EVPA appoints Roberta Bosurgi as new CEO
The European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA) Board of Directors announced the appointment of Roberta Bosurgi as the new Chief Executive Officer, as of 1st September.
4 June, Brussels: During its Annual General Meeting (AGM) held earlier today, The European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA) Board of Directors announced the appointment of Roberta Bosurgi as the new Chief Executive Officer, as of the first of September. Ms. Bosurgi is currently a senior executive at Novartis and has had leading roles at the Novartis Foundation. Roberta also brings several years of international experience in management consultancy where she focused her work on large scale change management programs and business transformations.
Professor Filipe Santos, Chair of EVPA Board of Directors: “I am delighted to soon welcome Roberta Bosurgi as the new CEO of EVPA. Her combination of corporate leadership and philanthropic work at Novartis, as well as her ability to craft alliances and her desire to contribute to the investing for impact space will serve EVPA and our community very well.”
Professor Santos also thanked outgoing CEO Steven Serneels for his leadership since 2018: Steven oversaw a strong growth in membership, well-balanced finances, and strong intellectual leadership, thereby successfully repositioning EVPA as the leading network of the Investing for Impact space. During this period, EVPA also accelerated its engagement with different member groups such as foundations, corporations and social investment funds and built close collaborations with other European and global networks
Steven Serneels, currently an EVPA board member and Chair elect, will assume the position of board chair in September, ensuring a smooth leadership transition and supporting the new CEO in the next stages of EVPA’s development.
“Today, EVPA is confronted with a dual challenge. Like many organisations, we are dealing with a new financial reality. At the same time, we feel responsible and emboldened to continue to support, shape and serve our eco-system of Investors for Impact in these difficult times.”, underlined Mr. Serneels, thanking the EVPA members and supporters, as well as the EVPA team and board for “making it possible to deliver on another ambitious plan for 2020, remaining financially healthy while keeping ‘impact’ at the centre of what we do and exploring with other stakeholders what an evolving, more equal society should look like in the future.”
The AGM, attended by over 90 representatives of EVPA’s membership and the wider impact community, also confirmed the appointment of Chris West (Co-Founder & Director, Sumerian Foundation & Sumerian Partners), Saskia Bruysten (Co-Founder & CEO, Yunus Social Business), Christian Hänel (Senior Vice President, Bosch Foundation) and María Ángeles León López (Co-Founder & CEO, Open Value Foundation) as new members of the EVPA Board of Directors. Tom Brookes, Executive Director for Strategic Communications at the European Climate Foundation, delivered a closing keynote address on the impact of climate change in the bigger picture of social inclusion. The recording of the keynote will be available here.
EVPA members and the broader community were also informed about the latest developments in the organisation and the wider ecosystem since the COVID-19 pandemic. The 16th EVPA Annual Conference will be transformed into an interactive virtual event with registrations opening next week. EVPA also plays a leading role and supports three important collaborative initiatives: Unitus Europe, R3 Coalition and COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs that aim to support the impact community in times of crisis.
For press inquires and additional information please contact:
Jorgos Papadakis, Marketing and Communications Director
Jpapadakis@evpa.eu.com
Gail Rego, Communications and Partnerships Manager
grego@evpa.eu.com