Brussels, 15 February 2002
Director General of the European Commission's Research DG, Achilleas Mitsos, has announced the appointment of Hugh Richardson as his deputy, as well as three new directors within the DG.
Mr Richardson is moving from his current position as Deputy Director General of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) to take up the post in the Research DG. In addition to his responsibilities as Deputy Director General, he will also coordinate all activities in relation to international cooperation.
At a meeting on 13 February, the Commission also decided to appoint
Octavi Quintana Trias as Director of 'Life sciences: research actions for health',
Jack Metthey as Director of 'Growth and sustainable development: research actions for transport' and Pablo Fernandez Ruiz as Director for 'Preservation of the ecosystem: research actions for energy'.
Mr Quintana Trias is from Spain and is a medical doctor. He is currently Director of international affairs at the Spanish Ministry of health and is currently coordinating the Spanish EU Presidency in the area of health and consumer affairs.
Mr Metthey has been with the Research DG for a number of years and has been acting Director of his directorate for some time. 'During this time he has demonstrated both his excellent managerial skills as well as his deep knowledge of research and his negotiating skills on important political issues,' writes Mr Mitsos in his announcement.
Mr Fernandes Ruiz has been with the Commission since 1988. He has held different Head of division posts in DG Transport and Energy and has worked on EURATOM, energy consumption technologies, industry and communications.