Merete Clausen, Director for Investment in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW). The Directorate is the focal point for promotion of investment in the green, digital and resilient transition of the EU’s industrial ecosystems, bringing together knowledge on access to finance, sustainable finance, financial instruments (incl. InvestEU), public procurement, public services, research and competition policies, and intangible economy. She has served as member of the Board of Directors of the European Investment Fund (EIF) and has a seat in the Management Board of the European union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
Merete Clausen has worked for the European Commission since 2006. She was previously Head of Unit in the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, responsible for coordination with the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and other International Financial Institutions. Before that, she was responsible for the SME Window part of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the predecessor to the InvestEU Programme, and other European Union innovative instruments designed to support investment in innovative enterprises, SMEs, micro- and social enterprises.
She graduated from the University of Aarhus, Denmark, with a master’s degree in law and worked for several years in private practice in Copenhagen and Aarhus before joining the EU institutions in 2001.