Kirsten Dunlop joins Climate-KIC as new CEO
Dr Kirsten Dunlop is today joining Climate-KIC as its new Chief Executive Officer. Kirsten joins from Suncorp, an Australian financial services conglomerate, where she acted as Executive General Manager Strategic Innovation.
At Suncorp, which is itself a long standing partner of Climate-KIC, Kirsten was instrumental in the formation of Climate-KIC Australia, based on the proven Climate-KIC model from the European Union.
Kirsten succeeds Ian Short, who led Climate-KIC for just over one year as interim CEO and successfully oversaw the transition of Climate-KIC towards a single entity for Europe, from a number of different partner based organisations.
A joint British-Australian national, Kirsten’s career spans academia, consulting, banking, insurance, design, innovation and leadership across Europe, Australia and North America.
Her strong focus on managing change, driving innovation and emphasis on an empowering and inspiring company culture will help drive forward Climate-KIC’s important work in speeding up the transition towards a zero carbon economy.
Kirsten says:
“I am delighted to be joining Climate-KIC at such an important time, and I’m motivated by the scale, platform and opportunity that a pan-European organisation affords. No one single actor can provide the solutions we need to meet the urgency of the climate change challenge. The power of Climate-KIC to convene communities around market driven priorities will increase in importance and become an influential model for others to emulate.”
Ian says:
“Climate-KIC is now in a strong position to grow, following the adoption of a more integrated and focused approach. Kirsten brings a wealth of experience in innovation and change management to the organisation and will guide Climate-KIC into the next phase of its journey. We’re pleased to have her on board.”
Kirsten will be based in the Climate-KIC Benelux office in Utrecht, Netherlands.
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MEDIA CONTACT
Stefan Denig, Director of Communications and Marketing
Tel: +32 (0) 473 63 28 25
Email: stefan.denig@climate-kic.org
ABOUT CLIMATE-KIC
Climate-KIC is the EU’s largest public private partnership addressing climate change through innovation to build a zero carbon economy.
We address climate change across four priority themes: urban areas, land use, production systems, climate metrics and finance. Education is at the heart of these themes to inspire and empower the next generation of climate leaders.
We run programmes for students, start-ups and innovators across Europe via centres in major cities, convening a community of the best people and organisations.
Our approach starts with improving the way people live in cities. Our focus on industry creates the products required for a better living environment, and we look to optimise land use to produce the food people need.
Climate-KIC is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.
– climate-kic.org
– eit.europa.eu
ABOUT CLIMATE-KIC AUSTRALIA
Climate-KIC Australia is a knowledge and innovation community that aims to catalyse a national response to climate change and the global-scale opportunities that it presents. It aims to bring to market innovative climate change solutions by connecting key players across the whole innovation pathway.
– climate-kic-australia.org