By Jennifer L. Saunders

It was a night of celebration and camaraderie at the IAPP’s 10th Anniversary Privacy Dinner, where the winners of this year’s privacy awards were announced amidst food, fun and festivities.

Canadian Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart received a standing ovation toward the end of the evening when Jeff Green, CIPP/C, of the Royal Bank of Canada announced Stoddart had been selected as the winner of the 2010 IAPP Privacy Vanguard Award. The award honors the privacy professional who has best demonstrated outstanding leadership, knowledge and creativity in privacy and data protection.

Green described Stoddart, who was selected for her role in establishing Canada as a leading regulator on privacy issues, as “a catalyst for a global approach” to privacy protection.

Stoddart’s accomplishments include her efforts to address privacy concerns in high-profile social networking and online companies, including leading what Green described as an unprecedented collaboration involving 10 data protection authorities on four continents who issued a joint statement regarding the respect of privacy laws by technology companies launching new products.

IAPP President Nuala O’Connor Kelly, CIPP, CIPP/G, who is the chief privacy leader and senior counsel, information governance at GE and was in attendance at the Privacy Academy and Privacy Dinner, described Stoddart as “instrumental in forging coordinated approaches to global data protection challenges,’ noting that Stoddart’s “strong leadership has elevated the privacy profession, not just in Canada, but globally” in discussing Stoddart’s selection for this year’s award.

Stoddart described the award as an “extraordinary honor,” adding she had been astonished to learn she had been selected to receive the award. Stoddart thanked the members of her team for their work, and praised the IAPP for its recognition of the need to address privacy challenges.

Also at the Privacy Dinner, three companies were honored with HP-IAPP Privacy Innovation Awards, which recognize exceptional integration of privacy and are selected by a panel of private and public sector privacy experts including Allen Brandt, CIPP, of Graduate Management Admission Council; Joanne McNabb, CIPP, CIPP/G, of the California Office of Privacy Protection; Susan Smith, CIPP, of Hewlett-Packard Company, and Florian Thoma of Siemens.

Canada’s Symcor, Inc., was selected in the large organization category. While presenting the award at the Privacy Dinner, HP Enterprise Services Privacy Officer Peter J. Reid, CIPP, praised Symcor’s efforts to promote a culture of privacy awareness.

IAPP Assistant Director Peter Kosmala, CIPP, announced the award for Minnesota Privacy Consultants in the small organization category, for its sophisticated approach to privacy principles.

In the technology category, Stanley Crosley, CIPP, of Indiana University, presented Microsoft Corporation with the award for its “U-Prove” privacy-enhancing identity management technology that helps protect personally identifiable information.

The evening also included a special announcement on the Ron Plesser Fellowship, which was created by DLA Piper and the Center for Democracy and Technology to encourage work in the fields of privacy and Internet public policy. To learn more about this endowment, visit www.cdt.org.