European Young Leaders

As Director of the EU Secretariat in the Estonian government, Klen coordinates and develops all EU policy and acts as the chief European affairs adviser to the Prime Minister. A career civil servant, Klen started out in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, rising quickly to the position of Head of the Refugees Department. In this capacity, he dealt with a variety of NGOs and international organisations including the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He later moved to Brussels where he spent six years working at the Estonian Permanent Representation to the EU during which time he dealt with many issues related to the preparation, ratification and implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon.

A competition lawyer by profession, Kaja was elected Member of the Estonian Parliament and Chair of the Committee on Economic Affairs in 2011. After being elected to the European Parliament in 2014, she became a prominent proponent of innovation and frequently emphasised that regulations should not hinder the technological revolution. She authored five reports in the European Parliament, including of an own-initiative report on the Digital Single Market. Kaja left the European sphere in 2018 to become leader of Estonia’s Liberal Reform Party. Despite steered her party to victory in the 2019 national elections, she was declined the country’s leadership position which would have made her the country’s first female prime-minister. She is currently using her influence to counter the far-right coalition government’s agenda.

As CEO and co-founder of Testlio, Kristel leads a professional testing platform that helps software developers by connecting them to the best testers all over the world. The business is still growing rapidly, having already raised more than $6.25 million in investment capital, and works with a roster of major US and international clients, including the NBA, Microsoft, CBS and Hotels.com.

Juhan is Member of Cabinet of Vice-President Siim Kallas, European Commissioner for Transport since 2013. Currently, he is responsible for coordinating policy in the fields of rail and road transport and also covers non-portfolio issues such as energy policy, internal affairs, Economic and Monetary Union and the Eastern Partnership. Before he was Director for EU Affairs at the Government Office in Estonia. In this capacity he acted as the Prime Minister’s chief adviser for EU affairs and head of Estonia’s inter-ministerial coordination system of EU policy. He conducted the high-level negotiations for the 2014-2020 MFF, and participated in the EU’s response to the international financial crisis and subsequent reform of the EMU. Juhan holds an MA in Contemporary European Policy from the University of Sussex and a degree in Comparative Politics from University of Tartu. He has also studied interior design at the Estonian Art Academy.

Orm is Head Chef at NOA Chef’s Hall, the White Guide’s pick for best restaurant in both the Baltics and Estonia for 2016, 2017 and 2018. Orm’s cooking, a mix of avant-garde and more traditional methods, keeps sustainability at its heart, with his dishes frequently relying on Estonia’s generous endowment of wild herbs, an inventory from which he forages his own ingredients. Following the rhythm of the four seasons of the north, Orm’s restaurant takes advantage of techniques such as pickling to preserve the nutrients and tastes of summer during the cold winter months. At only 26 years old and having already led NOA Chef’s Hall to being nominated as one of the best new dining experience destinations by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, Orm’s ambitions are now fixed on the prospect of achieving his first Michelin star.