Jane Amilhat
Head of Unit, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
Jane Amilhat, who took over the management of unit Clean Transport Transitions in the Directorate General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) of the European Commission in April 2021, is coming from Directorate General for Energy (DG ENER) where she was 3 years Deputy Head of Unit in charge of Energy infrastructures and Regional cooperation. Jane Amilhat worked in the private sector after her engineer/economist study in France and Germany. She started her career in the industrial/energy sector (Danone, Gaz de France/Engie, RWE Trading). She joined the European Commission in Directorate General for Environment (previously DG ENV, now DG CLIMA) from 2006 until 2008, where she was responsible for international climate change negotiations and sectorial climate policies. She has been dealing with Energy and industrial issues when she started at Directorate General for Trade (DG TRADE) at the end of 2008. She was responsible for Russia and the Eastern Partnership but also the Western Balkans and Switzerland when she became Deputy Head of Unit at DG TRADE in 2014.
Prof. Lars Enghardt
Director of the Institute of Electrified Aero Engines for German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Lars Enghardt joined the Institute of Propulsion Technology of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Berlin in 1997. In 2009, he was appointed as Professor for the Chair of Turbomachinery- and Thermoacoustics at the Technical University of Berlin, simultaneously with the leadership of the DLR Department of Engine Acoustics. Since 2020, he is building up a new DLR Institute, dedicated to Electrified Aero Engines, at the city of Cottbus. In 2023, he was appointed as Professor for the Chair of Electrified Aero Engines at the Brandenburg Technical University in Cottbus connected with the Directorship of the new DLR Institute of Electrified Aero Engines. The Institute is member of the Aero Propulsion Technology Cluster at DLR, together with three other DLR Institutes dedicated to propulsion research.
Roman Seele
Leader Future of Flight Engineering Germany, GE Aerospace
As the site and engineering leader at GE Aerospace’s Advanced Aviation Technology Center in Munich, Germany, Roman Seele heads teams focused on developing next-generation propulsion systems through RISE and other hybrid electric programs. Roman brings to this role 11 years of experience innovating new aviation technologies. Previously, he was the GE Aerospace program manager for NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project, which is developing a megawatt-class hybrid electric engine for flight tests this decade. Under Roman’s leadership, GE Aerospace engineers in Europe are helping shape the future of flight.
Axel Krein
Executive Director, Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking
Axel Krein is the Executive Director of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking, a Public-Private Partnership and the European Union’s leading Research and Innovation programme for steering aviation towards a sustainable and climate-neutral future. The aim is to develop and demonstrate disruptive new technologies and aircraft concepts aimed at reducing both CO2 and non-CO2 aircraft emissions. Axel has been at the helm of Clean Aviation and its predecessor Clean Sky 2 since February 2019. Previously, he spent more than two decades with Airbus in various executive management positions, including Senior Vice President of Cyber Security Programme (2014-2019); Senior Vice President Research & Technology (2007 -2014); Senior Vice President Strategic Development (2004-2007); and Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer (2000-2004). Axel holds a Masters in Aerospace Engineering from the Technical University of Aachen, Germany.
Magdalena Kula
Research Counselor for the Polish Permanent Representation to the EU
Magdalena Kula is a Policy Officer specializing in Interinstitutional Relations at the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG R&I). She has accumulated five years of experience within European institutions and over six years in executive roles within government institutions.
Prior to her current position, Magdalena served as an executive in a government institution, where she honed her skills in policy development and implementation. Her extensive experience in both European and national governmental bodies has equipped her with a comprehensive understanding of policy-making processes.
Magdalena holds a Master’s degree in European Studies, which has provided her with a solid foundation in European policies and institutions. She is fluent in multiple languages, including English, French, and Polish, enabling effective communication in diverse professional settings.
In her current role at DG R&I, Magdalena focuses on fostering collaboration between European institutions to promote research and innovation initiatives. Her expertise contributes to the development of policies that drive scientific advancement and technological growth across Europe.
