Montserrat Daban, new President of Council of European BioRegions (CEBR)

On the first day of the CEBR Annual Meeting, held in Stuttgart (Baden Württemberg, Germany) on May 16 and 17, Klaus Eichenberg (CEO of BioRegio STERN) and Marc Dechamps (outgoing CEBR president) inaugurated the event, which brought together 35 representatives of European bioregions. During the gathering, board elections were held and then the new president and vice-president were chosen for the next three years.

Montserrat Daban, Biocat director of Science Policy and Internationalization and outgoing CEBR vice-president, was chosen to be the new president of the board:  “I’m honored to be appointed CEBR president. Our association is at a great point, in large part thanks to the achievements of the previous board and outgoing president, Marc Dechamps, as well as the executive team led by Anaïs Le Corvec and many of the members who make an active contribution. It’s also a great time for European health innovation policies, with numerous challenges and opportunities that CEBR is aligned with and plays a decisive role in.

After the pandemic, by reconnecting with members, growing the network and its expansion and influence strategy, we are now perfectly positioned to have a great impact and to raise awareness of our ability to transform. We’re not only committed to boosting the impact of our activity for network members and their ecosystems, but also to continue reinforcing our position in the EU and the world. As vice-president last year, and now as president, I feel very fortunate to be able to work with this new board and with all the clusters in the network to achieve our shared goals and to boost our impact.”

Stamatiki Kritas, Business Development manager for the Hellenic BioCluster and new vice-president of CEBR, also noted her desire to work with board members to “continue supporting and highlighting the impact life sciences clusters have on creating disruptive innovation and ultimately build a stronger, more sustainable Europe.” 

The new CEBR Executive Board for 2023-2024: 

• President: Montserrat Daban (Director of Science Policy and Internationalization, Biocat)
   
• Vice-president: Stamatiki Kritas (Business Development Manager, Hellenic BioCluster) 
   
• Board member and Treasurer: Tero Piispanen (Senior Executive, Turku Science Park) 
   
• Board member: Kazimierz Murzyn (Managing Director, Klaster LifeScience Krakow) 
   
• Board member (new): Sauro Vicini (Executive Director, Clust-ER Health) 
   
• Board member (new): Margot Jehle (Project Manager, BioRegio STERN) 
   
• Board member (new): Alexis Biton (European Project Officer, Genopole) 
   
• Board member (new): Hickmah Tagaully (European Affairs Coordinator, Medicen Paris) 

At the event, CEBR Managing Director Anaïs Le Corvec pointed out: “CEBR is at a great moment of expansion and growth, and with the appointment of the new executive board, we will surely be able to continue growing and having an impact on European life sciences and healthcare ecosystems.”