Biography
Acting Director of the Executive Agency for SMEs in Brussels. Responsible for the implementation of EU programmes, 10 billion euros and 500 staff members, in the fields of R&I and entrepreneurship, such as Horizon2020 including SMEs and Start-ups, COSME, LIFE and Maritime and Fisheries
Background in Mechanical engineer in applied Thermodynamics and postgraduation studies are in Energy and Environment, Economics, Management and Leadership.
She started as a researcher and lecturer at university of Lisbon. She worked with Profabril on energy audits in different energy intensive industries. In Switzerland, she joined Lombardi engineering as a project engineer on tunnelling and computer modelling. In 1990 became head of the InfoEnergie office at the Cantonal and Swiss Federal Government, dealing with,
environment, energy efficiency and renewables. In 1994 she joined in European Commission in Brussels for different management positions at DG Research and DG GROW related to research, innovation and legislation in a wide variety of industrial sectors (materials and
anotechnologies, transport, security and space, science and society, circular economy, eco innovation, chemicals and plastics). She was also Head of the Unit dealing with Women in Science and Innovation.
Gender issues and women entrepreneurship have been mainstream topics across her life and career. She is a co-author of the report ‘Strengthening Canada’s Research capacity in the Gender Dimension’ , while working in 2012 for the Council of Canadian Academies.
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