Dr Ralf Sauer is the Deputy Head of DG Justice and Consumer's Unit for International Data Flows and Protection at the European Commission, which covers data flows both for commercial purposes and in the area of law enforcement cooperation. He has been one of the key negotiators of the EU-US Privacy Shield and the mutual adequacy arrangement with Japan. He regularly speaks at international conferences and panels on data protection issues.

Prior to joining DG Justice, Ralf Sauer worked for almost 10 years in the European Commission's Legal Service, among others representing the Commission before the European courts in numerous cases. He holds an LL.M. and doctoral degree from Yale Law School.