CTO of the Year Europe 2019

The winner in the category of Large Enterprises is Dr. Amina Hamid, CTO of ABB Electrification, which is a part of the Swiss-Swedish multinational corporation ABB, making their contribution to the economic competitiveness of Europe with safe, smart, and sustainable electrification for utilities, industries, transport and infrastructure

The award winner in the Small and Medium Enterprises category is CTO Faction, Mr. Joeri Van Steen.  Faktion is one of the fastest-growing artificial intelligence (AI) scale-ups in Europe, which specializes in building AI, machine learning, and deep learning solutions for some of the most innovative companies in the world

The CTO of the Year Europe 2019 awards were announced on 12 November at Orgalim’s ‘Reinventing Europe’s Industrial Leadership’ conference in Brussels. The winners in both categories embody European technology leadership at its finest and are fantastic role models for the great talent at work across EU industry today.

CTO of the Year Europe 2018

The winner in the category of Large Enterprises is Dr. Nicolas Cudré-Mauroux, Research & Innovation Group General Manager (CTO) of Solvay, a Brussels-based specialty chemicals and advanced materials company, operating in 53 countries.

The award winner in the Small and Medium Enterprises category is CTO and co-founder of Spinnova, Mr. Juha Salmela.  Spinnova develops new, pure bio-based materials for the textile industry with a unique method. Salmela and Spinnova’s expert team have scaled the innovation from a laboratory scale into a large industrial pilot in just four years, with a technology concept invented by Salmela.

The CTO of the Year Europe 2019 awards were announced during EU Industry Days in Brussels. The winners in both categories excel in driving sustainability through the innovative use of technology in their companies and surrounding ecosystem.

The CTO of the Year 2017 was announced on 26 of October at EIRMA CTO Forum, in Zurich, Switzerland

Eyal Shimoni, CTO of Strauss Group and Sebastien Equis, CTO of Nanolive have been awarded with the title European Chief Technology Officer of the Year 2017 in their respective categories: large corporations and SMEs. The awards ceremony took place during the CTO Forum 2017 at Empa Academy, Zurich, Switzerland on October 26th, 2017. Both awardees serve as prominent role models fuelling growth and strengthening European innovation and technology leadership.

CTO of the Year Europe 2016

Ian Roberts, CTO of Bühler and Michael Thiel, Chief Science Officer and Co-founder of Nanoscribe have been awarded with the title European Chief Technology Officer of the Year 2016 in their respective categories: large corporations and SMEs.

The awards ceremony took place during the EIRMA CTO Forum 2016 in Evonik Creavis GmbH, Marl, Germany on October 27th, 2016. Both awardees serve as prominent role models fuelling growth and strengthening European innovation and technology leadership.

CTO of the Year Europe 2015

Large companies:

Professor Martin Curley, Intel Corporation
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. Prof. Martin Curley founded Intel Labs Europe (ILE) in 2009 as the central means of leadership and coordinating activities across Intel’s diverse and extensive network of Intel research labs, product development labs and innovation labs spanning Europe. An important aim of ILE is also to strengthen and improve Intel’s alignment with the European R&D ecosystem to help improve European competitiveness and society. Since its founding, Prof. Curley has helped increase sixfold the number of Intel researchers in Europe from 800 to over 4500 and more than doubled the number of labs to over 45. In addition, he has led dramatic growth in reputation and output from this labs network. The technology collaboration community he has built is also strong and broad outside the company: Intel now partners with more than 600 European research partners, resulting in a strong and vibrant innovation ecosystem. Prof. Curley is recognized worldwide as a leader in Open Innovation and demonstrates strong openness in his interaction with the European research and Innovation ecosystem, including Public Private Partnerships and industrial players.

Dr. Marcel Wubbolts, Royal DSM
As the CTO of DSM, Dr. Marcel Wubbolts is globally responsible for DSM’s Bright Science activities carried out across more than 30 R&D-locations by around 2,200 R&D-employees and is intimately involved in developing sustainable solutions for health, nutrition and materials. He has laid the foundation for the growing number of bio-based manufacturing processes in DSM’s businesses. Notable examples are the recently opened LIBERTY plant, the first commercial-scale cellulosic bio-ethanol plant in the U.S. established together with partner POET; DSM’s Reverdia joint venture with Roquette to commercialize bio-succinic acid; as well as the development of a portfolio of bio-based paint resins. Dr. Wubbolts has a central role at an innovative company that over the past two decades has transformed itself completely from a petrochemical to a life and materials sciences company and a leading Biotech player where sustainability is a key business driver. His ability to explain his vision for a sustainable world where science can make the difference in a clear and inspiring manner enables him to successfully create complex partnerships with industry, academia as well as convince internal stakeholders to embrace strategies underlying his actions. Dr. Wubbolts has a true Open Innovation mindset, leading and participating in Public Private Partnerships and other forms of industry collaborations.

SMEs:

Jonathan O'Halloran, QuantuMDx
Jonathan O’Halloran, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of QuantuMDx, is a dedicated ambassador for
tackling global issues such as anti-microbial resistance and the lack of healthcare infrastructure in developing nations. The technology developed by his company is expected to change the face of healthcare globally. Q-POC™ is a molecular diagnostic device that can test patients wherever they are, even in rural and developing areas. It provides comprehensive analyses, enables the clinician to prescribe the right drug at the right time and can save millions of lives. Responding to the threat of drug resistant ‘superbugs’, Q-POC will diagnose disease and identify drug resistance in under 20 minutes for a few dollars by the patient’s side. Furthermore, each device will be connected to 'The Internet of Life', a real-time map of pathogen spread created using the data from a network of Q-POCs across the globe. In addition to his technological excellence, Mr. O’Halloran’s ability to form relationships with key stakeholders has been crucial to the company’s success; they include: The Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), academic institutions, NGOs and Health Centers. An inspiring team-builder, O’Halloran also encourages lively debate and participation from coworkers across the company when developing new technologies.

More information

CTO of the Year Europe 2014

Large companies: Prof. Richard Parker, Rolls-Royce plc

Prof. Richard Parker (CBE FREng), Director of Research & Technology of Rolls-Royce plc was awarded as the winner of the large company category. The jury valued Prof. Parker’s personal leadership and long career in technology innovation, and the strong effort towards partnering with the outside world. Their view was that both Prof. Parker and Rolls Royce, a UK-based company providing power for aircraft, ships and land applications, are highly respected by all their stakeholders and have achieved great deeds.

Dr Henner Wapenhans, Head of Technology Strategy Rolls-Royce plc received the Award in the name of Prof. Richard Parker. "I am amazed, very happy, privileged and deeply honoured to be the first winner of the CTO of the Year competition. Effective investment in industrial R&D is essential for European competitiveness. I am pleased that the strength of Rolls-Royce in this area is recognised by this award”, said Prof. Richard Parker (CBE FREng), Director of Research & Technology of Rolls-Royce plc. in his video message at the award ceremony.

SMEs: Dr. Gert-Jan Gruter, Avantium

In the SME category, Dr. Gert-Jan Gruter, Chief Technology Officer of Avantium from the Netherlands was awarded based on his and the company’s impressive work, focus on innovation and strong partnerships combined with the future potential. Avantium is specialized in the area of advanced catalytic research, and the jury saw their green chemistry as a great European advantage.

Dr. Gert-Jan Gruter, Chief Technology Officer of Avantium from the Netherlands said that he is “honoured to receive this special award and I see this as a recognition for the pioneering work of the entire Avantium team, who developed a number of truly disruptive technologies in the renewable chemicals space. This required focus, commitment and support from the people around me, but also from our partners and investors. This award is a fantastic stimulus.”