The Awardees
Prof. Dr. Elena Bou
EIT InnoEnergy
Elena Bou co-founded EIT InnoEnergy in 2010 and has been, since 2011, the Innovation Director and member of its Executive Board. Her objective is to support the creation of start-ups and scale-ups in the energy field, including the investment process in such ventures.
InnoEnergy’s trusted innovation ecosystem operates now in more than 26 countries. As a result, the company has now supported nearly 500 companies, including three unicorns. It is part of the European Institute of Technology, an institution of the EU.
Since 1998, Elena Bou has been also an Associate Professor in the Department of Operations, Innovation, and Data Sciences at the Spanish business school ESADE (Escuela Superior de Administración y Dirección de Empresas). Her experience in Corporate Entrepreneurship includes the creation of two spin-offs: InnoEnergy and Ten, both from research backgrounds.
She holds a Ph.D. degree in Management Sciences from ESADE and is the author of several publications in the fields of knowledge management, collaborative innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Prof. Lord Nicholas Stern
London School of Economics and Political Science
Prof. Lord Stern is the IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government, Chairman of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, and Head of the India Observatory at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences.
He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Oxford University before holding academic appointments in Oxford, Warwick, and the London School of Economics (LSE) and abroad (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ecole Polytechnique, Collège de France in Paris, Indian Statistical Institute in Bangalore and Delhi, and People’s University of China in Beijing).
Besides his academic career, Lord Stern has served several institutions in top positions including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank, Her Majesty’s Treasury, and the Commission for Africa of the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. As Head of the UK Government Economic Service (2003–2007), he led the “Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change” which had a significant impact at national and international levels on responsible stakeholders in politics and the economy.
Prof. Lord Stern holds 13 honorary degrees and received more than 15 awards and prizes for outstanding environmental, economic, and political studies. He has published more than 15 books and 100 articles.