European autonomy and resilience
Speakers and panelists
Maria Cristina Russo
Director, Prosperity, DG RTD, European Commission
Maria Cristina Russo is Director of the Prosperity Directorate in DG Research and Innovation. In this role she is responsible for Industrial research innovation & investments agenda, Knowledge valorisation & Technology infrastructures, Industrial transformation and Industry 5.0 and AI in Science. She has been working for the European Commission since 1992.
Mathias Rauch
Chief Representative to the EU, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Mathias Rauch has been working for Fraunhofer in various senior management positions for 18 years. As Chief Representative to the EU, he is currently responsible for Fraunhofer’s European R&D&I strategy as well as for the accompanying political communication. In addition, Mathias serves as chairman of the Supervisory Board of Fraunhofer Austria and is a member of the Board of Directors of Fraunhofer UK. Since 2009, Mathias has been a permanent member of UNECE’s Expert Group on Innovation and Competitiveness Policies.
NATO Science and Technology Organization Office of Chief Scientist, Special Advisor for NATO Chief Scientist
Janet Martha Blatny
Janet Martha Blatny serves in the NATO Science and Technology Organization Office of the Chief Scientist as Special Advisor for the NATO Chief Scientist and is Director of the Total Defence Division at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI). Holding a PhD in biotechnology from NTNU, she brings extensive expertise in national defence and security—specializing in CBRN and biotechnology—and spanning resilience, civil-military collaboration, foreign information manipulation and interference, and cognitive warfare. She has coordinated numerous international projects across EDA, EU, and NATO, and previously served as Vice Chair (2019–2021) and Chair (2021–2023) of the NATO STO Human Factors and Medicine Panel.
Klaus Tobias Mosbacher
Executive Director, ECCSEL
Klaus Tobias Mosbacher represents ECCSEL, The European Research Infrastructure for CO2 capture, utilisation, transport and storage. He brings extensive leadership experience from the Oil & Gas industry in management and executive roles, and also successfully developed and commercialised a start-up specializing in multiphase flow metering for the upstream E&P sector. He has provided support to various international companies and stakeholders in entering the CCUS and Hydrogen industry, while successfully participated in EU Horizon projects and collaborations with research centers.
Head of Fusion Technologies & Engineering Department, Fusion for Energy (F4E)
Enrique Garcia Vidoretta
Dr. Enrique J. García is an engineering leader with 20+ years of mixed academic and industrial experience across aerospace, defence and space, renewable energy, automotive, and railway, having served as CTO of the UK’s National Composites Centre and as a visiting Industrial Professor at the University of Bristol before joining Fusion for Energy. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Universidad de Zaragoza, an MSc in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT, and an Executive MBA from IE Business School. His work spans the full engineering and product cycle and he is passionate about bridging the “valley of death” by translating scientific ideas into commercially impactful industrial solutions through re-engineered engineering and effective technology transfer.
Helen Kardan
Director of Science and Technology, TNO
Helen Kardan is a senior technology and strategy leader with global experience across the semiconductor, medtech, and automotive value chains—beginning at Freescale Semiconductor in Japan and spanning roles in the US, Europe, and Asia, including positions at Eindhoven University of Technology, TNO, and later ASML. Rejoining TNO, she is responsible for executing a science and technology strategy to create breakthrough innovations for partners and customers in the Netherlands and to strengthen collaboration with academia and knowledge institutes. She brings extensive senior leadership expertise in growth strategy and value chain management and remains active in entrepreneurship within the Dutch scientific community.