ZEIDES 2026 conference speakers

Dr. Aleksander Šinigoj is the director of Palsit, a company that has been organizing professional conferences, training programmes, and business events in the fields of information security, digitalisation, and emerging technologies for many years. As the organiser of established professional events, he brings together companies, institutions, and decision-makers, fostering the exchange of knowledge, experience, and best practices. He is also a long-standing lecturer and entrepreneur with extensive experience in education, communication, and personal growth.

Dr. Alenka Žužek Nemec holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science and a PhD in Electrical Engineering. She began her professional career at the Jožef Stefan Institute, where she worked as a researcher.
Since 2004, she has worked at the Ministry of Public Administration. Her current responsibilities focus on electronic identities and trust services, as well as on steering the development of e-government, particularly from the perspective of ensuring a Digital Single Market within the EU.
She is responsible for coordinating various activities and projects in the field of e-government at both national and EU level. She also represents Slovenia in various expert groups of the European Commission, including the group responsible for the implementation of the EU eIDAS Regulation.

Dr. Davorka Šel is an expert in electronic identification, standardisation, and trust services. She received her PhD in Electrical Engineering from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana in 2003.
Throughout her professional career, she has worked in the fields of systems management, media research, biocybernetics, certification authorities, electronic identification, and digital signatures – covering areas ranging from standardisation and technical implementation to legal aspects.
Her work is closely linked to the development and implementation of European regulatory frameworks such as eIDAS and the GDPR, as well as to understanding their impact on the security and reliability of digital services.
Areas of expertise: electronic identification, standardisation, certification authorities, eIDAS, digital signatures, and the legal aspects of electronic transactions.

Dr Jelena Virant Burnik is the Information Commissioner of the Republic of Slovenia. She joined the Information Commissioner’s Office in 2008 and has extensive experience in personal data protection, including cross-border supervision and cooperation within the European Data Protection Board.
Her work focuses particularly on data protection in relation to modern information and communication services, artificial intelligence, digitalisation, international data transfers and cooperation between supervisory authorities.
She holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a PhD from the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, where her doctoral research focused on the regulation of behavioural advertising from the perspective of privacy and personal data protection.

Dr. Nataša Vesel Tratnik is Head of Accreditation for Certification Bodies and Verifiers at Slovenian Accreditation (SA), covering the accreditation of various types of certification bodies as well as validation and verification bodies.

She has more than twenty years of experience in accreditation. She began working in the field at the Office for Standardisation and Metrology, where she took part in the first assessments of certification bodies in Slovenia and was among the first qualified lead assessors in this area. She also gained additional experience through cooperation with the Swedish accreditation body SWEDAC.

As Head of the field, she monitors market needs, the development of new accreditation schemes and legislative changes, and cooperates with those responsible for drafting regulations. She is a lead assessor for certification bodies, laboratories, and validation and verification bodies. She also led the development of accreditation for certification bodies assessing personal data processing operations.

She is a member of several international committees and working groups within the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).

Igor Zorko is President of the Association for Informatics and Telecommunications (ZIT) at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, Vice-President of the Chamber’s Management Board, and Managing Director of ZZI d.o.o. He actively represents the interests of the Slovenian ICT sector and promotes cooperation between businesses, the public sector and other stakeholders in advancing Slovenia’s digital transformation. He also chairs the Slovenian Digital Coalition.
Throughout his career, he has gained extensive experience in digital transformation, business information solutions, interoperability, e-business, cybersecurity and the standardisation of electronic business processes. He is a frequent speaker and an active contributor to initiatives aimed at developing an efficient, connected and trusted digital environment.

Jože Novak is Sales Director at Bankart, a leading provider of payment infrastructure in Slovenia and the wider Southeast European region. He is responsible for business development and strategic partnerships in the areas of card payments, instant payments, open banking, and emerging digital services.
Through collaboration with banks, fintech companies, and other stakeholders, he actively contributes to the development of solutions that support the digital transformation of the financial sector. His work focuses on bridging business needs with technological innovation, with particular emphasis on infrastructure reliability, cybersecurity, digital identity, and trust services, which are key building blocks of modern digital business.

 

Kristina Valenčič is Acting Director-General of the Directorate for Informatics at the Ministry of the Interior and Public Administration. She is an experienced professional with more than 25 years of experience in digitalisation, information technology and public administration. Her work lies at the intersection of digital policy and the information society, where strategic decisions are translated into practical solutions and where she contributes to shaping national standards and policies that influence the digital transformation of Slovenia’s public sector. In her current role, she helps steer the development of digital public services and promotes the use of data as a driver of development for both public administration and the economy.
Her broad career path, which includes managing complex IT projects as well as legislative work and leadership of an administrative unit, gives her a comprehensive perspective on connecting technology, processes and public policy. Her work is characterised by a strong focus on results, innovation and the effective management of complex systems. Prior to her current position, she served as Director-General of the Directorate for Digital Solutions Development and Data Economy at the former Ministry of Digital Transformation.

