Michiel Scheffer has been appointed as President of the Board of the European Innovation Council (EIC) following an open call for expressions of interest.
A Dutch national with over 20 years of professional experience in the innovation field, Mr Scheffer will provide strategic leadership for the fully-fledged EIC under Horizon Europe. He has worked in business, academia, and public policy and will bring his extensive network and expertise to the position. The starting date of Mr Scheffer’s appointment is still to be determined.
The role of the EIC Board President includes the following:
- Chairing the EIC Board, preparing its meetings, assigning tasks to members, and establishing dedicated sub-groups as required, in particular, to identify emerging technology trends from the EIC’s portfolio
- Acting as the public face of the EIC and engaging actively in its promotion across key audiences in Europe and beyond
- Acting as an interlocutor between the Commission and EU Member States
What is the EIC Board?
The EIC Board was established by the Horizon Europe legislation with a mandate to advise on the overall strategy for the EIC, the EIC annual Work Programmes; identification of strategic portfolios of projects and the profile of EIC Programme Managers and other actions to improve the European innovation ecosystem.
The members of the Board, including its President, are selected following an open call for expressions of interest.
Further information about the EIC is provided in the dedicated UKRO factsheet (link in the ‘Related content’ section).