The FNR is a public institution created by statute (Law of 31 May, 1999) and enjoys legal capacity and full administrative and financial autonomy. Our overall strategy is laid down in a 4-year contract with the Luxembourg Government, which also defines our budget appropriation.
The Executive Office is composed of more than 35 committed collaborators, who are experienced and highly qualified professionals with a strong track record in science and research management or in the field of science communication.
The FNR teamOur leadership: Executive Head
The Secretary general/ CEO of the FNR is the chief executive officer of the organisation. They the Executive Office, implements the strategy, oversees programme development and manages all running activities. They are appointed by the Board of the FNR, subject to approval from the government.
Dr. Andreea Monnat has been appointed Acting Secretary General of the FNR in December 2023. Her strong background in government R&D financing spans over 15 years, during which she has been a driving force behind the creation of synergistic partnerships between academia, industry, and government bodies. Dr. Monnat holds a PhD in Computer Science and an Executive MBA from INSEAD, reflecting her strong foundation in both technical acumen and strategic business management.
In her role as Acting Secretary General, Dr. Monnat is determined in her commitment to uphold the FNR’s outstanding reputation. She is keenly focused on nurturing a research environment that is both responsive to and anticipatory of societal shifts. Dr. Monnat is passionate about facilitating an inclusive and collaborative research community, where open dialogue and mutual support are the hallmarks of progress and success.
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Board of the FNR
Our Board supervises the organisation and approves the overall policies and strategic priorities of the FNR. It is appointed by the government and is composed of nine independent directors active in industry, business and the civil society. The members of the Board act in full autonomy.
Martine Reicherts began her career at the European Commission in February 1984 in the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. After holding several positions in different Directorates-General and cabinets, she was appointed Head of Service at the Office for Infrastructure and Logistics – Luxembourg in 2003 and Head of the Publications Office of the European Union in 2007. In 2014, she succeeded Viviane Reding in the Barroso II Commission as Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship. From September 2015, she was head of the Directorate-General for Education and Culture and retired from the European Commission in January 2018. Martine Reicherts is president of the Board of Directors of Mediahuis Luxembourg and a member of the Board of Directors of the Banque Centrale de Luxembourg.
Paul Konsbruck, CEO of LuxConnect S.A., leads a top data center and dark fiber provider in Luxembourg. Former Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, he also worked as editor-in-chief at Eldoradio and journalist at RTL. A Heidelberg graduate, he completed Harvard’s Senior Executive Fellow Programme. Paul previously served on the board of SES and Encevo and now contributes to LuxProvide, FEDIL, and the Luxembourg National Research Fund. He co-founded Clarence S.A. and advances Luxembourg’s digital, energy, and research sectors.
Yves Fromes, is a medical doctor (MD, Faculty of Medicine, Paris) and holds a PhD in Human Genetics (Université de Paris VII). He teaches Physiology at Paris Universities 6, 7 and 13 and is an associate researcher at the Paris Institute of Myology’s NMR CEA Laboratory. Prof Dr Fromes is member of the FNR’s Scientific Council since 2005 and also member of the ANR and FECECT Scientific Boards. He is also a member, amongst others, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the New York Academy of Sciences, the American Physiological Society and the Société Française de Génétique.
Jean-Marc Fandel, entrepreneur and non-executive director, received his master’s degree and PhD in Economics from the Ecole des HEC of the University of Lausanne, is an alumni of the Harvard Business School and a Certified Director by ILA and INSEAD. He operates a smart landing platform for tech companies into Europe and is a well known advisor and director to start-ups and scale-ups, capitalizing on research outcomes and valorizing talent. Prior, he held various senior positions in fintech, critical services infrastructure, travel and transport industry in Luxembourg and abroad.
Isabelle Schlesser, Director, ADEM, Luxembourg. Born in 1973, Isabelle Schlesser holds a Master 2 degree in European law and started her career in Brussels and Luxembourg as a legal advisor. In 1999, she joined Luxinnovation, the National Agency for the Promotion of Innovation and Research in Luxembourg and was appointed Secretary General in 2007. In 2013, she became Director of ADEM, the National Employment Agency. She serves as a member of the Board of the National Railway Company CFL and chairs its Internal Audit Committee since 2014. In 2016, she has been nominated as a member of the State Council.
Steve Majerus is Professor, Chair in Memory & Language, Université of Liège, Belgium. Born in 1975, Steve Majerus was awarded a PhD in psychological sciences from the Université of Liège in 2002. He currently directs the Psychology & Neuroscience of Cognition research unit at ULiège. He was a visiting scientist at the MRC- Cognition and Brain Sciences unit (University of Cambridge), at the School of Biological Sciences (University of Sussex) and at the Department of Communication Sciences (University of Hong Kong). He is a Honorary Research Director of the Belgian research fund F.R.S.-FNRS.
