Eric Thelen has been appointed Director of the EIT Digital Silicon Valley Hub.
EIT Digital's Silicon Valley Hub establishes a two-way bridge between the European EIT Digital ecosystem and the San Francisco Bay Area supporting the exchange are of talents, technology and investments. The Silicon Valley Hub is tightly integrated into EIT Digital activities and connected to national trade and scientific missions, accelerator programs of different member states in the area, and actively promotes Europe in the Bay Area. The activities of the EIT Digital Silicon Valley Hub are focused on accelerating the business growth of European scaleups, increasing the mobility of innovators and the two-way flow of talent between Europe and the Bay Area, facilitating EU-US education and innovation collaboration driven by the EIT Digital Action Lines, amplifying European, national and regional efforts and uniting the European presence in the Bay Area.
Eric Thelen, a German native currently living in The Netherlands, who has worked for several years on both U.S. coasts, intends to stimulate the mobility of people and businesses to "bring together the best of both worlds". Eric says that while engaging with the unique Silicon Valley ecosystem provides countless opportunities and is always inspirational, Europe has a lot to offer as well for this exchange, such as a rich portfolio of technology-based innovations, highly educated talents and a multitude of startups with high growth potential. "By combining complementary strengths of the innovation cultures in Silicon Valley and in Europe," Eric summarizes, "EIT Digital adds value to its partners and stakeholders on both sides."
Eric has been working for EIT Digital since 2013. He recently led the Innovation and Education Operations team at the EIT Digital Headquarters in Brussels, and he will continue to serve in his role as the Secretary of the EIT Digital Management Committee.
Prior to joining EIT Digital, Eric was an innovation executive at Philips. He has an MA in electrical engineering from the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule.
Follow Eric on Twitter: @EricThelen70
