European Commission further strengthens senior management by appointing four Deputy Directors-General

Today, the European Commission further strengthened its top management by appointing four Deputy Directors-General as of 1 September 2016: Ms Charlina Vitcheva to its Joint Research Centre (DG JRC), Ms Ruxandra Draghia-Akli to its department for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), Mr Mario Campolargo to the Informatics department (DG DIGIT) and Mr Carlos Alegria to its department for Interpretation (DG SCIC).

Ms Charlina Vitcheva, a Bulgarian national, joined the European Commission as a Director in its Regional and Urban Policy department in 2009. Before that, she spent 15 years in the Bulgarian public administration, dealing mainly with agricultural issues. During that period, she was actively involved in the accession negotiations of Bulgaria and headed, between 2000 and 2004, the negotiations team in the area of agriculture and rural development, food safety and fisheries. Ms Vitcheva is currently a Director for Smart and Sustainable Growth and Southern Europe and is supervising the management of EU funds in a number of EU Member States.

Ms Ruxandra Draghia-Akli, a Romanian national, joined the European Commission in 2009 to work in its department for Research and Innovation. Prior to that, she spent nearly 20 years as a medical doctor and a researcher in Romania, France and the US. Her last position was a Vice-President of research of a biotechnology research company. In the Commission, she is currently Director Health in DG Research and Innovation, where she is in charge of a team of some 150 people and a budget of some €1.3 billion annually.

Mr Mario Campolargo, a Portuguese national, joined the European Commission in 1990 after 12 years in telecommunications research. He has spent his entire career in the Commission in the area of information and communication technologies' research and policies. He is currently a Director for Future Networks in the Commission's department for information and communications technologies (DG CONNECT), managing a staff of 110 people and a portfolio of 250 active projects with a €950 million budget.

Mr Carlos Alegria, a Portuguese national, has worked in the European Commission since 1985. He worked as an interpreter for eight and a half years before he switched to management in the area of interpretation. He has been a Director in DG SCIC since 2004, in charge of resources and support since 2011 and was acting Director-General from 2015 until the appointment of Ms Florika Fink-Hooijer as Director-General in June 2016.

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  CVs of the European Commission's top managers

IP/16/2623