The Commission is inviting outstanding innovation leaders to apply for the position of European Innovation Council (EIC) Board President.

This is a new post created to provide strategic leadership for the EIC. The post is full time with a term of office limited to four years, renewable once. Applicants must be nationals of an EU Member State.

Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Research, Innovation, Culture, Education and Youth, said:

The role of the EIC Board President is to provide leadership to the EIC as a flagship innovation programme, known to innovators across Europe and beyond. (S)he will lead the new EIC Board and translate the their vision and advice into a programme that meets innovators needs and enables them to develop ground breaking technologies and successful companies in Europe. I invite the outstanding visionary innovators in all parts of Europe to come forward for this important new role.

The role of the EIC Board President includes:

  • Chairing the EIC Board, prepare its meetings, assign tasks to members, and establish as needed dedicated sub-groups, in particular to identify emerging technology trends from EIC’s portfolio;
  • Acting as the public face of the EIC and engages actively in its promotion across key audiences (start-ups, innovators, researchers, investors, innovation eco-systems) in Europe and beyond
  • Performing as an interlocutor with the Commission and Member States.

The new President is expected to be appointed in the first quarter of 2022.

The deadline for applications is 17 December 2021, 12:00 Brussels time.

For more information, including on how to apply, please check the vacancy notice.

Background information

The European Innovation Council was established under the Horizon Europe programme (2021-27) with a budget of over €10 billion to identify, promote and scale up breakthrough technologies and disruptive innovation. The EIC builds on the successful pilot phase (2018-20) during which over 6000 start-ups and SMEs and over 400 leading research projects were supported, a dedicated EIC Fund was established to implement equity investments. A first set of EIC Programme Managers were recruited to provide high level domain- specific expertise in strategic areas of health, med-tech, energy and environment

The overall strategy and implementation of the EIC is guided by a High Level Board EIC Board” comprising of independent personalities drawn from the European innovation ecosystem, including entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, investors, public administration experts and researchers. The EIC Board advises the Commission on the overall strategy for the EIC, the work programme for implementation, the identification of strategic portfolios of projects, the profile of EIC Programme Managers, and a number of other matters which may include recommendations on broader innovation policy and regulatory barriers facing innovators. The independent members of the Board are expected to be appointed tomorrow by the Commission following an open call for expressions of interest.