Brussels Metropolitan Area
Ann Mettler brings over 25 years of experience in public policy, specializing at the nexus of technology, innovation, investment, and industrial policy. She has served as senior adviser to global leaders, including Bill Gates and Jean-Claude Juncker, former President of the European Commission (2014–2019). Currently, Ann is President of Catalyst Europe, a newly established organisation dedicated to accelerating Europe's clean energy transition at the intersection of security, resilience, competitiveness and industrial strength. In addition, she is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy and serves on the Board of the European Innovation Council (EIC), the EU's €10 billion flagship programme for deep-tech innovation. Reflecting her longstanding commitment to frontier technologies and industrial innovation, Ann also serves on the Industrial Development Board of Proxima Fusion, one of Europe's leading fusion energy companies. From 2020-2025, Ann was Vice President for Europe at Breakthrough Energy, an organisation founded by Bill Gates to accelerate the clean energy transition. Prior to that, from 2014-2019, she served as Director-General and Head of the European Political Strategy Centre (EPSC), the European Commission’s in-house think tank. Under her leadership, the EPSC was named “Best New Think Tank” by the Global Go-To Think Tank Index in 2016, and ranked among the world’s top 10 government-affiliated think tanks in 2017–2019. While at the Commission, Ann chaired the European Strategy and Policy Analyses System (ESPAS), the EU’s inter-institutional process for strategic foresight and global trends. She is widely credited with elevating the role of foresight, anticipation and preparedness in EU policymaking. Earlier in her career, Ann co-founded The Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based think tank focused on the knowledge economy, which she led as Executive Director for over a decade. Between 2000 and 2003, she worked at the World Economic Forum, most recently as Director for Europe. A dual citizen of Germany and Sweden, Ann has lived and worked in Greece, the US, Switzerland and Belgium. She holds Master’s degrees in Political Science and European Law & Economics, graduating with distinction from the University of New Mexico and Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University in Bonn. In 2016, she completed the executive education program 'Innovative Technology Leader' at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Catalyse Europe works to accelerate Europe’s clean energy transition, operating at the intersection of security and resilience, competitiveness, and industrial strength. For more, visit www.catalyse-europe.org
The Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University develops evidence-based research to help address the world's most challenging energy and climate problems through research, education, and dialogue.
The European Innovation Council (EIC) oversees the EU’s deeptech funding strategy, with a budget of €10bn.
Proxima Fusion is Europe's leading fusion company, building the first generation of stellarator fusion power plants.