Marco Botta is Part-time Professor at the European University Institute, where he is the coordinator of the Florence Competition Programme (FCP) and ENTraNCE for Judges. In addition, he is Affiliated Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition (MPI) in Munich (Germany). Finally, he is Adjunct Professor at the Law Faculty of the University of Vienna (Austria), where he teaches EU, competition and State aid law.

In March 2010, Dr. Botta defended his doctoral thesis in the Law Department of the EUI, which was later published as a monograph by Kluwer Law International. In addition, Dr. Botta holds a bachelor’s degree in International and Diplomatic Sciences from the University of Turin (Italy) and LL.M. in European Business Law from the Law Faculty of Leiden University (the Netherlands).
Dr. Botta is author of several publications in peer-reviewed legal journals. His research focusses on EU competition and State aid law.

José Luis Ruiz Castro is currently the Head of Cabinet Area at the CFO´s office. He is a public sector professional with more than 15 years’ experience, developing his career in the Spanish IM. He is particulary interested on the implementation of human resources management policies and the development of internal communication and stakeholder relations. He has also been member of the Board of Directors of the Spanish Transport Association and the ESADE Alumni Public Management Club, a meeting place for alumni whose main objective is to promote the role of management in the field of public sector, creating a meeting place to share experiences, reflections and projects.

Luis Nistal Martínez has more than 15 years of EU Funds management experience. Since December 2020, he is currently  Deputy Director of Eu Funds at Spanish Rail Infrastructure Manager. His previous expereince entails:

• Area Manager of Eu Funds at Spanish Rail Infrastructure Manager From Dic 2015 to Dic 2020;
• Financial Head Manager of Eu Funds at Spanish Rail Infrastructure Manager From Dic 2009 to Dic 2015;
• ERDF Head Manager at Spanish Rail Infrastructure Manager From Feb 2009 to Dic 2009;
• Budget Technician at Spanish Rail Infrastructure Manager From Jan 2007 to Feb 2009
  

Dr. Marco Kampp is Director international long-distance passenger transport at Deutsche Bahn AG. He is responsible for developing and executing DB’s plan to increase cross-border passenger transport in Europe. Previously, he held different leadership positions within Deutsche Bahn AG in the areas of corporate development and network management.

He holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the University of Cambridge, UK.

Thomas Fabian joined the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) in 2018 and became Chief Commercial Vehicles Officer in 2024. Representing the EU’s seven major truck and bus manufacturers, he focuses on decarbonizing heavy-duty road transport, tackling the associated challenges, and helping shape European and international regulatory frameworks to support the industry’s global competitiveness on its path toward climate neutrality.
Previously, he served in various leadership roles at the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), the International Association of the Body and Trailer Building Industry (CLCCR), the German Airports Association (ADV) and the Federation of German Industries (BDI). Earlier in his career, he was a Scientific Advisor to a member of the German Parliament.
Thomas Fabian holds a degree in transport engineering from the Technical University of Berlin and has worked on international transport policy projects since graduating in 2000.

Juan-Jesús García Sánchez works as Vice-President of Industry & Government Affairs Europe, Middle East and Africa at Amadeus IT. In his current position, he is leading relevant Amadeus strategic initiatives undertaken with industry, policy makers and regulatory bodies such as the European Commission, Parliament as well as Travel & Technology Trade Associations and national governments in these markets.

He also represents Amadeus before relevant Transport and Tourism organizations such as United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and OECD to contribute to the definition of public policies to foster tourism, digitalisation and economic growth.

Juan-Jesús complements his professional background with relevant academic activities. He gained his PhD by Universidad Pontificia Comillas in Madrid with a research thesis about ‘’Strategies of Spanish Tourism companies via mobile’’. He lectures in academic institutions such as Instituto de Empresa.

Sofia Simões is the Director of Economic Regulation at the Portuguese Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC), where she leads the economic oversight of airports, air navigation services, and air transport. An economist by training, she has over a decade of experience in aviation regulation, with a strong focus on airports and air navigation.
Since 2017, Sofia has played a leading role in shaping Portugal’s position on air navigation economic regulation. She has actively contributed to European regulatory discussions and has represented Portugal in various international forums.
Sofia has been closely involved in the development of the Single European Sky 2+ (SES 2+) regulation, coordinating ANAC’s input and serving as the lead on Portugal’s contributions. Her work has helped shape the national approach to SES 2+, with a particular emphasis on economic performance, service provision, and regulatory coherence at the European level.

Jordan Cartier is a French senior civil servant. He holds engineering degrees from École Polytechnique and École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, as well as advanced degrees in economics and public policy from Université Paris Dauphine and the University of Cambridge. He began his career at the French energy group EDF, where he worked on issues related to economic regulation, before joining, in 2012, the French Ministry of Transport, where he held several positions focused on the planning and oversight of major road and rail projects. In 2017, he became Inspector of Finance at the French General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF). Since 2020, he has served at the French Transport Regulatory Authority (ART), where he was appointed Secretary General in 2021. Alongside his public service, he taught economics at École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées and Sciences Po Paris, and has developed strong expertise in economic regulation, transport policy, and public sector evaluation.

Fredrik Eriksson is a senior policy advisor at the aviation directorate of the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.  His responsibilities cover performance management in the areas of air navigation service provision and airspace. 

Before joining the Ministry Fredrik worked with operational and financial air navigation performance management and air navigation safety  at the national air navigation service provider in the Netherlands and as a consultant.  

Fredrik holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Edinburgh. 

Justina Hudenko, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Riga Technical University’s Governance and Security Institute, with a degree from RTU’s Faculty of Engineering Economics and Management. Since 2017, holds expert rights in economics and management from the Latvian Council of Science.

As Chairperson of AS “LatRailNet” since 2016, Justina drives strategic leadership in rail infrastructure charging and capacity allocation. She has contributed to Rail Freight Corridor 8’s management since 2017 and fosters European railway collaboration as a coordinator between PRIME and ENRRB. Nationally, she leads the Mobility and Infrastructure Committee at the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and serves as vice-chair of the Ministry of Climate and Energy’s Climate, Environment, and Energy Advisory Council.

Justina Hudenko, Ph.D., has authored over 200 publications, including the book Track Access Charges in Freight Transportation, significantly contributing to scholarship in economics, management, and railway regulation.

Torben Holvad is Analysis Team Leader at the European Union Agency for Railways (France). He joined the Agency in 2006. In his current role, Torben is leading the Agency’s work on economic analyses (impact assessments and ex-post evaluations), as well as coordinating the monitoring of the railway system regarding interoperability and safety along with data and information analyses. Before joining the Agency Torben held research positions at several UK universities, most recently with the Transport Studies Unit at University of Oxford. He obtained Economics degrees from Copenhagen University (MSc) and the European University Institute in Florence (MA and PhD). Torben has more than 30 years of experience in applied economic analysis with particular focus on the (rail) transport sector.

Rolf Tuchhardt is team leader in DG MOVE (European Commission, Single European Sky unit), responsible for a team that implements the performance and charging schemes of the Single European Sky in collaboration with the Performance Review Body.  He is economist by education and worked in the rail sector (Deutsche Bahn and CER in Brussels) prior to joining the European Commission in 2004 where he first spent eight years in DG COMP dealing with regional State aid and merger cases in the transport sector. In 2012, he joined DG MOVE’s Aviation Directorate.