IFA Lunch Dialogue Series

Robert Danon is a tenured Professor of Law ("Professeur ordinaire") at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), where he heads its Tax Policy Center and leads its research platform dedicated to “Tax Disputes and Investment Arbitration”. He has widely published in all areas of Swiss and international tax law and is, in particular, the co-editor of forthcoming volumes on "Tax Issues in International Investment Arbitration" (Kluwer) and "Tax Treaty Interpretation in light of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties" (International Fiscal Association).
He also serves as the Chairman of the Permanent Scientific Committee (PSC) of the International Fiscal Association.
Robert practices Swiss and international tax law as an independent expert with over twenty years of experience. He is widely recognised by professional rankings, for example by Who's Who Legal (WWL), which considers that he is: "the top expert to go to for highly technical matters" thanks to his "proficiency in international tax law".
At the international level, his practical expertise focuses on tax treaties and their interpretation, non-discrimination, abuse of rights by taxpayers and States (including State responsibility), dispute resolution, comparative taxation and transfer pricing. His practice also concentrates on the interaction between investment arbitration and tax-related disputes.
Robert is regularly called to give evidence as an expert witness or to act as a consultant in the framework of domestic and foreign court proceedings, mutual agreement and arbitration procedures, including those involving non-tax agreements such as bilateral investment treaties or the Energy Charter Treaty. He has served as an expert witness in international and comparative tax law in several high-profile arbitration cases under the arbitral rules of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
He is also on the list of possible arbitrators under the mandatory binding arbitration clauses provided by selected bilateral tax treaties.
At the national level, Robert's expertise covers all areas of Swiss tax law with a particular emphasis on corporate taxation, restructurings and the taxation of individuals. His practice also extends to criminal tax law, administrative and constitutional law.
Robert has also been involved in several tax reforms and assists both taxpayers and governments on tax policy matters. He has testified before Parliamentary Committees.
Moreover, he is regularly invited by the OECD to express his views on matters of international tax law and policy. In particular, he has been invited on several occasions by the OECD to express his views on the challenges raised by the digitalisation of the economy (“Pillar One”) and the introduction of a Global Minimum Tax ("Pillar Two").

Adolfo Martín Jiménez (Ph.D. European University Institute, Florence, Italy, 1997, LL.M. University of Wisconsin, 1995) is Professor of Tax Law and was Jean Monnet Chair of the European Commission (‘EU tax law’) (2014-2018) at the University of Cadiz. He specialises in international taxation, including transfer pricing, and EU tax law and is the author of several books and more than one hundred articles on these subjects, in English and Spanish, published in several countries, and some translated into other languages (e.g. Chinese, Japanese).
He has extensive practical experience in international taxation, transfer pricing and EU tax law, frequently acting as a consultant or collaborator with multinational groups, (U) HNW individuals and professional firms with international activity; tax administrations and states (in tax reforms, capacity building, application of international standards or supporting them in international lawsuits and controversies), and international organisations relevant in the definition of international tax standards (e.g. OECD; European Commission, UN). He has also appeared in Parliamentary Commissions of the central and autonomous State, or Parliaments of other countries. He frequently intervenes as an independent expert providing legal opinions in tax audits, rulings, MAPs or tax and investment arbitrations.
Adolfo regularly participates as a speaker in international conferences all around the world on international taxation and EU tax law, both in professional and academic forums (European Association of Tax Law Professors, International Fiscal Association, IFA Europe, Asia or Latam, IBFD, UN, Universities etc.) and in courses and capacity building initiatives organized by Tax Administrations or judicial organizations in various countries. Since 2018, he is president of the European Association of Tax Law Professors, with more than 350 members from 35 countries around the world.
His areas of research and professional activity include, in particular, the taxation of the digitalised economy, royalties and technical services, artists and sportsmen, transfer pricing or the application of GAARs, TAARs and SAARs, areas in which, due to his publications and activity, he is considered as a reference author. In 2021, he was awarded by the IBFD 7th Frans Vanistendael Award for Excellence in International Taxation Research in 2020 for his work “Value Creation: A Guiding Light for the Interpretation of Tax Treaties?”, Bulletin for International Taxation 4/5 – 2020.

