Europe’s road to sustainable competitiveness 

Heike Prinz has been a member of the board of management of Bayer AG since September 1, 2023. In her role as chief talent officer, she is responsible for human resources. Prinz also serves as the labor director of Bayer AG. Before that, she was head of commercial operations EMEA at Bayer's pharmaceuticals division. Prinz worked as head of the business unit Cardiovascular and Neurology, and respectively, president and representative director of Bayer Yakuhin Ltd. in Japan from 2015 to 2021. Previously, she had been chief of staff for the president of pharmaceuticals at Bayer Pharma AG in Berlin and served as country division head for Bayer Pharmaceuticals Thailand & Cambodia. Prinz started her career at Schering AG (acquired by Bayer in 2006) in 1986 and has held various sales and marketing positions in the field of women's healthcare since then. She studied at the Berlin School of Economics and Law, where she earned a master's degree in business administration.

Johan Hanssens has been secretary general of the department of economy, science and innovation within the Flemish administration since December 2015. Hanssens was the deputy chief of staff and chief of staff for different party leaders in Flanders and Flemish ministers between 2000 and 2015. He advocates for transformative innovation policy in a ‘quadruple helix’ setting in which the four key actors (governments, businesses, academics and civil society) work closely together. Hanssens started his career in the banking sector and holds master's degrees in law and economics from KU Leuven.

Kurt Vandenberghe has been director general at the European Commission’s directorate general for climate action (DG CLIMA) since January 2023. Before that, he was the Green Deal and health advisor to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Between 2016 and 2019, Vandenberghe was director for policy and programming, and subsequently, acting director for research and innovation outreach at DG RTD. Vandenberghe had worked as the director for climate action and resource efficiency at DG RTD since 2013. He served as head of the cabinet of EU Commissioner Janez Potočnik between 2004 and 2010, and in the cabinet of Philppe Busquin from 1999 to 2004. Vandenberghe holds a master's degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Terry Reintke is a German MEP from Bündnis 90/Die Grünen in the Greens group, where she was elected as a member in 2014. She is also currently the co-president of the Greens/EFA and is one of the Greens Spitzenkandidaten for the incoming European elections. Before that, she was spokesperson of the Federation of Young European Greens and a member of the executive board of German Green Youth. Having grown up in the industrial region of the Ruhr area, Reintke is a progressive politician committed to a green and fair industrial transition, social rights and gender equality. Reintke studied political science in Berlin and Edinburgh. Photo credit: "@2022-EU-EP

Marco Mensink is director general of the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) since May 2016. As such he contributes to shaping the strategy and direction of the European chemical industry, uniting more than 31 national federations and 650 members and affiliates from all over Europe. Mensink is also council secretary of the International Council of Chemical Industries (ICCA), uniting 95% of global chemical production. Since 2006, he has worked on energy policy in fields such as emission trading systems (EU ETS) or renewables. Previously, he was director general of the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI). Starting his career at Ernst & Young Management Consulting, he worked for six years in environmental management and due diligence projects. A Dutch national, he holds a MA in Forestry and Business Management from the Agricultural University of Wageningen in the Netherlands.