Between 28 and 30 June 2022, representatives from Partner companies around the world gathered in Paris for the Charter of Trust’s second Collaboration Week of the year. Principle Taskforces came together with the aim of further building up the strategic priorities of the Charter of Trust, with the Associated Partner Forum also gathering to support those missions.

After over two years of behind-the-screen collaboration, Charter of Trust members have had the opportunity to gather in person in Paris to take stock of the work done since the previous Collaboration Week in February 2022 and set concrete objectives for the coming months leading towards the next Collaboration Week in 2023. Over the course of three days that were filled with working sessions and discussions, Charter of Trust Partners met in taskforces each dedicated to one of the 10 Principles – with the ones active during this Collaboration Week including:

Principle 3 Taskforce “Security by Default”

The Collaboration Week was an opportunity for P3 Members to go forward on the Phase 3 of the taskforce, which aims at presenting the outcomes of the first two phases to the public. As such, Members held fruitful exchanges on the step-by-step document on secure development lifecycle and agreed on their next webinar topic.

Principle 8 Taskforce “Transparency and response”

P8 Members initiated the next steps of the taskforce for the second half of 2022 at the Collaboration Week, including work on the NIS 2 directive and the mapping of international cyber regulations. The Collaboration Week was a great success in resolving pending issues and engaging in the next steps of the taskforce.

Principles 2 and 6 “Responsibility throughout the supply chain” and “education”

The Supply Chain Taskforce came together in break-out groups, building upon the discussions from a previous workshop in Munich, Germany in May 2022. The Members agreed on next steps, including harmonizing questionnaires for supplier assessments, aiming to pilot the project by the end of the year.

Advocacy & Communications Taskforce

The advocacy and communications experts of the Charter of Trust gathered to exchange on how to better grow awareness externally among policymakers, regulators and stakeholders to promote harmonisation of regulatory requirements and recognition of Charter of Trust initiatives, with a view to delivering driving changes.

Associated Partner Forum

After formally introducing the Brazilian Centre for International Relations (CEBRI), the Associated Partner Forum hosted an open discussion round on cybersecurity policy and the digital dimension of escalating international conflicts. In a context where war does not happen only on battlefields, representatives shared how internationally escalating conflicts have affected their institutions, how they have learned to adapt and what the main consequences for international cyber policy and cyber diplomacy could be. The Associated Partners also received an update on the work of various Taskforces.

 

The Charter of Trust looks forward to making the discussed changes happen in the coming months. We therefore invite you to stay tuned for additional contributions and events to further advance the synergetic nature of the initiative!

 

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We are delighted to welcome Richard Skalt, Advocacy Manager at TÜV SÜD, as the new Leader of the Advocacy Workstream at the Charter of Trust. Richard steps into the role following María del Pino González-Junco, who recently assumed the position of Chair of the Global External Engagement Working Group.

With a strong background in advocacy and a forward-looking vision, Richard brings renewed energy to our mission of shaping a secure digital future. As he puts it:

“My motivation is to preserve and build upon the strong foundation of advocacy activities we’ve developed over the past years. At the same time, I’m committed to ensuring we’re in a position to shape the policies that will define how our business model and operations evolve in the future – including the cybersecurity of products and systems, the use, deployment, and distribution of robust AI solutions, as well as cloud security and secure datacenters.”

In a world defined by accelerating digital transformation and increasingly complex regulatory challenges, principled leadership and effective collaboration are more vital than ever. Under Richard’s leadership, the Advocacy Workstream will continue to engage policymakers, raise public awareness, and strengthen education around key issues such as cybersecurity, AI governance, and secure digital infrastructures.
April 29, 2025
New Chairwoman for the Global External Engagement Group
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New Chairwoman for the Global External Engagement Group

The Charter of Trust is proud to announce María del Pino González-Junco, Cybersecurity Alliances Manager at Siemens, as the new Chairwoman of the Global External Engagement Working Group. Her appointment marks a significant step forward in our shared mission to advance cybersecurity through strong international collaboration.

Pino’s election follows a dynamic Collaboration Week in Denmark, where Charter of Trust partners from around the world came together to align on strategy, strengthen partnerships, and reaffirm our commitment to a secure digital future. As a longstanding leader within the advocacy workstream, Pino has been instrumental in fostering open dialogue with key external stakeholders and promoting cybersecurity awareness across industries and institutions.

“A reliable digital world can only thrive if public and private institutions build trust and cyber-resilience together, share their expertise, and support society in this digital journey. Those are our goals at the Charter of Trust,” says Pino.

She takes over the role from Sumit Chanda, COO/CISO at Atos, who has guided the working group with vision and energy. We are pleased to share that Dr Chanda has since been elected Co-Chair of the Charter of Trust by the Board of Directors in February—ensuring his continued impact on the initiative’s strategic direction.

We extend our sincere thanks to Sumit for his outstanding leadership and warmly congratulate Pino on her new role.
April 24, 2025
Charter of Trust elects new co-chairs of the Board of Directors
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Charter of Trust elects new co-chairs of the Board of Directors

We are honoured to announce that Dr. Ralf Schneider, Senior Fellow and Head of Cybersecurity and NextGenIT Think Tank at Allianz and Dr. Sumit Chanda, Chief Operating Officer at Atos Group Security have been elected as new co-chairs of the Charter of Trust during our last Board of Directors meeting in Munich.

The Partners and Associated Partners thanked Natalia Oropeza, Global Chief Cybersecurity Officer at Siemens, for her engagement and steady leadership during her term as Chairwoman. In her tenure, the Charter of Trust underwent important internal and external changes. What first stands out is the smooth integration of the four working groups, which made the Charter of Trust more agile, leaner and more efficient. It is also safe to say that the alliance has never had such a high level of exposure externally, due to the Charter of Trust partners continuous dedication to the mission of the alliance.

In the spirit of industry collaboration, Natalia Oropeza expressed her support to our new Co-Chairs and said how “incredibly proud of what we have achieved together, welcoming new partners, strengthening our structure, and elevating the Charter of Trust's impact on the global cybersecurity landscape. Collaboration has been at the heart of our success, and I am confident that Dr. Sumit Chanda and Dr. Ralf Schneider as Co-Chairs, the Charter will continue to drive meaningful progress towards a more secure digital world."

For the first time in its history, the Charter of Trust will be co-chaired. Dr. Ralf Schneider from Allianz and Dr. Sumit Chanda from Atos who have decades of experience in the world of cybersecurity and have been active within the alliance for several years now. Both unite an intrinsic motivation to foster inter- and intra-sector collaboration as well as the continuous sharing of knowledge between the Partners and Associated Partners of the Charter of Trust.

For the next year the co-chairs aim to amplify the number of Partners and Associated Partners. This growth, however, should still preserve the unique features of the Charter of Trust as a large practitioner organization with member from all over the world. Expanding into new sectors and new countries is a key target for the new leadership team, so that the Alliance can continue to engage with stakeholders at the highest level.

Dr. Sumit Chanda underlined that “The Charter of Trust’s role is to promote a safe and trusted digital work.  Its unique partnership blend of large organisations, working across 190 countries, and across several sectors, has enabled it to make significant progress under the leadership of Mrs. Natalia Oropeza.  I would like to thank her for these great achievements.  Along with Dr. Ralf Schneider from Allianz, we welcome the opportunity to build on her work as the Co-Chairs of Charter of Trust.”

Ralf Schneider added that “In dynamic times with more risks, more uncertainty, and more unknowns, we as the Charter of Trust step up – to provide stability, promote reliability, and foster trust. This is our mission today and tomorrow.”.
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