Paolo Valerio Barbantini is Head of Tax of Fincantieri Group, a leading Italian multinational in shipbuilding as from March 2024. Between 2018 until February 2024, he has served the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle entrate) as Deputy Director General.
From 2015 until January 2018, Mr. Barbantini has been working at the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration as coordinator of BEPS and Developing Countries and then as responsible for their engagement and launch of the Inclusive Framework on BEPS.
Before joining the OECD, he served the Italian Revenue Agency as Director of the Large Business Division (2009-2014) and as Director of the Italian APA program (2004-2009).
He had been appointed as delegate at various OECD working parties (WP6, Vice-Chair of the ATP Steering Group and at WP11 for BEPS Action 2-3-4) and involved in several IFC-World Bank Group technical assistance programs delivered to developing countries on transfer pricing, aggressive tax planning and capacity building (e.g. Georgia, Thailand, Myanmar, etc.).
He is member of the Board of Trustees of the International Bureau of Fiscal documentation and member of the faculty of the University of Lausanne (Tax Policy Centre and Master on Advanced Studies on International Taxation). He has been a lecturer at the ITC at the University of Leiden (NL) and also been involved in several IFA initiatives, including being a member of the IFA Permanent Scientific Committee and currently a member of the IFA Supervisory Board.
Before joining the Italian Revenue and the OECD, he worked in private practice. He received his degree in Economics at the Rome University and a post-graduate degree in International Taxation.

Jesper Barenfeld is the Senior Vice President and Global Head of Tax for the Volvo Group. The Volvo Grupo is one of the world´s largest manufacturers of both medium–duty and heavy-duty trucks and a leading supplier of construction equipment, buses and marine and industrial engines.
Jesper is a member of several international tax forums, such as BIAC and Business Europe and held the position as Vice Chair of the EU Joint Transfer Pricing Forum for several years. He has also been active in IFA for many years, both as a member of the IFA Permanent Scientific Committee and the Board of the Swedish IFA Branch.
Jesper graduated as Doctor of Laws in 2005 and has prior to his current position at AB Volvo, worked for the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise on various international tax issues.

Angelique Beek - van Doremaele has built a broad and practical foundation in international tax over the past three decades. After graduating in tax law and business economics from the University of Maastricht, she began her career at PWC, where she worked for nearly eight years in both national and international tax advisory roles.
She later moved into the corporate environment, gaining hands-on experience as International Tax Manager. Since 2006, Angelique has been part of ASML's tax team, where she has held various roles. ASML is a leading global technology company headquartered in the Netherlands, specialising in advanced lithography systems for the semiconductor industry. She currently leads the NL/EMEA
Tax Team and the Global Employment Tax Team, and contributes to the leadership of ASML’s global tax department.
Angelique's expertise extends beyond corporate boundaries. She has also been involved in international tax dialogue through the International Fiscal Association (IFA). She co-authored the Netherlands’ country report on R&D for the IFA Congress in Basel in 2015 and has served as a board member of the IFA Netherlands Branch since 2020.
Her experience spans both advisory and in-house perspectives. 

Ms Garde is, since 2018, Director General of Taxation at the Ministry of Finance in Spain. As Director General, she is responsible for the analysis and design of the global policy of public revenue, in relation to the tax system, both national and international, to carry out the tasks required by the EU tax harmonisation policy and to prepare the budget of tax benefits. The Directorate General of Taxation is also responsible for the preparation and interpretation of the regulations of the general tax regime and of all taxes (direct and indirect taxes) and the proposal of the corresponding tax policy measures.
She has extensive work experience in international taxation. She also served as chair of the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes from 2017 to 2022. Under her mandate, she promoted the activities of the Global Forum, including the Capacity building and Outreach activities and the regional initiatives. The membership grew by close to 40 new members. February 2023, Ms Garde was elected for a period of two years as chair of the code of conduct group, the UE Council preparatory body that oversees the implementation of the EU’s code of conduct on business taxation. In February, 2025, she was reelected for another two-years term. Recently appointed, Deputy Chair of the Bureau of the OECD Committee on Tax Affairs. She had been member of the Bureau of the OECD Committee on Tax Affairs and the Steering Group of the Inclusive Framework.

Simon is an Assistant Commissioner for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and currently serves as Australia’s permanent representative to the OECD for tax. In this role, Simon represents Australia in various OECD tax forums to advance international tax reforms and support multilateral efforts to increase the effectiveness of tax administrations globally. Simon is the current chair of the OECD Joint International Taskforce on Shared Intelligence and Collaboration (JITSIC) and is a long-standing
delegate to various OECD forums and working parties, including the OECD MAP Forum
Simon has worked at the Australian Taxation Office for more than 13 years and has occupied a number of positions across the organisation, with a particular focus on large market and international tax. Prior to commencing his current role, Simon led the ATO's OECD Policy and Tax Treaties branch with a focus on the domestic implementation of Pillar Two and the administration of Australia’s tax treaty network, including management of Australia’s APA and MAP programs.

