Today, the European Commission has appointed Pierre Delsaux as Director-General to the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (DG HERA). HERA has been set up to strengthen Europe’s ability to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to cross-border health emergencies, by ensuring the development, manufacturing, procurement, and equitable distribution of key medical countermeasures.
Pierre Delsaux, a Belgian national, is currently Deputy Director-General in the Directorate-General for Health and Food Satefy (DG SANTE) where he was at the forefront of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, he led the preparation of different legislative proposals (for instance to reinforce the European Medicines Agency and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control). He also implemented the Beating Cancer Action Plan and participated actively to the creation of HERA incubator.
In his new position, he will build on his thorough understanding of crisis management and health policies, his ability to define and focus on strategic priorities along with his robust management skills and many years of experience in managing human and financial resources at senior management level. This highly relevant background will help him take, in close coordination with DG SANTE, all measures necessary for the efficient functioning of HERA.
Before joining DG SANTE, Pierre Delsaux was Deputy Director-General for the Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS) where he was responsible for the Space Programme and for managing significant financial resources. Earlier, he was Deputy Director-General in the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SME (DG GROW), responsible for space and defence where he, among others, played a key role in delivering the Galileo satellite navigation system. The trained lawyer has held several other senior positions within the Commission mainly in DG GROW and its predecessor DG MARKT.