EFM BOARD
Professor Danuta HÜBNER,
Member of the European Parliament
Professor of economics, Danuta Hübner served as the first Polish Commissioner of the European Union in 2004-2009, and was in charge first for Trade and then Regional Policy. Elected as Member of the European Parliament in 2009, she is currently serving her third parliamentary term. During the previous parliamentary mandates, she was the Chair of the European Parliament’s Committees on Constitutional Affairs (2014-2019) and on Regional Policy (2009-2014). From July 2019, Professor Hübner is member of the Committee on International Trade and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and coordinator of the European People's Party in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs. Also member of the Delegation to the EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee and the Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly. Previously, Professor Hübner has served as Minister of European Affairs, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, as well as, Under-Secretary-General of the UN. From 2011, she is nominated Prime Minister of the Shadow Cabinet of the Women’ Congress.
Dr Benedikt KUTTENKEULER
Siemens
Dr Benedikt Kuttenkeuler has been Head of Representation for Siemens in Brussels since 2017, having worked for `Siemens since 1999. Before coming to Brussels, he held several high-level positions in the company’s legal department. These included spending the last 5 years serving as Head of Global Functions, Corporate Legal and Compliance at Siemens AG in Munich. His previous positions also included being Vice President for Legal Affairs at the Siemens Representation in Brussels as well as Head of Business Administration at AllessaSyntec GmbH & Co KG. Apart from his career at Siemens, he held several public offices including for 10 years serving as a Councillor at the Würzburg City Council. Having studied Law & Economics in Bayreuth, Birmingham and Würzburg, he obtained his doctoral degree in 1998 and was admitted to the German Bar.
Frédérique BISTON
Volvo Group
Frédérique BISTON is Senior Vice-President and Head of the Volvo Group Representation, EU office in Brussels. At the beginning of her career she worked as a trainee in the European Commission of Jacques Delors. Then, she joined the marketing department of Volvo Construction Equipment headquarters in Brussels. In 1996 she was one of the pioneers of the Volvo Group Representation EU office and has held various positions within the department since then. Today she is responsible for it. She is a board member of the European Parliament “Kangaroo Group”, which works on the completion of the internal market. She has a Master’s in Economic and Political Sciences from the University of Louvain and a Diploma in Romanic Philology.
Philip COLE
WindEurope
As WindEurope’s Director of Industry Affairs, Philip Cole leads WindEurope’s supply chain programme. Focused on supporting and growing the wind energy industry’s manufacturing presence in Europe, he ensures that the voice of manufacturers is heard and that they are able to access the support they need through his established networks within the European Commission, European Parliament, OECD and National Governments.Key focus areas include access to investments for infrastructure and ensuring a level playing field for European manufacturers. He also manages the relationships and strategy with the 500+ WindEurope member companies as well as developing cross-sectoral partnerships with a range of key industries that support the development of the wind industry.Prior to joining WindEurope, he spent 10 years in strategy and commercial roles with a focus on Europe and the Middle East within global manufacturing organisations including as Kellogg’s, Lindt & Sprüngli and L’Oréal.
Maria GRAPINI
Member of the European Parliament
Maria Grapini is an engineer by profession with over 25 years has been a businesswoman, founder and president of several NGOs. In 2000, She received from the President of Romania the National Order "For Merit", in the rank of Knight and received several national and international distinctions for her contribution to the economic development of the country. Entering politics 13 years ago, Grapini was elected as member in the National Parliament and was Minister for Small and Medium Enterprises, Business and Tourism. Since 2014, she has been a member of the European Parliament and is part of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, where she is a Vice-President, the Committee on Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Budgetary Control, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs. In 2019 she received the "MEP Awards" granted by "The Parliament Magazine".
Karl PIHL
Ericsson
As the Head of Ericsson's EU Affairs Office, Karl Pihl is responsible for driving Ericsson’s policy agenda in Brussels. His main tasks are to lead and create a favorable environment for Ericsson and its customers’ success through thought leadership and trusted advice that proactively influences EU institutions, EU member states representations and EU industry organizations, in EU policies, legislation and regulations for ICT and trade. Prior to this, he worked for 7 years in the Volvo Group’s EU Representation office, as a EU Regulatory Affairs Manager, Director of EU Public Affairs and from 2016 as Deputy Head of Office. Previous positions have included the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the EU, Council of the European Union as well as several Brussels-based consultancies. Karl holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science with a specialization in EU Affairs from Uppsala University, as well as from the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences-Po). He speaks fluent Swedish, English, French and Portuguese.