About us
AWO was set up by a group of experts: lawyers who were involved in groundbreaking and precedent-setting legal action, public policy experts who were shaping digital policy in the EU and the UK, and data protection practitioners who were helping international organisations and companies meet complex international challenges. Together they provide a unique suite of complementary legal and consultancy services.
We have head offices in Belgium and the UK, and representative offices in the Netherlands, France, Greece and Italy.
Our name is a nod to Richard Brautigan’s poem All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace. The poem explores technology’s influence on society, and whether it creates a utopia or dystopia. The tension between these two opposing concepts embodies the complexity of AWO’s work.
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Our team
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Aldo Sghirinzetti
Associate
Aldo supports the delivery of AWO’s data protection services to clients from a range of sectors, including but not limited to commercial clients, non-profit organisations and international humanitarian actors.
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Alex Lawrence-Archer
Solicitor
Alex is a solicitor delivering advisory and contentious work related to data rights and issues around modern technology.
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Amna Qureshi
Advisor
Amna supports the delivery of our data protection advisory services, focussing on regulatory compliance.
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Aparna Surendra
Manager
Aparna leads development of the Strategic Research and Insight team, and manages algorithm governance and research projects.
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Ben Hayes
Strategy Director
Ben oversees our business development, finances and compliance. He is an international data protection law and policy expert specialised in the protection of vulnerable data subjects, new technologies, challenging processing environments and applied ethics.
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Charlotte Titterton
Finance and Business Operations Manager
Charlotte manages the accounts, payroll, payments and financial planning across our operations and business services.
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Donna Roberts
Finance Coordinator
Donna assists in organising and streamlining our finance functions by providing organisational bookkeeping and administrative support for new business development work.
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Eric Kind
Managing Director
Eric oversees our mission and purpose, operations, resources and infrastructure. He is a legal and public policy expert in technology, society and human rights, with particularly deep expertise on surveillance technology law and practice.
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Esme Harrington
Associate
Esme provides technology and policy research, analysis, report writing and project management support to the Strategic Research and Insight (SRI) team.
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Jo McGrory
People Operations Coordinator
Jo provides support across all aspects of our People strategy and assisst with general operational delivery through scheduling and meeting management support.
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Laureline Lemoine
Senior Associate
Laureline provides legal and policy analysis on a range of issues at the intersection of technology and data rights.
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Mahdi Assan
Associate
Mahdi provides research, analysis, report writing, document drafting and project management support.
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Maria-Elena Ciccolini
Senior Advisor
Maria-Elena supports the delivery of data protection services and projects to AWO clients across a range of sectors, in particular humanitarian and non-profit.
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Mathias Vermeulen
Public Policy Director
Mathias oversees our public policy work. He is a legal and public policy expert in information technology law, digital rights and emerging technologies, with a focus on EU-law.
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Nick Botton
Senior Associate
Nick supports the delivery of AWO’s public policy client services and projects, providing research, report writing and project management support.
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Ravi Naik
Legal Director
Ravi oversees our legal and litigation work. He is a leading solicitor in the field of data protection, data rights, privacy matters and protecting human rights in a digital age.
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