Isabelle Mossong, born in 1982, holds a PhD in Ancient History, co-awarded by the Freie Universität Berlin and the Université de Strasbourg (German-French cotutelle, 2014). Since 2016, she is a Senior Researcher at the Commission for Ancient History and Epigraphy of the German Archaeological Institute in Munich and on this behalf co-director of the Centro CIL II at the University of Alcalá de Henares, Spain. She was a visiting fellow at the École française de Rome and the RomanIslam Center (University of Hamburg). Isabelle has also gained a strong teaching experience (Universities of Strasbourg, Augsburg and LMU Munich).
Alessandra Simonelli, born in Luxembourg, leads the Sustainability Programme at Banque Internationale Luxembourg (BIL). She integrates sustainability strategies into the bank’s operations and oversees projects related to sustainable finance and greening the investment portfolio. Alessandra chaired the ABBL Sustainability Committee from 2022 to 2024. Before her current role, Alessandra held key positions at BIL and BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg, including Head of Customer Journey & Product Management at BIL and Marketing Director at BGL BNP Paribas. Her education includes a Business Sustainability Management course from the University of Cambridge, a Master 2 in Applied Marketing from IAE Aix en Provence, an MBA from Ottawa University, and a Master in Management from University Paris IX Dauphine.
Ex-officio (non-voting) board members
Dr Andreea Monnat, in her capacity as Acting Secretary General of the FNR.
The Government Commissioner
The Government Commissioner is a civil servant who is mandated by the Minister for Higher Education and Research to attend the meetings of the Board in an advisory function. He also checks that Board decisions are compliant with legal and contractual requirements and he has the right to inspect the management of the organisation.
For the major part of his professional career, Dr. Romain Martin has been Professor for Psychology and Empirical Educational Research. Besides holding a master’s degree and a PhD in differential and educational psychology from the University of Nancy II, Dr. Martin is also a certified primary school teacher and registered state psychologist in Luxembourg. His research interests include life-long learning, cognitive neuroscience in an educational context, large-scale and longitudinal educational studies and the development of new educational assessment and learning tools with a specific focus on technology-enhanced tools. A pioneer in computer-based testing, he initiated an open-source computer-based testing platform used in several large-scale international studies. This project has led to the creation of a spin-off company in 2013 of which Dr. Martin has been one of the co-founders.
Scientific Council of the FNR
Our Scientific Council acts as an advisory body to the FNR. Appointed by the Government, it is composed of international experts. The current scientific council was appointed by ministerial decree in October 2020.
Nadine C. Martin is in charge of Innovation Management at sitem-insel AG since 2015. Her particular interests go to Open Innovation in the Life Science sector and how to foster interdisciplinary collaboration for the benefit of translating ideas and research results faster.
Gabriele Dobenecker holds a Master in Computer Science from the University of Hamburg. She spent over 20 years in IT and high tech industries. Beginning of 2007 Gabriele Dobenecker started at Empa, the the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, heading their Marketing, Knowledge and Technology Transfer section. Since autumn 2018 she is responsible for the Empa Zukunftsfonds, Entrepreneurship & Industry Relations.
Prof. Dr Yves Cocard is lecturer in Educational and Social Sciences at the Pedagogical Universities in Berne and Lucerne. He holds a Dr. phil of the Fribourg University. Dr Cocard was a panel member of the FNR’s AFR funding scheme and contributed as an expert to the FNR’s Foresight Study.
Dr Patrycja Paruch is an Associate Professor at the University of Geneva. She holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Geneva. She has been awarded with the Swiss Physical Society IBM Prize for Condensed Matter Physics as well as the European Science Foundation THIOX award for young researchers in 2005.
Prof Dr Burkhard Stiller is full professor at the University of Zürich UZH, Switzerland, leading the Communication Systems Group CSG, Department of Informatics IfI. He holds a Diplom-Informatik (MSc) and a Dr. rer.-nat. degree in Computer Science from the University of Karlsruhe, Germany. He is/was leading academic and industrial research projects specifically in the Communications, Network and Service Management, and Blockchain domains.
Dr Georges Thielen is Manager Governmental Relations and R&D Partnerships at the Goodyear Innovation Center. He is experienced in Research & Development with a demonstrated history of working in industry, boards of associations and public research centers. Skilled in Open Innovation Management, State Aid Programs Management, Public Private Partnerships and Material Science, he is responsible of Goodyear’s collaboration projects with the Luxembourg Public Research. He holds a PhD Degree in Polymer Chemistry from University Hannover and the German Rubber Institute. He is a member of several scientific boards in Germany and an elected member of the Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg.
Prof Dr Nicolas Gengler (Recipient ADSA J.L. Lush Award 2019) heads Genetics, Genomics and Modeling and Animal Science at the University of Liège – Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Belgium. He holds degrees in Animal Agriculture, Statistics and Computer Science, and Animal Breeding, was a panel member of the FNR’s AFR funding scheme and is directing academic and industrial research in animal improvement.
Prof Rachel C Chambers (PhD, FRSB) is Professor of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology and Director of the Centre for Inflammation and Tissue Repair (CITR) within the Division of Medicine at University College London CITR.