA LLC, where she oversees the strategy and performance of Mercedes pay in the United States, Canada and Mexico, providing a seamless and exceptional customer experience across all payment touchpoints within the Mercedes-Benz ecosystem. Jana joined Mercedes pay (previously Daimler Mobility Services) in 2019 as a Business Partner Manager, bringing with her extensive experience in Account and Relationship Management, as well as Business Development. Prior to her tenure at Mercedes-Benz, Jana worked at PayPal.
Amy Bobrow
Amy Bobrow
Global Regulatory Compliance Operations, Mastercard
Amy Bobrow is the Global Head of Regulatory Compliance & Operations, Vice President, for Mastercard. She is the first executive at the company to hold this role, reflecting the increasing importance of the ability to manage the organization鈥檚 regulatory compliance risk. Amy leads a global team focused on strengthening the company鈥檚 regulatory compliance strategy and activities, building on the robust processes currently in place. Prior to joining Mastercard in 2019, Amy held roles of increasing seniority at the Citi Private Bank. She has over 25 years of experience in international financial services.
Nikki Eagers
Nikki Eagers
VP, International Payments Risk and Compliance, Elavon / US Bank
Nikki joined Elavon Financial Services DAC in 2015 and is the VP of Payment Services Europe Issue, Control and Testing Governance covering both Issuing and Acquiring business lines. Prior to joining Elavon, Nikki was in Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services for Ernst & Young and Certus, which amounts to 23 years of experience in Risk and Compliance in the United States and Ireland. Nikki鈥檚 focus is to ensure that she and her team mitigate risk by guiding stakeholders and partners successfully through all applicable regulatory and policy requirements.
Ronnette Grant
Ronnette Grant
Global Chief Compliance Officer, Google
Ronnette currently oversees and manages the end to end global Payments Compliance Team inclusive of regulatory engagements, governance, risk assessments, policies and procedures, monitoring/testing, and the BSA/AML & Sanctions programs at Google. Before assuming the role of CCO, Ronnette served as the Head of Regulatory & Policy responsible for the development and implementation of global policies and processes for a multitude of cross functional payment related products and entities. In her capacity, she is also responsible for cross functional initiatives where she manages the impact of global laws and regulations.
Ori Kissos
Ori Kissos
Director of Global Regulatory Compliance and MLRO, Tipalti
Ori Kissos is the Director of Global Regulatory Compliance & MLRO at Tipalti. Ori is a qualified lawyer (in Israel) and has worked for a couple of years as a commercial litigation lawyer for a leading law firm and has broad experience with representing financial institutions at courts. Ori has global experience with leading regulatory compliance functions and obtaining, implementing and maintaining payment/e-money licenses and dealing with regulators in the UK, US, EU (NL), Singapore and Australia.
Johanna Vikstr枚m
Johanna Vikstr枚m
Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, Trustly
Johanna was appointed Chief Risk & Compliance Officer at Trustly in December 2022 having joined Trustly in 2021 as Head of Compliance EMEA. She previously held positions as Chief Compliance Officer for S枚rmlands Sparbank and Head of Compliance for GCC Capital AB. Johanna has also worked as a compliance consultant, most recently with KPMG. Johanna holds an LL.M. from Stockholm's University, a Master of Science in Business and Commercial law from Link枚ping's University and has also studied European business law at Ghent University in Belgium.
Em艖ke P茅ter
Em艖ke P茅ter
Head of European Public and Regulatory Affairs at Worldline
Em艖ke P茅ter, as Head of European Public and Regulatory Affairs at Worldline, shapes sustainable digital transformation and leads policy initiatives that benefit European society since 2022. Prior to that, Em艖ke held policy roles at the European Parliament and the Juncker and Von der Leyen Commissions, initially with a focus on transparency, fairness, equality, subsequently overseeing headline policy priorities "Europe fit for digital age" and "A new push for European democracy". She is a Board member of Brussels Binder and member of the European Commission's Payment Systems Market Expert Group (PSMEG). With over a decade at the forefront of European policymaking and a 15-year record of impactful non-governmental leadership, Em艖ke has honed her strategic acumen and leadership prowess.