Aleš Pelan studied at the Faculty of Computer and Information Science at the University of Ljubljana, where he graduated in 1996. In 1997, he joined the then Government Centre for Informatics of the Republic of Slovenia, initially providing support for the communications network services of state authorities. He later began specialising professionally in public key infrastructure services. From 2015, he worked at the Directorate for Informatics in the sector responsible for the operation of SI-TRUST, the trust service provider at the Ministry of Public Administration.
Today, he is Head of the Trust Services Sector at the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Public Administration. He has participated in several EU-funded international projects, including STORK, SPOCS, eSENS and TOOP, and contributed to the preparation of the EU Regulation on electronic identification and trust services, known as eIDAS.

 

Aljoša Jerman Blažič, M.D., has been involved in digitisation and e-commerce for more than 20 years. He participated in numerous pioneering projects of comprehensive digitalisation of business processes and contributed to both technological standardisation (IETF, W3c, ETCI, GZS) as well as the standardisation of organisational approaches (Archives of the Republic of Slovenia) to support digital business. His contributions are visible in tangible areas of technical standards and legal framework for e-commerce. He was also involved in several business process transformation projects with SETCCE and helped the largest business systems introduce the most advanced digital business solutions. He is a member of the Management Board of the Telecommunications Association and is involved in international working groups in the field of information security and e-commerce and (co)author of numerous professional and arbitrary publications in the same field.

Marjan Antončič is President of the Slovenian Association for Electronic Identification and Electronic Trust Services and serves as an authorised representative and adviser in the fields of electronic business and information security at Ainigma d.o.o. and OSI d.o.o.
Before entering the private sector, he worked in information technology and telecommunications at the Ministry of the Interior, where he successfully carried out numerous projects in the fields of information security, the development of solutions and services for the Ministry’s information system, and ensuring the compliance of the information systems of the Ministry of the Interior and the Police with Slovenian and European legislation.
He has contributed to the preparation and implementation of numerous laws and other regulations governing the protection of personal and classified data, information security, electronic business and records management, as well as the long-term preservation of materials in digital form.
In recent years, his work has focused primarily on advising public- and private-sector electronic service providers on the digital transformation of their operations, the implementation of electronic identification solutions and trust services, long-term digital preservation solutions, and the establishment of information security management systems.

Matjaž Mravljak is the director of the Information Security Inspectorate at the Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Information Security. He has worked professionally in information technology, telecommunications, and information security for the past 18 years, and in oversight for the past 5 years. Matjaž Mravljak holds a master’s degree in law, is a certified information systems auditor, an internal auditor of business continuity management systems in accordance with the ISO/IEC 22301:2019 standard, a lead auditor of information security management systems in accordance with the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 standard, and a certified information security professional.

He is the co-founder, CEO, driving force behind Rekono, and a visionary leader. As an information technology expert, in recent years he has focused primarily on advising on infrastructure development and on the design and implementation of solutions for various sectors.

Pavel Reberc, Director of EIUS d.o.o., has extensive experience in strategic business consulting in the field of ICT for the judiciary and public administration (Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania, Kosovo, the Russian Federation, etc.), secure and reliable electronic document exchange (eDelivery), the architecture and design of large-scale information systems, business process optimisation and automation, business intelligence and reporting systems, as well as case management systems for civil and criminal justice.

Polona Merc holds a law degree from the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana, a master’s degree from the Faculty of Arts, and an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex. She has passed the Slovenian state bar examination and is a certified court interpreter for English. She has more than 15 years of experience in the field of personal data protection.
She has participated in numerous national and international projects in the areas of personal data protection and human rights, lectures regularly, and publishes professional articles. Since 2024, she has served as Head of International Cooperation at the Information Commissioner, where she represents the Information Commissioner before the European Data Protection Board and monitors the implementation of the European digital legislative package in areas falling within the Commissioner’s remit.

Polona Šorgo is an expert in information and digital services at Pošta Slovenije, with a particular focus on e-identities, secure electronic delivery systems (SVEV) and electronic data exchange. Since 2003, she has been closely involved in the development of the first electronic delivery systems, the establishment of the PoštarCA certification authority for issuing qualified digital certificates, and later also in the development of secure e-archiving systems and e-invoice exchange.
She is currently involved in the management of the MojaPošta project, which is establishing a platform to support the digitalisation of Pošta Slovenije’s services. Her work focuses primarily on the modernisation of electronic delivery and e-exchange services, secure electronic mailboxes, and the development of a broader ecosystem of digital solutions for citizens and businesses.