Andrea is a tax lawyer with extensive experience in international taxation. Since 2019, she has served as an Adviser to the International Taxation Office of the Colombian Tax Administration (DIAN), specialising in OECD-related matters. In 2024, she was appointed as DIAN’s OECD Liaison in Paris. In this capacity, she represents Colombia in various Working Parties of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs and within the Inclusive Framework on BEPS. In particular, Andrea is delegated to the Task Force on the Digital Economy, WP11 on Aggressive Tax Planning and International Tax Co-ordination, and WP1 on Tax Treaties.
Before joining the Tax Administration, Andrea worked as a Tax Associate at two law firms in Colombia and as a tax lawyer in the Legal Department of the Colombian Central Bank. She holds an LL.M. in International Tax Law from the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), serves as the Colombia correspondent for IBFD’s Tax News Service, and is a member of the IFA YIN Committee.

Ivana Rosa is a lawyer from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and holds a Master's degree in Tax Law from Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez. She has over 18 years of experience in domestic and international tax, with a strong focus on strategic tax planning. efficiency, and compliance within a sustainable tax framework.
Ivana began her career at EY Chile, where she became a Tax Partner. Since 2017, she has served as Head of Tax at Arauco, a Chilean multinational company with operations across Latin America, Europe, the United States, and Canada. In this role, she leads the group's global tax strategy and planning, contributing to key corporate projects and long-term value creation.
She has successfully led multidisciplinary teams in multiple jurisdictions, managing cross-border reorganisations, tax audits, compliance programs, and value-driven tax initiatives. Her strong technical background and business-oriented perspective allow her to assess risks and deliver actionable guidance aligned with corporate objectives.
Ivana serves as Executive Secretary of the Tax Committee of AmCham Chile (2025-2026), a forum that brings together companies and govemment authorities to promote public-private dialogue on tax matters between Chile and the United States.
She is currently Director of IFA Chile (2025-2026) and Vice Chair of the IFA Tax Directors Subcommittee, where she actively promotes the in-house perspective and contributes to global technical discussions in international tax.

Gian Sandi is Senior Policy Advisor and Tax Treaty Negotiator for the Swiss Federal Department of Finance, working within the State Secretariat for International Finance in Bern. Since 2015, he has been part of the tax treaty team and currently heads the desk overseeing relationships with more than 30 countries, managing bilateral tax issues and mutual agreement procedures. He represents Switzerland in multilateral fora such as the United Nations and the OECD and contributes to the development of tax policy recommendations on cross-border issues. He was recently appointed to the United Nations Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters for the 2025-2029 term. 
Prior to his current role, Gian spent 14 years as a legal expert for the Tax Administration of the canton de Vaud, where he specialised in international tax and complex cross-border cases, including the taxation of trusts. He holds a law degree from the University of Lausanne and an LLM. in Comparative Law from the University of Miami School of Law. Before his legal career, he worked as a primary school teacher for five years. 

Robert Danon is a tenured Professor of Law ("Professeur ordinaire") at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), where he heads its Tax Policy Center and leads its research platform dedicated to “Tax Disputes and Investment Arbitration”. He has widely published in all areas of Swiss and international tax law and is, in particular, the co-editor of forthcoming volumes on "Tax Issues in International Investment Arbitration" (Kluwer) and "Tax Treaty Interpretation in light of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties" (International Fiscal Association).
He also serves as the Chairman of the Permanent Scientific Committee (PSC) of the International Fiscal Association.
Robert practices Swiss and international tax law as an independent expert with over twenty years of experience. He is widely recognised by professional rankings, for example by Who's Who Legal (WWL), which considers that he is: "the top expert to go to for highly technical matters" thanks to his "proficiency in international tax law".
At the international level, his practical expertise focuses on tax treaties and their interpretation, non-discrimination, abuse of rights by taxpayers and States (including State responsibility), dispute resolution, comparative taxation and transfer pricing. His practice also concentrates on the interaction between investment arbitration and tax-related disputes.
Robert is regularly called to give evidence as an expert witness or to act as a consultant in the framework of domestic and foreign court proceedings, mutual agreement and arbitration procedures, including those involving non-tax agreements such as bilateral investment treaties or the Energy Charter Treaty. He has served as an expert witness in international and comparative tax law in several high-profile arbitration cases under the arbitral rules of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
He is also on the list of possible arbitrators under the mandatory binding arbitration clauses provided by selected bilateral tax treaties.
At the national level, Robert's expertise covers all areas of Swiss tax law with a particular emphasis on corporate taxation, restructurings and the taxation of individuals. His practice also extends to criminal tax law, administrative and constitutional law.
Robert has also been involved in several tax reforms and assists both taxpayers and governments on tax policy matters. He has testified before Parliamentary Committees.
Moreover, he is regularly invited by the OECD to express his views on matters of international tax law and policy. In particular, he has been invited on several occasions by the OECD to express his views on the challenges raised by the digitalisation of the economy (“Pillar One”) and the introduction of a Global Minimum Tax ("Pillar Two").

