Rocco Panetta, Supreme Court Lawyer, Chairman of Panetta Consulting Group and Managing Partner of PANETTA Law Firm, is nationally and internationally recognized as one of the foremost experts in Technology Law, Data Governance, and AI Strategy.

A certified professional (CIPP/E, Uniter, and TÜV), he is currently the Country Leader for Italy of the IAPP and a former member of the IAPP Board of Directors. He also serves as an Ethics Expert for the European Research Council Executive Agency and is part of the European Data Protection Board's external expert pool. Previously, he served as a senior official at the Italian Data Protection Authority, where he led departments responsible for public service concessionaires, marketing, simplifications, and international data transfers. Concurrently, he represented Italy at the European Commission and the Council of the European Union on matters concerning BCR, SCC, SH, APIS/PNR, and IMI.

At Panetta Consulting Group, he leads a highly respected team, specializing in advising SMEs, public administrations, and, above all, multinational companies operating in the data economy. He also serves as an external DPO for major international groups, national companies, and public entities.

He serves as Chairman of several Supervisory Bodies (ODV) for leading companies and groups and is the President of the Monitoring Body (ODM) for the Code of Conduct for Employment Agencies (API).

Formerly Secretary General of the Environmental Impact Assessment Commission (VIA) at the Ministry of the Environment, he also served as a legal advisor to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers on telecommunications matters and to the Ministry of the Environment.

Author of over 150 publications, including monographs, legal codes, and series, his commentary regularly appears in Il Sole 24 Ore, Agenda Digitale, La Repubblica, and Corriere delle Comunicazioni.
An internationally recognized speaker, he regularly delivers talks and academic lectures from Washington to Sydney, Boston to Brussels, Auckland to London.

Since 2010, he has been mentioned and awarded by leading legal directories, including Chambers, The Legal 500, TopLegal, Legalcommunity, and Who’s Who Legal.

Forbes named him among the 100 most influential Italian lawyers in 2023 and 2025.