Ms. Silvia ABAD is call coordinator in REA.B2, the unit dealing with SC2, Sustainable Resources for Food Security and Growth. As background she is an agricultural engineer and has been working in the EU institutions as Research project officer for more than 10 years now.

Mr. Said Abousahl is Head of the Euratom Coordination Unit at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, in charge of coordinating the JRC nuclear activities in the field of nuclear safety, safeguards and security. Before, he spent many years at the JRC/Geel and JRC/Karlsruhe Laboratories dealing with various nuclear research projects. Mr. Abousahl got his PhD in March 1990 from the university of Pierre & Marie Curie.

Ms. Nadja Adamovic coordinates the EU Project OntoCommons that lays the foundation for interoperable and standardised data documentation across all materials and manufacturing domains, thereby facilitating data sharing and pushing data-driven innovation. She chairs EMMC (www.emmc.eu), with the role to increase the industrial digitalisation and exploitation of material modelling in Europe.

Mr. Filippo Addarii is the founding partner and CEO of PlusValue, a London-based research and consultancy group specialised in the design and implementation of urban innovation ecosystems. He is a serial entrepreneur & strategy advisor with 20 years’ expertise in leading on innovation projects combining sustainable development and social impact, and a multi-stakeholder approach.

Mr. Akaishi Koichi is currently in charge of overall innovation policy of Japanese government, as a Vice Minister for Innovation Policy in Cabinet Secretariat. Prior to appointing the Vice Minister for Innovation Policy, Mr. Akaishi served on various positions in the Government of Japan, such as economic revitalization, environment and energy policy, digitalization, innovation and international trade.

Mr. Babak Akhgar is Professor of Informatics and Director of CENTRIC (Centre of excellence in terrorism, resilience, intelligence and organised crime research). He has written and edited a number of books on Intelligence management, Cyber Crime , Strategic Intelligence Management, Emerging Trends in ICT Security, Application of Big Data for National Security and OSINT for CT investigation. 

Mr. Dinos Alevizopoulos is a Head of Sector on the Common Audit Service of the Research and Innovation Family. Prior to this post, he served as an acting Head of Unit in the Internal Audit unit of the DG Budget. Before joining the Commission, he worked in a multinational firm as a Finance Manager. Mr. Alevizopoulos is an ACCA and holds an MSc in Finance and a BSc in Banking and Financial Management.

Mr. Grzegorz Ambroziewicz studied Mngmt/Economics/Transport at Warsaw and Vienna Schools of Economics, Université d'Orléans and University of Oxford. His PhD in Political Science is focussed on security and sovereignty. After 15 years in the EC in 2018, he took up a job of deputy Head of Unit in the European Agency for Small and Medium-Sized Companies in the EC dealing with the European Innovation Council.

Mr. Gonçalo Amorim is the Executive Director of BGI, that he co-founded in 2013.  BGI is a spinout from the MIT Portugal Program - Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative, launched in 2010, which he spearheaded.BGI is a deep tech accelerator for IP-intensive startups targeting global marketplaces. It facilitated the creation of over 75 high tech ventures, raising over €234,1 million in financing.

Ms. Julia Anderson is a researcher at Bruegel, where she focuses on issues related to competition policy, high tech and the financial sector. Before joining Bruegel, she worked in competition policy--conducting economic analysis in the context of EU-wide mergers and antitrust investigations. Ms. Anderson holds Masters in Economics (NYU) and in Philosophy (LSE).

Ms. Karina Angelieva is a Deputy Minister of Education and Science. Former Head of Sector Education and Research at the Permanent Representation of the RB to the EU. She holds Master’s degrees in European integration and in Contemporary History. Her previous positions held include Director-General of Structural Funds and Director of the Joint Innovation Centre of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. 

Ms. Antoaneta Angelova-Krasteva has been Director for Innovation, International Cooperation and Sport at DG EAC since 2016. Her Directorate is therefore responsible for the MSCA and the EIT. Prior to entering the EC, Antoaneta worked as a Bulgarian diplomat in Brussels. She is a graduate in political science of Sofia University, with qualifications in European Studies from Germany and the UK.

Mr. Cliff Ansel is a seasoned serial medtech entrepreneur. Prior to Respinova he cofounded a group of companies with products ranging from critical care and emergency medicine, to neuro and cardiovascular diagnostics. He commercialized several world-first products, and established numerous collaborations with leading institutions. Some of these products are presently helping the fight against COVID-19.

Mr. Nuno Arantes‐Oliveira is an entrepreneur, investor and academic with a scientific background and an interest in innovation, particularly in the Life Sciences and in Healthcare.

Mr. Román Arjona is Chief Economist and Head of Strategy and Foresight at DG Research & Innovation of the European Commission. He is Vice-Chair of the OECD’s Committee for Science and Technology Policy (CSTP). He was Secretary-General for R&I in Spain. He worked for EIB, IMF and OECD as economist. Mr. Arjona has a Masters from the College of Europe and a PhD from the European University Institute in Florence