Four new members of the EIT governing board take up their mandate today and will join the other members of the board at its next meeting in September.
The new members are Péter Lakatos, Co-CEO and board member of the Hungarian company, Videoton Holding, who is also the Vice President of MGYOSZ (Confederation of Hungarian Employers and Industrialists); Rolf Nagel, Managing Partner, Munich Venture Partners; Björn Nilsson, President of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences; and Dirk Jan van den Berg, Chair of the Dutch blood transfusion service Sanquin and former president of Delft University of Technology.
Peter Olesen, Chairman of the EIT said the four bring a wealth of new talent and experience to the EIT governing board. “With the call for new Knowledge and Innovation Communities having recently closed, and two new KICs soon to be announced, the world of innovation and entrepreneurship at the EIT is certainly never dull,” Olsen said. “I look forward to the insights and experience our new members will bring to reinforcing the EIT’s mission to contribute to sustainable European economic growth and competitiveness.”
Olesen’s rueful tone reflects the pressure EIT has come under following a report in April from the European Court of Auditors (ECA), the EU’s accounting watchdog, which identified serial shortcomings at the EIT.
There should be a new legal basis and a longer grant period for EIT partners, who should be paid for performance, the report said. In addition, the ECA said that EIT needs more staff to oversee its activities and better monitoring and reporting processes.
The EIT Governing Board is the principal governing body of the EIT, with the role of strategic leadership and the overall direction of the operational activities. The board is independent and autonomous, consisting of 12 appointed members and three representative members who are professionals chosen for their expertise and experience in education, research and business.
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