Dyann Heward-Mills

Bio

Ms. Heward-Mills is a UK-qualified barrister of British-Ghanaian heritage with more than 25 years’ experience advising organizations on regulatory risk. She is the founder and CEO of HewardMills, a B Corp certified global data protection, cyber, and AI compliance business, and serves as an appointed ethics expert to the European Commission in research and innovation. She works extensively with C-suite leaders to build robust privacy and data protection programs, and is particularly known for guiding clients through the complex process of obtaining approval for Binding Corporate Rules.

Before founding HewardMills, Ms. Heward-Mills was a Partner at Baker McKenzie, where she led the London data protection and cybersecurity practice group; Senior Privacy Counsel for GE Capital; and Senior Privacy and Communications lawyer at Linklaters. She launched HewardMills after Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force, when clients began asking about the role of an internal data protection officer and she recognized a gap in market expertise for that function. In 2022, she led the firm to B Corp certification, making her one of the few Black female CEOs of a B Corp in the UK.

A passionate advocate for using business as a force for good, Ms. Heward-Mills co-founded a grassroots organization dedicated to the mental health and well-being of Black women and girls. She is a frequent speaker on panels, at conferences, and in the media, has published widely, and regularly guest lectures at UC Law SF and at University of San Francisco School of Law, where she is on the Advisory Board of the Center for Law, Tech, and Social Good. She is also a qualified psychotherapeutic counsellor and board advisor. Called to the bar in 2001, Ms. Heward-Mills holds an LLB(Hons) from the University of Hertfordshire and an LLM in Computer and Communications Law from Queen Mary, University of London.