Dr. Roland Strauss studied in Saarbrücken, Geneva and Budapest and received a PhD in Economics. He has an industrial background and over 25 years of experience in working with the EU Institutions in Brussels. Roland is well known for his expertise at the intersection of policy and technology. After 10 years as a VP for Siemens EU Government Relations he co-founded Knowledge4Innovation in 2008. Since then, he was responsible for the organization of more than 500 debates on ‘The future of innovation in Europe’ and 12 annual European Summit events within the Knowledge4Inniovation Forum in the European Parliament. In 2017 he organized a unique event – the EUTOP50 Hemicycle Startup Convention – during which the top 50 European startups pitched in front of policy makers and investors in the Plenary Hall of the European Parliament in Brussels. In June 2022 Roland was responsible for the organization of the 1st European Innovation Area Summit (EIA) in the European Parliament. Under his leadership more than 100 actions and ideas have been collected from signatories of the EIA Manifesto with the aim to improve Europe’s Innovation Performance. Roland studied in Saarbrücken, Geneva and Budapest and received a PhD in Economics.