Patrick CHILD is Deputy Director-General in DG Research and Innovation (R&I) at the European Commission. He leads the policy for implementation, impact & sustainable investment strategies. As a member of the Board of DG R&I, he follows in particular research and innovation in clean energy and climate technologies as well as the R&I dimension of the post-COVID recovery and resilience strategy. He is the Commission representative in Mission Innovation (a coalition 24 countries and the EC working to accelerate global clean energy innovation to make clean energy widely affordable) and currently chairs the MI Steering Committee. He is also the Commission representative in the International Group of Earth Observations (GEO) and lead co-chair of the Executive Committee for 2021, as well as Mission Manager for the Horizon Europe Mission on Cancer.
Until April 2016, Patrick Child was Managing Director of the European External Service with responsibility for administration and finance, covering human resources policy, security and the budget. Before he took up this post in 2011, he was director in the EC External Relations Directorate-General in the responsible for managing the network of Commission delegations. He has previously served as head of cabinet for External Relations Commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Chris Patten.
With a background in the UK Finance Ministry, he joined the European Commission in 1994, where he started in the Economic and Monetary affairs Directorate General before becoming Commission press spokesman for economic and monetary union from 1995-1999. Mr Child studied mathematics at Cambridge University. He is married with two children.
