Date: June 4, 2025
Session: Track 5 - AI for B2B Sales & Marketing
Moderator: Dany Cerone, Author of the B2Bible, Director at Botte Secrète

The panel explored the intersection of AI-powered B2B sales automation and European data privacy regulations. The discussion revealed significant operational challenges facing European companies in leveraging LinkedIn data for prospecting while maintaining GDPR compliance. Panelists shared practical insights on navigating the complex regulatory landscape that distinguishes European AI companies from their global competitors.

Key Takeaway: European B2B sales teams must develop sophisticated approaches to data collection and processing that balance automation efficiency with strict privacy compliance, potentially creating competitive advantages through trust and regulatory adherence.

LinkedIn Data Collection: Regulatory Complexity

The panel addressed fundamental tensions in modern B2B sales strategies that rely heavily on LinkedIn for prospect identification and outreach. Loris Todaro from Hublead, bringing deep sales automation expertise, acknowledged that LinkedIn serves as the primary platform for professional networking and lead generation, while simultaneously presenting significant compliance challenges under European data protection frameworks.

One key insight emerged regarding the practical mechanics of LinkedIn data extraction. Jérôme Amoudruz from Sandra, drawing on engagement platform expertise, noted that when users register on LinkedIn, they typically provide personal email addresses rather than professional ones. The discussion included his specific observation that « in, I would say, 9 out of 10 cases, it will be a private email address », highlighting a fundamental challenge for automated prospecting systems that assume access to professional contact information.

The legal complexity becomes apparent when companies attempt to scale their outreach efforts. Celso Da Costa from EMS, speaking from his experience as CMO of a medical technology company, described the challenge: « When the lawyers started to talk to us, we said to ourselves, how are we going to deal with all this? » When legal departments become involved in reviewing data collection processes, the operational challenges multiply significantly. Da Costa noted the practical difficulties of managing contact databases, explaining that « when we get to 3,000 people in my email training in general, it's not easy ».

Public vs Private Data Distinctions

A significant portion of the discussion focused on the critical distinction between public and private data in the context of B2B sales automation. Panelists emphasized that compliance strategies must differentiate between personal email addresses (which require explicit consent) and professional contact information that companies make publicly available.

Jérôme Amoudruz emphasized this critical distinction, noting that « when we talk about data, we don't talk about private email addresses. But it's really a professional email address ». This distinction forms the foundation of legally compliant B2B outreach strategies in Europe. Professional email addresses that appear on company websites, press releases, and official communications constitute public data that can be processed for legitimate business purposes.

The discussion highlighted that most small and medium enterprise (PME) websites contain team pages with publicly accessible professional contact information. This creates a pathway for compliant data collection that focuses on officially published business contact details rather than personal information extracted from social media profiles.

Consent Mechanisms and Connection Rights

The panel explored sophisticated approaches to obtaining proper consent for B2B communications through LinkedIn's connection system. The platform's first-degree connection mechanism creates a framework for legitimate business communication, provided that recipients have configured their profiles to allow such contact.

Loris Todaro explained the technical reality from Hublead's platform perspective: « if you give public access to the tool, I have the right to send you an email because I am connected to you and we are at the first level ». This creates a tiered approach to communication rights where LinkedIn connections represent a form of professional consent for business-related outreach.

However, Todaro revealed the complexity of these permission systems from his experience with client implementations: « when you try to download your database, we do that, we invite all our clients to download their contact list. You will see that when we download our contact list, there are some that you will have emailed, and some that you will not have emailed ». This demonstrates how individual privacy settings create variable permission levels that require sophisticated technical systems to manage.

The concept of opt-in through connection acceptance was highlighted as a key compliance mechanism: when someone accepts a LinkedIn connection request, they provide implicit consent for professional communication within the platform's framework.

Legitimate Interest in European Context

A panelist provided detailed exploration of legitimate interest as a legal basis for B2B communications under European regulations. This concept emerged as perhaps the most viable pathway for compliant sales automation in European markets.

The discussion included a practical example illustrating legitimate interest boundaries: « if you are a HR, I have the right to contact you. I am obliged to remove you from any list if you submit an interest. However, I can't sell you macaroons ». This example demonstrates that professional communications related to business functions are permissible, while unrelated commercial outreach violates legitimate interest principles.

The principle extends to relevant business relationships: « if you are a chef in the same company, I can offer you a macaroon service. Because the interest is mutual ». This illustrates how legitimate interest requires genuine business relevance rather than broad-based marketing approaches.

Technical Implementation Challenges

The discussion revealed significant technical complexity in implementing compliant AI sales systems. European companies must develop sophisticated permission management systems that dynamically adjust outreach capabilities based on individual privacy settings and consent status.

The panel noted that LinkedIn messaging and email outreach represent fundamentally different communication channels from a legal perspective, requiring separate compliance strategies and technical implementation approaches. This creates complex requirements that simple automation tools cannot adequately address.

Companies must implement systems capable of managing variable permission levels across thousands of contacts, tracking consent status, and automatically adjusting communication strategies based on individual preferences and legal requirements.

Innovation and Competitive Positioning

Despite regulatory challenges, the discussion suggested that European companies developing compliant AI sales solutions may gain competitive advantages. One panelist mentioned receiving innovation funding, referencing that « we won a grant from the Cantongo Innovo », indicating that Swiss regulatory bodies support businesses developing privacy-compliant AI solutions.

This suggests potential competitive advantages for companies that invest in compliance-first approaches to sales automation:

Trust Building: Companies demonstrating sophisticated privacy compliance build stronger long-term client relationships and reduce legal risk exposure.

Sustainable Operations: Privacy-compliant systems avoid regulatory backlash and penalties that increasingly affect companies operating outside legal frameworks.

Technical Innovation: Regulatory constraints drive development of more sophisticated solutions that often prove superior in terms of conversion rates and client quality compared to volume-based approaches.

Global Market Access: As privacy regulations tighten worldwide, European companies with compliant-by-design systems gain advantages in international markets.

Strategic Implications

The Panoramai panel discussion illuminated both challenges and opportunities for European AI companies in the B2B sales automation space. While regulatory compliance creates operational complexity, companies that master these requirements position themselves advantageously as global privacy standards evolve.

The discussion emphasized that successful European AI sales platforms must combine regulatory expertise with advanced technical capabilities. This requires investment in sophisticated consent management, dynamic permission tracking, and intelligent automation that respects individual privacy preferences while maintaining sales effectiveness.

For industry leaders, the key insight is that European privacy regulations should be viewed as innovation drivers rather than constraints, creating opportunities for companies that embrace compliance as a core competitive strategy rather than a reluctant obligation.

Conference Conclusions

They demonstrated that European AI companies face unique challenges in B2B sales automation but also possess distinctive competitive advantages. The discussion highlighted the importance of technical precision in implementing privacy-compliant systems while maintaining commercial effectiveness.

The panel's diverse industry representation - from medical technology and luxury hospitality to sales automation and engagement platforms - provided comprehensive perspectives on how different sectors approach these challenges. The discussion suggests that successful European AI companies will distinguish themselves through sophisticated regulatory compliance rather than viewing privacy requirements as competitive disadvantages.

Panel Participants:

• Celso Da Costa - Chief Marketing Officer, EMS (Electro Medical Systems)

• Samy Vischel - Président, FAUCHON L'HOTEL PARIS

• Loris Todaro - Co-Founder & Head of Product, Hublead (Sales Automation)

• Jérôme Amoudruz - Co-Founder, Sandra (Engagement Platform)