Adolfo Martín Jiménez (Ph.D. European University Institute, Florence, Italy, 1997, LL.M. University of Wisconsin, 1995) is Professor of Tax Law and was Jean Monnet Chair of the European Commission (‘EU tax law’) (2014-2018) at the University of Cadiz. He specialises in international taxation, including transfer pricing, and EU tax law and is the author of several books and more than one hundred articles on these subjects, in English and Spanish, published in several countries, and some translated into other languages (e.g. Chinese, Japanese).
He has extensive practical experience in international taxation, transfer pricing and EU tax law, frequently acting as a consultant or collaborator with multinational groups, (U) HNW individuals and professional firms with international activity; tax administrations and states (in tax reforms, capacity building, application of international standards or supporting them in international lawsuits and controversies), and international organisations relevant in the definition of international tax standards (e.g. OECD; European Commission, UN). He has also appeared in Parliamentary Commissions of the central and autonomous State, or Parliaments of other countries. He frequently intervenes as an independent expert providing legal opinions in tax audits, rulings, MAPs or tax and investment arbitrations.
Adolfo regularly participates as a speaker in international conferences all around the world on international taxation and EU tax law, both in professional and academic forums (European Association of Tax Law Professors, International Fiscal Association, IFA Europe, Asia or Latam, IBFD, UN, Universities etc.) and in courses and capacity building initiatives organized by Tax Administrations or judicial organizations in various countries. Since 2018, he is president of the European Association of Tax Law Professors, with more than 350 members from 35 countries around the world.
His areas of research and professional activity include, in particular, the taxation of the digitalised economy, royalties and technical services, artists and sportsmen, transfer pricing or the application of GAARs, TAARs and SAARs, areas in which, due to his publications and activity, he is considered as a reference author. In 2021, he was awarded by the IBFD 7th Frans Vanistendael Award for Excellence in International Taxation Research in 2020 for his work “Value Creation: A Guiding Light for the Interpretation of Tax Treaties?”, Bulletin for International Taxation 4/5 – 2020.

Daniel Gutmann is a professor of tax law at the University Paris-1 Panthéon-Sorbonne where he is the Director of a research centre in taxation. He is also a partner at CMS Francis Lefebvre. He wrote numerous articles on international and EU tax matters. His main books deal with taxation of businesses (Droit fiscal des affaires, Lextenso, 15th ed., 2024) and tax law interpretation (Sources et ressources de l’interprétation juridique. Etude de droit fiscal, Lextenso, 2023). Daniel is the Scientific Director of “Fiscalité internationale”, a French tax review dedicated to international tax law. He is the Chair of the IFA European Region’s Committee and the Chair of the Scientific Committee of the French IFA Branch.

Prof. Dr. Englisch holds a chair for public law and tax law at Münster University. His research focuses on International and European tax law, covering both direct and indirect taxation. Dr Englisch serves as an advisor in expert groups of the OECD and of the EU Commission since 15 years, and he has also given advice to national governments, NGOs and the private sector. He is also a visiting professor in several LL.M. programs. Dr Englisch has published several books as well as approximately. 200 scholarly articles, and he has given more than 150 invited presentations.

Dr. Giammarco Cottani is the Founding Partner of NOEMA Global Tax and Policy. With over 20 years of international experience, he brings unparalleled expertise in tax policy development, international taxation, and strategic advisory to multinational clients across diverse sectors.
His career includes pivotal tax policy roles at Netflix, where he shaped global policy positions and represented the streaming giant in OECD and EU consultations, and as Head of Tax at Agoda (Booking Holdings), managing fintech taxation and online marketplace complexities for a global team of 27 professionals. His expertise spans media and entertainment, digital platforms, fintech, energy sectors, and specialised advisory for high-net-worth individuals including artists and sports professionals.
Dr. Cottani holds a Ph.D. in Corporate Taxation from LUISS Guido Carli University and an LL.M. in European and International Taxation from Tilburg University. He serves as a lecturer at WU Transfer Pricing Centre and lectures at leading institutions around the world.
His core competencies encompass international tax policy formulation, transfer pricing, digital economy taxation, and cross-border structuring for media companies, entertainment platforms, fintech ventures, energy enterprises, and individual clients in creative and sports industries. As a former OECD Transfer Pricing Advisor and UN Subcommittee member, he combines deep policy expertise with innovative, compliant solutions that anticipate regulatory developments across multiple jurisdictions and sectors.
Giammarco was recently appointed Senior Fellow at European University Institute's Florence School of Transnational Governance.