Eszter Lakos
Member of the European Parliament
Eszter Lakos (EPP, Hungary) was elected to the European Parliament in 2024 as a member of the TISZA Party. In the Parliament, MEP Lakos serves as a member of the Committee on Industry, Research, and Energy (ITRE), as a substitute member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), as a substitute member of the Committee on Security and Defence (SEDE) and as a substitute member in the special committee on the European Democracy Shield (EUDS). She is member of STOA, the Parliament’s Science and Technology Options Assessment Panel. Before assuming her mandate, she worked in the Director’s team at the European Institute of Technology & Innovation (EIT) in Budapest. From 2015 to 2023, she served as a research attaché at the Permanent Representation of Hungary to the EU, representing Hungary in Horizon Europe negotiations. She holds a PhD in International Law & Economics from Bocconi University in Milan.
Jan-Christoph Oetjen
Member of the European Parliament
Jan-Christophe OETJEN has been a Member of the European Parliament for the Renew Europe Group, since July 2019. He is the Vice-Chair of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and a substitute on the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. Before joining the European Parliament, he served as a member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) in the Lower Saxony regional parliament from 2003 until 2019. He has been a member of the FDP since 1995. Before going into politics, he studied economics at the University of Hannover.
Russell Stokes
President & CEO, Commercial Engines & Services, GE Aerospace
Russell Stokes is President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Commercial Engines and Services. Russell has more than 23 years of GE experience, including seven years at GE Aviation where he served as the Sourcing General Manager as well as Services Chief Risk Officer and Customized Service Agreements Finance Leader. Most recently, he was President and CEO of GE Power Portfolio. GE Power Portfolio was created, as part of an effort led by Russell while he was CEO of GE Power, to restructure the business into two customer and market-aligned entities. Before leading GE Power, Russell was the President & CEO of GE Energy Connections, the electrification, grid and controls business of GE. In 2013, he also served as the President & CEO of GE Transportation, a global leader in rail, mining and marine industries. Russell has also held numerous leadership positions in finance, operations and services within GE Transportation, GE Aviation and GE Lighting. Russell plays an active role in the Atlanta community. He is a member of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee, the Atlanta Committee for Progress, 3DE by Junior Achievement – an association dedicated to re-engineering high school education – and a Board Trustee of the Morehouse School of Medicine. Russell graduated from Cleveland State University with a degree in finance and is a graduate of GE’s Financial Management Program.
Grazia Vittadini
Chief technology officer, Lufthansa Group
Grazia Vittadini was appointed to the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG with effect from July 1, 2024. She serves as Chief Technology Officer of the Lufthansa Group, with responsibility for the Group’s Technology, IT & Innovation division. Vittadini comes to the Lufthansa Group from Rolls-Royce plc, London, where she has served as Chief Technology Officer and a member of the Executive Team, and most latterly as a Special Advisor.
From 2002 to 2021, Grazia Vittadini held various positions in a range of locations at Airbus Group, initially in Hamburg as a design engineer and from 2005 to 2009 in Bremen, working on the production and service entry of the Airbus A380. In 2009, she was appointed Head of Major Tests at the Hamburg site, and from 2013 onwards she served as Head of Design, also at Airbus Hamburg.
In 2014 Vittadini moved to Toulouse to assume new duties as Head of Corporate Audit and Forensic for the Airbus Group; in 2017 she was appointed Executive Vice President, Head of Engineering and a Member of the Executive Committee of Airbus Defense and Space; and in 2018 she was appointed Chief Technology Officer and a Member of the Airbus Executive Committee.
Grazia Vittadini is a member of the Supervisory Board of Siemens AG, and also holds a supervisory mandate at The Exploration Company, Gilching.
An Italian and German dual national, Grazia Vittadini holds a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, specializing in Aerodynamics, from the Politecnico di Milano (Polytechnic University of Milan).
