European Young Leaders (#EYL40)

Jane has dedicated most of her life to climate and environmental issues. Before bringing together donors to set up the Clean Air Fund, Jane was head of climate and energy science in the UK government, where she was responsible for the UK greenhouse gas inventory and a £45m science programme. She also founded Carbon Retirement, an award-winning social enterprise working with the EU ETS. Additionally, she has led a team of 150 scientists working on energy and environment at the National Physical Laboratory. Her dedication to sustainability and entrepreneurial drive has been rewarded with being named as one of the ‘Top 30 UK entrepreneurs under 30’ by Real Business, ‘Social Entrepreneur of the Year’ by Square Mile and one of the ‘Top 10 Outstanding Young Persons of the UK’ by the Chamber of Commerce International, among others.

Edvard Glücksman’s work focuses on the relationship between organisations and the environment. As a Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter Business School, he teaches undergraduate modules that connect management and organisational theory to best practice environmental and social sustainability actions. Glücksmanalso leads and supports executive education programmes designed to offer professionals cutting-edge training in climate and sustainability science, and to apply key concepts to their everyday practice and to their organisation’s broader strategy. He has previously worked with large global companies, as well as regional SMEs, and is currently the Programme Director on the Sustainable Solutions Leadership Programme (SSLP) delivered to Capgemini UK. Glücksman is also the academic lead on Future17, an innovative education programme that brings students from around the world together to work on challenges related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Kalliopi Kalaitzi is a medical doctor in a public hospital in Athens, specialising in physical medicine and rehabilitation with a focus on healthy aging and lifestyle medicine. Having previously worked in the field of aesthetic medicine and plastic surgery for over eight years, Kalliopi has also held a number of executive positions at the drug prevention centre, Serios, and experience working for a variety of NGOs which focus on youth health and drug abuse. She is also the youngest elected official to have served as a prefectural counsellor and as regional commissioner in Greeze. Kalliopi is the Co-Founder of the BrainGain Initiative, which aims to reverse brain drain in Greece. She currently serves as member of the board member of the Greek Cardiology Foundation and the president of an NGO, which focuses on prenatal, maternal and women’s health.

Riccardo is a biomedical scientist, whose work lies at the intersection of physics, engineering and medicine. His research investigates the interactions of electromagnetic fields with biological tissue in order to develop new technologies to improve the diagnostic power of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). He has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers. Riccardo also serves as the Director of Training of the NYU Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research (CAI²R). His various honours and awards include the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) I.I. Rabi Young Investigator Award, a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award, and a Fulbright Scholarship.

Jan specialises in helping start-up entrepreneurs take their first steps. In addition to his current roles at Selvomat and Charles University, Jan is the Founder of EduFórum, a network designed to support innovators in education, Co-Founder of Changemakers Czech Republic and a member of Red Button, an entrepreneurship ecosystem that seeks to foster collaboration among professionals and innovators across disciplines. He has developed several acceleration programmes for social innovation, including the Vodafone Foundation Laboratory, Social Impact Award Summer Accelerator Program and Struct Innovation Lab. Jan has also coordinated activities for the Alliance for YOUth CZ to support collaboration between companies and previously led the IBM Smarter University, an internship programme for students in technical fields. Jan is also the former director of Lean Startup CZ, a Prague-based business that assists new companies in achieving financial stability, efficiency and longevity, which features an accelerator programme for non-profit and social businesses.