New Data Protection Commissioner to start in 2024

The Bailiwick’s next Data Protection Commissioner will be Brent Homan. The Data Protection Authority has unanimously decided to appoint him to take over from Emma Martins when her final term of office finishes at the end of 2023.

Brent has been Deputy Commissioner at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada since 2018 where he has worked since 2012. He has previously worked as Assistant Deputy Commissioner for the Competition Bureau of Canada.

The Chairman of the Data Protection Authority, Richard Thomas CBE, commented,

“From a field of strong candidates, we were impressed with Brent’s track record of achievements, the approach he envisages for his term in office and his enthusiasm for becoming, with his family, a part of the Bailiwick community. It is testament to Guernsey’s reputation internationally that we were able to attract such a high-calibre candidate to this important role. Brent has demonstrated a clear commitment to build on the foundations established by Emma and her team in fulfilling our core purpose of protecting people by driving responsible use of personal information.”

Mr Homan commented,

"It will be an honour to lead the talented team at the ODPA in upholding and advancing data protection rights in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. I look forward to working alongside Guernsey's public and private sectors towards embracing the power of superior data protection standards to elevate trust in good government and consumer confidence in a vibrant, innovative Bailiwick economy."

The Authority will formally resolve to appoint Mr Homan at its next meeting and his five-year term will start in January 2024.

NOTES: 

About the Commissioner role  
The Data Protection Commissioner is a statutory role. The post-holder is an ex-officio, non-voting member of the Data Protection Authority and acts as its chief executive with responsibility for day-to-day operations.

About Brent Homan 
Joining the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada in 2012, Brent Homan is currently Deputy Commissioner, overseeing the enforcement of Canada's federal public and private sector privacy laws. 

Mr. Homan's accomplishments in Privacy include key investigations such as: Home Depot (2023), Tim Hortons Location Tracking (2022), Facial Recognition - Clearview, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Cadillac Fairview (2020/1), Facebook Cambridge Analytica (2019), Statistics Canada (2019), Equifax (2018), World Anti-Doping Association Breach (2017), Ashley Madison (2016), Bell Advertising Program (2015), and Google Behavioural Advertising (2014). 

A global leader in international enforcement, Mr. Homan has joined forces with partners, co-leading numerous international investigations including two Global Privacy Award winning joint investigations against Clearview and Ashley Madison, and the first ever international joint-investigation in the field of Privacy (against WhatsApp) with the Dutch Privacy Authority.

Mr. Homan created and spearheaded the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN) Privacy Sweep, and co-chairs the International Enforcement Cooperation Working Group of the Global Privacy Assembly.

A leader in digital economy, Mr. Homan co-chairs a Global Digital Consumer Working Group examining the growing intersection of privacy, consumer-protection and competition, and seeking to advance collaboration across regulatory spheres.

Prior to his appointment at the OPC, Mr Homan was Assistant Deputy Commissioner at the Competition Bureau of Canada where he led numerous high profile misleading advertising investigations in the Digital Economy. In the area of health, Mr. Homan led Canada's Tobacco Inquiry into the use of Light and Mild descriptors, culminating in the removal of Light and Mild labelling from cigarette packaging across Canada. 

Mr. Homan holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Political Science from Carleton University, and a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Ottawa.