Joanna Drake – Deputy Director General, Planet, People and Science for Policy, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission
Entirely dedicated to the European Union, Joanna Drake’s career has been propelled by her relentless energy and passion for the project and the values the EU stands for.
As such for the last 40 years, she has contributed to the EU in several roles at the national and European level. Since 2021, she has been the Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s DirectorateGeneral (DG) for Research and Innovation (DG RTD). In this role, she provides overall assistance to the Director-General in the management of the DG, contributing to the definition, coordination and implementation of strategy and policy orientation. She currently focuses mainly on the areas of science for policy, environment, climate, energy, culture and health (she is mission manager for Cancer) and is currently serving as Acting Director for the Clean Planet Directorate.
Between 2016 and 2021, she was Deputy Director-General in DG Environment where she chaired a crosscutting Task Force spear-heading strategic positions for the DG on (inter-alia) the post-2020 Commission financial framework negotiations, Brexit co-ordination, the urban agenda and the futureproofing of the EU’s environmental acquis.
Between 2010 and 2015 she was director for SME’s and Entrepreneurship in the DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW). During her tenure in DG GROW she also led the Commission’s Task Force on The Collaborative Economy, New Business Models and SME’s.
By training, Joanna holds a doctorate in laws from the University of Malta, where she also taught EU law full time in the Department of European and Comparative Law in the run up to Malta’s EU accession. She acquired a post-graduate degree in Advanced European Legal Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.
She held various legal and management posts in the private (including Head of Legal/Regulatory Department in Vodafone Malta) and public sector before joining the European Commission as head of the European Commission Representation in Malta in 2005. She also had a key role in the Malta-EU accession negotiations as member of the Malta-EU Steering and Action Committee and chaired the national ‘YES movement’ in the run up to the referendum on Malta’s EU accession in 2003.