Deputy Director-General, Innovation, Prosperity and International Cooperation, DG Research & Innovation, European Commission
Maria Cristina Russo was appointed Deputy Director-General for Innovation, Prosperity and International Cooperation in DG Research and Innovation on 1 January 2026. Ms Russo is also acting Director for Prosperity in DG Research and Innovation, where she is responsible for Industrial research innovation & investments agenda, Valorisation policies and IPR, Industrial transformation, and Industry 5.0 and AI in Science. She has been working for the European Commission since 1992, where she held several policy and managerial positions related to external relations, the EU decision-making process and various EU policies, in particular research & innovation. She was member of the Cabinet of the Commissioner in charge of research policy. She was later appointed Head of Unit in the Secretariat-General of the European Commission, holding different positions dealing with inter-institutional relations and policy making, and in the department in charge of consumers’ policies and financial services, before being appointed to her current position in 2013. Maria Cristina holds a degree in Political Sciences from the Luiss University of Rome and a Research Master’s Degree in European Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges.