Gianluca De Feo

Full Profile

Gianluca has been based in the Middle East since 2022 and has over six years’ experience across the full range of TMT issues. 

Gianluca primarily advises clients on the drafting and negotiation of digital transformation agreements, including IT sourcing agreements as well as advising on data protection, media, telecommunication and digital regulation issues. Gianluca has gained significant experience assisting clients leading in the financial, industrial and telecommunication sectors. 

As the Middle Eastern economies continue building a complex and diverse economic framework, Gianluca has assisted clients in their digital transformation processes with the goal of achieving commercial results while ensuring sound allocation of legal risks and regulatory compliance.

Gianluca is admitted to practice in Italy (Avvocato) and in England and Wales (Solicitor). Gianluca is a member of the International Technology Law Association and an author of several articles on One Trust Data Guidance and Lexology in relation to TMT matters.

Prior to joining Clyde & Co, Gianluca trained at magic circle firm in Italy and a primary Italian law firm with a strong focus on TMT matters.

He is fluent in English and Italian. 

Experience

• Advising a Saudi data center operator on the drafting and negotiation of the operation and maintenance agreement and other ancillary agreements related to the construction and operation of an hyperscale data center in KSA. This included (i) aligning with the terms of the colocation agreements with tenants and mitigating the risks where gaps were present, (ii) supporting the technical and commercial teams on the drafting of complex schedules covering the technical description of services, SLAs, governance forums, start-up and ramp-up plans, exit and contingency plans, and (iii) advising on regulatory compliance and requirements of The Uptime Institute.
• Advising a Saudi FinTech company on the drafting and negotiation of a PaaS service agreement with a large UK welfare provider enabling the offering of welfare and pension products to end customers in the Middle East. This included negotiating detailed provisions on regulatory compliance, SLAs, audit rights, and an exclusivity clause connected to volumes of assets under management.  
• Advising a Saudi asset management company on the drafting and negotiation of a licensing agreement with a UAE-based service provider for asset management and brokerage software, and related maintenance services. This included negotiating ownership of IP rights on customised software and a perpetual license for part of the underlying out-of-the-box software. 
• Advising a primary Saudi bank on the drafting and negotiation of a service agreement with third-party processors for the outsourcing of payment processing services offered to Fintech companies, also considering the outsourcing rules issued by the Saudi Central Bank.
• Advising the largest shipbuilder in Europe on the drafting and negotiation of the agreement for the provision of the entire IT infrastructure and services for the group. This included (i) a detailed migration plan from the incumbent supplier to the incoming provider, including advice on telco obligations, (ii) the procurement of hardware from third-party providers, and (iii) the engineering of dedicated connectivity for shipowners at the sites of construction.
• Advising an Italian State-owned company on the drafting and negotiation of an agreement with an IT service provider for the development, operation and maintenance of a customized platform for the onboarding and management of Non-Performing Loans purchased by the company. This included (i) scoping technical dependencies and a detailed RACI matrix to ensure interoperability between the customised platform and company’s and assignor banks’ existing solutions, (ii) agreeing governance mechanisms between the service provider and third-party IT providers for the integration with other credit management platforms implemented at the company, and (iii) ensuring ownership and usability of the customised platform.
• Advising an international digital company on a wide range of telecommunication and media regulatory matters, including emerging technologies such as wearable and smart home devices, edge computing, VoIP, BLE, PSTN connectivity, and geo-blocking. These included advising on licensing requirements, consumer-facing obligations, security measures, data protection, universal service obligations, cloud regulations, wiretapping, numbering and frequency allocation.
• Advising an international social media provider on the regulatory assessment and launch of its branded Wi-Fi software to be licensed to router manufacturers for installation on their hardware and enabling users in its vicinity to log in through the social media’s feed. This included assessing potential liability as an upstream provider of SaaS solutions and the regulatory regime applicable to the offering to the public of access to the Internet.
• Advising an international social media provider on its compliance with the provisions of the Saudi PDPL.
• Advising several international banks on their policies and procedures regarding employment-related background checks and related data processing activities under the GDPR.
• Advising an operator of a Serie A football stadium on its data protection compliance with the GDPR, including reviewing and drafting documents and policies and assessing the risk related to the processing of biometric data and video surveillance. This included supporting the client throughout the entire compliance exercise, from the initial gap analysis to the appointment of DPO and drafting the entire set of documents regarding the processing of personal data.

*Experience gained prior to joining Clyde & Co