EC: Jean-David Malo new Acting Director for ERA & Innovation; Stéphane Ouaki taking over at EISMEA

Jean-David Malo, former Director of EISMEA (the Agency for EIC and SMEs within the Commission), becomes Acting Director for ERA and Innovation at DGRI on 01/04/2025. He replaces Anna Panagopoulou, now Head of Cabinet of Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Sustainable Transport and Tourism.

He is succeeded by Stéphane Ouaki, previously Head of Department at EISMEA, as Acting Director.

Director of the agency since April 2021, Jean-David Malo previously held various positions in the European Commission, overseeing regional R&I policy, financial instruments for innovation, and SME support under Horizon 2020.

As Director for Open Innovation and Open Science (2017), he contributed to initiatives such as VentureEU and the RDI dimension of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). In 2019, he became Director of the European Innovation Council (EIC) Task Force, supporting its establishment.

Stéphane Ouaki previously led the Financial Instruments Unit at the EIC Task Force and headed the Connecting Europe Facility and investment strategies at DG Mobility and Transport. Earlier, he…