Maria Dolors Nuñez Sánchez is a Chemical Engineer and holds a PhD in Materials Science from the University of Barcelona. She has complemented her academic background with advanced training in innovation and industrial policy, including postgraduate studies in Innovation, Enterprise and Circular Economy (University of Bradford), Industrial Policy (IESE), Innovation and Clusters (ESADE), and Exponential Innovation (EADA), among others.
Throughout her professional career, she has built extensive experience across industry, academia and the public sector. She held senior management positions as Director of Quality, Research and Development in component manufacturing companies serving the automotive, textile, food and energy industries.
In parallel, she developed an extensive academic and research career at the University of Barcelona, within the Department of Materials, where she worked as a researcher and advisor, participating in numerous national and European research projects. She also contributed actively to higher education, teaching in different university courses and master’s programmes, particularly in the fields of materials science, innovation and technology.
She is the author of more than 50 publications, including books, scientific articles and conference contributions, and has participated in several European projects in the areas of health, energy, materials and chemistry.
Until her recent retirement, she was Team Leader for Technological Opportunity Analysis at ACCIÓ, the competitiveness agency of the Government of Catalonia, supporting companies and institutions in strategic innovation, technology intelligence and emerging technology assessment.
Thomas Wobben was born in 1965 in Germany. After studying Economics and Politics in Cologne he began his professional career representing the interests of social sector organisations and youth organisations in Brussels.
He joined the services of the Land Saxony-Anhalt in 1993 where he was responsible for business co-operation within the European Union, innovation and interregional co-operation.
In 1995 he was sent to the Liaison Office of Saxony-Anhalt in Brussels mainly in charge for regional policy and the developing European co-operation projects.
Between September 1999 and March 2012 he was the director of the Representation of Saxony-Anhalt to the European Union.
He joined the European Committee of the Regions in 2012 as Director for Horizontal Policies and Networks and is currently the Director of Legislative Works for the COTER, ECON and SEDEC commissions.
Secretary of Enterprise and Competitiveness of the Ministry of Business and Labour in the Government of Catalonia since August 2024. CEO of ACCIÓ since September 2024.
A graduate in Economics and in Business Administration, he had a long technical career at Barcelona Activa until he became Executive Director of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship.
He started out in local development at Tordera Town Council (2001-2003) and then began a long professional career of more than twenty years at Barcelona Activa, the economic development agency of the Catalan capital, where he was the Executive Director of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship. He started at Barcelona Activa in 2003 as an employment and local development agent, subsequently taking on various technical roles: head of business growth programmes and director of the business services department.
He has collaborated with the university system of Catalonia (UAB, IESE, Esade, UB, IDEC-UPF, ESCI, UdG) and other institutions and organisations: Fira de Barcelona, Seira-Coop Foundation, SOC, World Bank, Mobile World Congress.
After primary and secondary education in Lleida, he graduated in Economics (1997) and Business Administration (1998) from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and also took a postgraduate course specialising in human resource management and industrial relations (2000-2001) at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF). His academic curriculum is completed with training programmes on entrepreneurship and mentoring at Esade, IESE and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Born in Codogno (1979) he graduated and worked as a tax consultant and banker. He was elected to the National Parliament in June 2013. As member of the Committee for Productive Activities, Trade and Tourism and head of the Department for Productive Activities of the League - Salvini Premier, from June 2018 to September 2019, he held the position of Undersecretary of State to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. From January 2021 to February 2023, he served as the Minister for Economic Development in the Regione Lombardia government.
In the XII Legislature, he was confirmed by President Attilio Fontana as the Regional Minister for Economic Development.
Tobias Gotthardt was born on June 3, 1977 in Regensburg and grew up in Burglengenfeld and Kallmünz.
After completing his high school education and studying political science in Regensburg and Freiburg, he initially worked as a parliamentary assistant and head of office in the European Parliament and the German Bundestag.