Global Head of Tax and Corporate Vice President at Siemens since 2009, based in Munich, responsible for the global Siemens team of 690 tax and customs experts. Christian is the Treasurer of Global IFA (since 2024). He is the Co-Chairman of the BIAC Tax Committee (since 2025), Chairman of the Tax Commission of the German Federation of Industries (BDI) (since 2021), Chairman of the Supervisory Board of WTS AG (since 2009) and member of the Advisory Council of the Belt and Road Administration Cooperation Mechanism (BRITACOM - since 2020).

Stephen Shay is the Paulus Endowment Senior Tax Fellow and Adjunct Professor at Boston College Law School. He is the IBFD Visiting Global Scholar for 2024-25. Mr. Shay has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Tax Affairs in the United States Department of the Treasury and is a retired partner of Ropes & Gray LLP where he practiced international tax law for over two decades. He has been a Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School and a Lecturer at Yale Law School, Oxford University (MSc. in Taxation) the University of Miami Law School and the Leiden International Tax Institute. Mr. Shay consults for international organizations and private parties and has testified as an expert before judicial and arbitral tribunals on behalf of governments and private litigants. He has testified in his personal capacity numerous times on international tax issues before the U.S. Congress. He has served as an expert consultant to the International Monetary Fund and United Nations and he regularly provides pro bono technical assistance to governments of low-income countries through the auspices of the International Senior Lawyers Project. Mr. Shay serves on the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association Tax Section, the Leadership Council of the Harvard Law School Wilmer Hale Legal Services Center, and the Amicus Committee of the American College of Tax Counsel. He is a 1972 graduate of Wesleyan University and earned his J.D. and his M.B.A. from Columbia University in 1976. He is admitted to practice in New York and Massachusetts.

Robert Danon is a tenured Professor of Law ("Professeur ordinaire") at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), where he heads its Tax Policy Center and leads its research platform dedicated to “Tax Disputes and Investment Arbitration”. He has widely published in all areas of Swiss and international tax law and is, in particular, the co-editor of forthcoming volumes on "Tax Issues in International Investment Arbitration" (Kluwer) and "Tax Treaty Interpretation in light of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties" (International Fiscal Association).
He also serves as the Chairman of the Permanent Scientific Committee (PSC) of the International Fiscal Association.
Robert practices Swiss and international tax law as an independent expert with over twenty years of experience. He is widely recognised by professional rankings, for example by Who's Who Legal (WWL), which considers that he is: "the top expert to go to for highly technical matters" thanks to his "proficiency in international tax law".
At the international level, his practical expertise focuses on tax treaties and their interpretation, non-discrimination, abuse of rights by taxpayers and States (including State responsibility), dispute resolution, comparative taxation and transfer pricing. His practice also concentrates on the interaction between investment arbitration and tax-related disputes.
Robert is regularly called to give evidence as an expert witness or to act as a consultant in the framework of domestic and foreign court proceedings, mutual agreement and arbitration procedures, including those involving non-tax agreements such as bilateral investment treaties or the Energy Charter Treaty. He has served as an expert witness in international and comparative tax law in several high-profile arbitration cases under the arbitral rules of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
He is also on the list of possible arbitrators under the mandatory binding arbitration clauses provided by selected bilateral tax treaties.
At the national level, Robert's expertise covers all areas of Swiss tax law with a particular emphasis on corporate taxation, restructurings and the taxation of individuals. His practice also extends to criminal tax law, administrative and constitutional law.
Robert has also been involved in several tax reforms and assists both taxpayers and governments on tax policy matters. He has testified before Parliamentary Committees.
Moreover, he is regularly invited by the OECD to express his views on matters of international tax law and policy. In particular, he has been invited on several occasions by the OECD to express his views on the challenges raised by the digitalisation of the economy (“Pillar One”) and the introduction of a Global Minimum Tax ("Pillar Two").