After his election to the Bavarian State Parliament in 2018, he assumed the chairmanship of the Committee for Federal and European Affairs. In addition, in 2021, he was appointed as deputy and then acting chairman of the Committee of Education and Culture. At the same time, he was the federal, European, education and youth policy spokesman of the FREIE WÄHLER parliamentary group.
After his re-election, Tobias Gotthardt was appointed Vice Minister and member of
the Bavarian State Government in 2023.
Stephan Satijn is Limburg's Regional Minister for Economy, Finance and Business Operations and Public Affairs.
Mr. Satijn (1972) was born in Maastricht. He studied at Zuyd Hogeschool and then business administration (EMBA) at Nyenrode Business University and the University of Rochester (USA).
As of 2000 he has been active in international business for, amongst others, Nederland Distributieland, where he was responsible for the North and South American market.
In the period 2011 – 2018 he was alderman for the VVD (liberals) at the municipality of Venlo where he held the portfolios of Economic Affairs and Knowledge Infrastructure and from 2014 onwards, he was also the 1st deputy mayor.
In 2017, Satijn was appointed chairman of the Board of Directors of the Royal Dutch Mint, an organisation responsible for the 'minting' of the official euro coin within the Benelux. He also held various supervisory board positions for, among others, MECC and Nederland Distrutieland.
Arne Weverling is a member of the Executive Council, the province's executive committee.
A strong and sustainable port and industry, preserving and strengthening Rotterdam’s prominent
position, and ensuring sufficient clean (drinking) water—now and in the future. That's what I'm
committed to. I work together with many organizations, businesses, and residents. All with the
goal of a thriving economy and a cleaner living environment in Zuid-Holland, in the Netherlands,
and in Europe. As a Regional Minister, my portfolio includes the transition of the port and industry
sectors, the development of the maritime cluster, and the management of water, soil, and climate
change adaptation. I am also responsible for aviation policy and land management in the region.
Vincenzo Colla was born in Alseno (Pc) in 1962, is married, and has one child. He began his political career at the age of 18 as Councilor for Youth Policies and Sports in the Municipality of Alseno, and, after several years working in metalworking and woodworking companies, he embarked on trade union activities in 1980. In 1985, he joined the provincial secretariat of Fiom Cgil in Piacenza, later becoming its General Secretary. In 1996, he was appointed General Secretary of the Piacenza Chamber of Labour. In 2002, he was elected to the secretariat of Cgil Emilia-Romagna, where he led the organization department for eight years. In 2010, he became Regional General Secretary of Cgil Emilia-Romagna, a position confirmed during the Regional Congress in March 2014. On 29 November 2016, he was elected to the national confederal secretariat of Cgil. From 24 January 2019 to February 2020, he served as Deputy General Secretary of Cgil with vicary functions. In this role, he continued to oversee policies on networks, energy, the transport system, infrastructure, state-owned enterprises, industrial innovation, credit, and the tertiary sector. Over the years, he has contributed to various studies and research, as well as to internal and external union publications.
During the XI legislature, he served as a regional councilor in Emilia-Romagna, holding responsibilities for economic development and the green economy, labor, training, and international relations.
A graduate of international relations and international law at the University of Warsaw, Poland. Scholarship holder of the Korean Language and Culture Study Program at Keimyung University in Daegu (Republic of Korea) and the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia). A graduate of Executive MBA at the Institute of Economic Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Since 2006, an employee of the Marshal's Office of the Masovian Voivodeship in Warsaw. Since 2017, Head of the Regional Innovation System Unit in the Department of Regional Development and European Funds. On a daily basis, deals with the implementation of various types of projects concerning regional development, including international ones.
Representative of Polish Regions (The Association of Voivodeships of the Republic of Poland) in the Monitoring Committee of the INTERACT III 2014-2020 and Monitoring Committee of INTERACT IV 2021-2027.
Being involved in European Affairs for about 20 years, Mr. Ciulli leads the ECRN permanent representative body of the network on behalf of Regione Lombardia. Based in Brussels, he liaises with various EU institutions, network associations and regional representations and supports the strategic development of the network in the long term.
